LIV Golf made their Massachusetts debut this past weekend. This was held at The International Golf Club in Bolton, Massachusetts. The field consisted of 48 total players. This was not only an individual competition, but there is also a team element. There are 12 teams of four players per team. The field was internationally represented by over ten countries. Commissioner Greg Norman was in the house, parachuting down onto the course with the Navy Seals to kick things off. Bubba Watson, who is newly signed to the tour, was also there doing commentary and mingling with fans. Boston legend David “Big Papi” Ortiz also contributed via a video message. There was musical performances on Saturday and Sunday. Artists that performed were Dalton and the Sheriffs, St. Lucia, and Diplo.
This was certainly a weekend of many firsts for LIV Golf. Cam Smith made his debut, making a solid run at the trophy. We saw the first hole in one in LIV Golf history, courtesy of Matthew Wolff. We also got to witness the lowest round (-8) in LIV Golf history by Lee Westwood. Heading into the final holes, things were staying really tight. Dustin Johnson shanked one into the woods on the 18th hole, but saved face with par. Niemann, Johnson, Lahiri, and Westwood all at -15 trying to force a playoff. Westwood bogeys to drop to -14. Lahiri just missed an eagle putt which would have won it, but hit the birdie to remain tied for the lead. This all of course led to the first playoff in LIV Golf’s short history. The three man playoff was between Niemann, Johnson, and Lahiri.
THE PLAYOFF
Niemann was first to tee off in the playoff, hitting it onto the cart path before hitting a spectator in the chest. After that, Dustin Johnson followed up with a beautiful fairway drive. Finally, Lahiri also laid up nicely in the fairway. Lahiri’s second shot landed in the rough just beside the green, with Niemann’s second shot unfortunately finding itself in a bunker. Johnson then placed his second shot on the green with darkness approaching. Niemann’s third shot from the sand found itself on the green. Lahiri set himself up perfectly with his next approach shot, putting the pressure on Johnson to sink his difficult putt attempt. Niemann offered a solid putt attempt, but was just off target. Johnson then sank a monster Eagle putt, with the help of a shooters bounce, to win it in front of a massive crowd on the 18th. He became the first American to win the individual prize. The 4 Aces GC took home the team title.
KEEPING UP WITH LIV GOLF
This was officially the half way point for the eight planned events on the tour. They are currently in Chicago, Illinois. This tournament started on Friday September 15, 2022, and will wrap up today at Rich Harvest Farms. Following Chicago, they will move on to Bangkok, Thailand and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. They will then come back to the United States to wrap things up in Miami, Florida on October 27-30, 2022. They plan to expand for 2023, upping the amount of events from 8 to 14. Under those circumstances, the purse will raise to $405 million, compared to this years purse of $255. Additionally, they will be rebranding as the LIV Golf League. All in all I suggest you hit one of these events, and make sure you DON’T BLINK!
LIV GOLF – WEBSITE – INSTAGRAM – TWITTER – FACEBOOK – YOUTUBE
THE INTERNATIONAL GOLF CLUB – WEBSITE – FACEBOOK – INSTAGRAM
DANCE YOUR FACE OFF – WEBSITE – INSTAGRAM – FACEBOOK – TWITTER – YOUTUBE
