Adrian Meronk will feel vindicated after a thrilling maiden LIV victory in Riyadh. The Pole’s decision to join LIV was partially fueled by bitterness (Luke Donald snubbed him as a captain’s pick for the 2023 Ryder Cup).
2025 LIV Golf Series
LIV Golf Adelaide
Grange Golf Club, Adelaide, South Australia
14th-16th February
He has publicly stated that the Ryder Cup snub was a huge reason he decided to defect to the controversial breakaway tour. Meronk was sensational last week, opening with a 62 and going on to win in wire-to-wire fashion (holding off Jon Rahm and Sebastian Munoz by two strokes). The tour now moves on to Adelaide for what is essentially LIV Golf’s answer to the Phoenix Open. LIV Golf Adelaide has been turned into the circus-stop of the tour, with drinking and raucous behavior actively encouraged. The Adelaide crowds have taken to this event: 94000 fans went through the turnstiles in last year’s edition. Which player will be able to withstand the carnival atmosphere and prevail this week?
Grange Golf Course is intrinsically connected to the journey of recently dismissed LIV architect Greg Norman. Norman won his first professional title here and would also go on to oversee a makeover of the course. This layout is a composite of the East and West Courses. It is located in the Adelaide Sandbelt (which is sometimes seen as the ugly stepsister to the more fancied Melbourne sandbelt). The Grange is a wonderfully quirky layout (especially compared to most other LIV courses). Measuring at a smidge under 7,000 yards, this sneaky little layout opens itself up to a variety of winners. Defending champ Brendon Steele is a fairly accurate driver and that could prove vital to success this week. There are a host of devilish red sand traps waiting to swallow your ball if you can’t find the right contours of the fairways. It’s probably also wise to look for players who can negotiate the gusty conditions common in this area.
Jon Rahm will go into this week as a clear favorite after yet another top ten finish in Riyadh (he is incredibly yet to finish outside the top ten in a LIV event). Bryson DeChambeau and Tyrell Hatton will both look to kick on after top ten finishes in Riyadh. Joaquin Niemann- who led the individual competition for much of last season- will look for an improved showing this week after finishing well down the field in Saudi Arabia. Elsewhere, the likes of Camerons Smith and March Leishman will want to impress in front of their fanatical home supporters.
Past Winners
2024: Brendan Steele (-18)
2023: Talor Gooch (-19)
Betting Favorites (To Win): Jon Rahm
Value Bet
Sergio Garcia
Veteran Spaniard Sergio Garcia enjoyed a stellar start to his 2025 LIV Golf campaign, finishing in a tie for 6th in last week’s event in Riyadh. Garcia was in excellent form towards the end of last season, finishing T20 in the United Kingdom, T8 at the Greenbrier and T2 in Chicago. He was a bastion of consistency on last year’s tour, frustratingly finishing runner-up on three separate occasions. The former Masters champ finished T11 here back in 2023 and should feel quite confident of going close this time out.
The Man to Beat- Jon Rahm
This is just one of those weeks where playing the favorite makes sense (especially considering this is LIV event with just 54 entrants). Last week, Rahm made a couple of poor putts towards the end that prevented him from challenging Meronk atop the table. He still finished in a tie for 2nd, keeping his relentless LIV Golf top ten streak alive. At first glance, one might not think Rahm the ideal choice for this chaotic atmosphere. He is notoriously temperamental and has complained about how tight the fans get to the fairways. Still, he finished in a tie for 3rd here last year and I think his near-miss in Riyadh could spur him on to victory this time out.
