Greg Norman has assured golf enthusiasts that they can look forward to an even bigger and more vibrant ‘Party Hole’ when LIV Golf Adelaide returns to South Australia in early 2024.
Any uncertainties regarding the success of Greg Norman’s controversial LIV rebel golf tour in Australia were dispelled at last year’s Adelaide tournament.
LIV Golf Adelaide made waves in the golfing world when Chase Koepka scored a hole-in-one on the par-3 12th hole at The Grange Golf Club, sending the crowd into a frenzy of excitement.
The tournament witnessed massive crowds at every hole, prompting Australian golf professional Nathan Carey to describe the atmosphere as ‘electric.’
In contrast to the traditional hushed tones of golf, the LIV tournament featured music playing as the stars took their shots. The 12th hole was even dubbed the ‘Watering Hole,’ reminiscent of the famous Party Hole at the Phoenix Open.
Greg Norman wants Aussies to get even rowdier when LIV Golf returns to Adelaide in 2024
The Watering Hole lived up to its name at the inaugural LIV Golf event held in Australia
Shoe-ies were common at the Adelaide LIV Golf event which bucked the trends set by traditional golfing tournaments
In a conversation with Australian Golf Digest, Norman hinted at the possibility of expanding the Party Hole to fully capitalise on its immense popularity.
‘I think the success of the watering hole could be expanded because of the popularity of it,’ Norman said.
‘I think you can get more spectators around there.’
Norman is hailing Adelaide’s tournament as the benchmark of the breakaway tour while pledging to increase crowd numbers at next year’s event.
The Grange course in Adelaide’s coastal western suburbs will again host Australia’s LIV Golf tournament, from April 26-28 next year.
Last year, more than 77,000 spectators attended LIV’s inaugural Australian event over three sold-out days at The Grange.
‘Our goal is to exceed 30,000 (spectators) a day,’ Norman told reporters at The Grange on Saturday.
‘It’s easier said than done … (but) for us it’s the goal we have got to do and that’s what we’re going to do.’
Peter Uihlein, Pat Perez, Captain Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed won the team award
Pat Perez is surrounded by police, cameras and thousands of screaming fans in Adelaide
Norman described the Adelaide event as ‘the highlight tournament’ of the LIV season because of the atmosphere, engagement of fans, and younger crowd demographic.
‘All those things created a benchmark for the other 13 events we have around the world,’ said Norman, who is LIV Golf’s chief executive and commissioner.
‘Every time we talk about the progress going forward … we talk about the success of LIV Adelaide.
‘(It) just created the benchmark of what our platform truly represents – entertainment, sport, fun, fandom.’
The inaugural Australian tournament was held amid acrimony between LIV Golf, financed by Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund, and the US PGA Tour.
The two bodies have since brokered a peace deal involving a merger framework but details have yet to be released.
‘I am not involved in those negotiations … I don’t know what the framework agreement is,’ Norman said.
‘But I do know from our perspective we’re looking to the future, we’re sending contracts out now three, four, five, seven years.
‘(LIV) always wanted to co-exist with any other tour out there to give those players the opportunity to go and do both … give the players the independent rights to do what they want to do.
‘I’m committed to this, I am not going anywhere.
‘LIV is not going anywhere, contrary to what you might read in some of the white noise in the media.’
Australian golfing champion Cam Smith (centre) was a major drawcard at the first LIV Golf tournament in Adelaide
There will be room for even more lubricated golf fans to enjoy the fun at the 2024 event
SA Premier Peter Malinauskas said last year’s LIV Adelaide event poured $64.9 million into state coffers.
Of the 77,076 spectators, 41 per cent came from outside of SA with 37 countries represented.
‘My word, it went off,’ Malinauskas told reporters.
‘I can’t tell you how rapt we were as a government about how the event performed in the interest of the state.
‘People were a bit unsure about what to expect but the moment it got underway, it lit up … it really captured the world’s attention in a way that was beyond our wildest dreams.’
The Adelaide event is the first of LIV’s 14 tournaments to confirm dates for next year.