ADELAIDE: Sam Horsfield was not sure of the last time his Majesticks GC produced a top-three finish. Told that it was LIV Golf Boston in 2022, he replied: “Yeah, my memory doesn’t go back that far.”
Since then, 33 LIV Golf tournaments have been played, but now the Majesticks are one round away from ending their record drought — and possibly sweeping both trophies.
They enter the final round of LIV Golf Adelaide with a one-shot advantage on the team leaderboard, while Horsfield has a share of the individual lead with Torque GC’s Carlos Ortiz and Fireballs GC’s Abraham Ancer. That trio is three strokes ahead of the rest of the field, while Torque captain Joaquin Niemann and Legion XIII’s Jon Rahm lurk in solo fourth and fifth, respectively.
Sunday could be the biggest day in Majesticks history, with both Horsfield and Henrik Stenson (tied for sixth) in contention. Stenson, a team co-captain along with fellow European stars Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood, has the team’s only trophy of any kind, winning individual honors in his LIV Golf debut in 2022 at Bedminster.
“I call them crafty veterans,” said Horsfield, the team’s youngest player. “They’ve been around the block a few times, and they know how to get it done. I think they’re really, really excited. I can feel my phone vibrating in my back pocket, so I’m sure it’s them in a group chat.”
They will have to conquer The Grange course that has proved quite formidable this week, especially with swirling winds that created plenty of challenges. The stroke average for the field on Saturday was more than half a stroke over par (72.611) and played almost a stroke higher than the opening round.
The Majesticks were the only team in which all four players shot rounds under par on Saturday, with Horsfield shooting a three-under 69, Poulter and Westwood shooting two-under 70s, and Stenson contributing a one-under 71. Their cumulative eight- under total was four strokes better than any other team, and left them one stroke ahead of Rahm’s Legion XIII, the winners last week in Riyadh, and Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs GC.
The UK-centric lineup believes the new LIV Golf format in which all scores count for every round benefits them. Playing in tricky conditions should also favor a team with three veteran players who possess more than 80 career professional wins.
“Looking back at some of the previous years, I think we’ve been one of the more consistent teams, but we haven’t really had those low rounds getting in there,” Stenson said. “Especially with the conditions being as they are, being tough, then if we can just keep on grinding away and playing solid tee to green, then we should give ourselves some good chances.”
Horsfield, 28, is seeking his first LIV Golf individual win and the fourth since turning pro in 2017. The solo leader after an opening 66, he bogeyed his first hole on Saturday and was one over for his round at the turn but steadied the ship on the back nine and finished with two birdies to grab a share of the lead at nine under.
“It was a real tough test,” Horsfield said. “I was really proud of the way that I hung in there and fought.”
His playing partners for the final round experienced LIV Golf success last season, with Ancer winning in Hong Kong and Ortiz in Houston. Ancer also knows what it’s like to win in Australia, having claimed the Australian Open in 2018. His five-under 67 was the lowest score on Saturday.
“I love this kind of golf,” Ancer said. “I’ve always loved playing in Australia. Seeing the conditions like this is exciting. It’s tough, but it’s really good for me.”
Ortiz had three birdies in a four-hole stretch midway through his round en route to shooting 68. He picked his battles in the tricky conditions and also escaped trouble better than anybody else. On Saturday, he was a perfect seven for seven in scrambling.
“You really have to be respectful of the golf course, almost play a little bit defensive, and I think I’ve done a good job of that,” Ortiz said. “I feel like I’ve taken my medicine when I’ve been out of play. I’ve honestly played quite conservative off the tee and into the greens, and I think that’s paid off.”
Team scores
LIV Golf’s new scoring format now counts all four scores in every round in the team competition. Here are the results and scores for each team after Saturday’s Round 2 of LIV Golf Adelaide.
Majesticks GC -10 (Horsfield 69, Poulter 70, Westwood 70, Stenson 71; Rd. 2 score: -8)
T2. Fireballs GC -9 (Ancer 67, Puig 70, Garcia 74, Masaveu 74; Rd. 2 score: -3)
T2. Legion XIII -9 (Hatton 72, McKibbin 71, Rahm 69, Surratt 73; Rd. 2 score: -3)
Crushers GC -5 (Lahiri 70, Casey 71, DeChambeau 73, Howell III 74; Rd. 2 score: E)
Torque GC -3 (Ortiz 68, Niemann 71, Munoz 74, Pereira 79; Rd. 2 score: +5)
Stinger GC -2 (Burmester 71, Grace 72, Schwartzel 73, Oosthuizen 75; Rd. 2 score: +3)
Ripper GC -1 (Herbert 70, Leishman 70, Jones 71, Smith 73; Rd. 2 score: -4)
4Aces GC E (Varner III 71, Pieters 72, Reed 73, Johnson 78; Rd. 2 score: +6)
Hyflyers GC +2 (Steele 70, Tringale 71, Mickelson 74, Ogletree 75; Rd. 2 score: +2)
Iron Heads GC +4 (Ormsby 71, Jang 72, Na 72, Lee 74; Rd. 2 score: +1)
Smash GC +8 (Koepka 71, Kokrak 73, Gooch 74, McDowell 75; Rd. 2 score: +5)
Rangegoats GC +11 (Campbell 70, Uihlein 72, Watson 72, Wolff 80; Rd. 2 score: +6)
Cleeks GC +18 (Bland 73, Meronk 75, Kjettrup 75, Kaymer 79; Rd. 2 score: +14)
Wildcards: Lee 76, Kim 77
