LIV Golf Wild Cards: It was a strong week for the LIV Golf Wild Cards, with all five of them finishing inside the top 24. Scott Vincent and Richard Lee finished T13, proving they belong with the elite fields on LIV Golf this season. Yosuke Asaji finished T7, Anthony Kim finished T22, marking his best-ever LIV Golf finish and Björn Hellgren finished T22 in his LIV Golf debut.
Abraham Ancer: Ancer performed extremely well in his first start with his new team Torque GC, finishing T4 after shooting rounds of 68-69-65-66. His performance was the best on the team and exemplifies just how dangerous the star-studded Torque will be this season.
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
Elvis Smylie: Smylie had a strong and balanced statistical performance. He ranked fifth in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and sixth in Strokes Gained: Putting. He hit 73% of fairways, which led the field.
Jon Rahm: Rahm put forth a dominant performance with the driver, ranking first in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (+1.43 per round). New this season, the Legion XIII captain switched from a Callaway Elite Triple Diamond to a Callaway Quantum Triple Diamond. Although it isn’t a surprise, the fact that he’s off to a great start with the new driver is notable.
Peter Uihlein: Uihlein ranked first in Strokes Gained: Approach for the week and by a wide margin. He gained 2.20 strokes per round. The closest challenger in the category was Thomas Pieters, who gained 1.73 per round. Uihlein finished third despite only hitting 36% of fairways for the week.
VETERAN RESURGENCE
Branden Grace: Grace quietly posted rounds of 69-71-67-64 to finish T9. The top-10 finish was the South African’s third consecutive top 10 on LIV Golf and his fourth in five starts dating back to LIV Golf Andalucia last year.
YOUNG GUN SPOTLIGHT
Elvis Smylie: Smylie’s performance was nothing short of sensational. The Ripper GC rookie showed the poise of a veteran throughout the week as his smooth swing and pure putting stroke led him to a one-shot victory. Not only does the win put him at the top of the LIV Golf standings, but it will move him up the OWGR rankings as he looks to punch his first ticket to Augusta National to play in the Masters.
WHO’S TRENDING
Cameron Smith: It was a solid week for Smith, who built off his strong start in the fall at the Crown Australian Open to finish in the top 20 in Riyhadh on the back of a strong final round. The Ripper GC captain has some momentum going into Adelaide.
Thomas Pieters: Pieters changes his irons to start the season and the switch paid immediate dividends. The Belgian was aiming at flagsticks all week and seems to be in a fantastic headspace after being teamed up with his compatriot Thomas Detry on the 4Aces this season.
Byeong Hun An: An was very impressive in his LIV Golf debut, overcoming the pressure of being the new captain of Korean Golf Club as well as playing in a new and unique environment. The strong start for An is a promising sign for the remainder of the season.
Ripper GC: Although Ripper GC came up just short of securing a team title in Riyadh, the team is undoubtedly trending nicely heading into their most important week of the season at LIV Golf Adelaide. All four Ripper players finished in the top 20 on the individual leaderboard.