RIPPERS HOPE HOME ADVANTAGE IS A BLESSING, NOT A CURSE
ADELAIDE, South Australia – Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith expects the home crowds to be "epic" at this week's LIV Golf Adelaide. His teammate Matt Jones predicts that the Australian fans will go crazy.
For the all-Australian Rippers, the main question to be answered at The Grange Golf Club this week is whether the team's massive home advantage will be a blessing or a curse.
One year ago, the inaugural LIV Golf Adelaide established itself as the league's gold standard for attendance and enthusiasm. More than 77,000 fans were onsite for the three rounds of competition and this week's number will be even higher, making it one of the most attended golf events ever held in the Southern hemisphere.
However, last year the Rippers fell short in their quest to win the team title in front of boisterous home fans. Although Smith closed with a 6-under 66 to secure fourth place on the individual leaderboard, the Aussie foursome ended up eighth out of 12 in the team standings after perhaps striving too hard for success under the weight of expectation.
"Home advantage can definitely be a good thing and a bad thing at the same time," Smith said during a Rippers press conference at The Grange on Wednesday. "Obviously the support from the fans is amazing, but internally I think sometimes you can get caught out just trying a little bit too hard, trying to make a putt go in, trying to hit a shot close.
"I think the prep has been a little bit better this year. We probably haven't had as many commitments to do outside the golf course, which is nice, so we've had a little bit more time on the course. We've just got to treat it like another week, although it's really not for us. This is probably our biggest week of the year."
Jones, the “senior citizen” on the Rippers team, had a different take on the blessing-versus-curse aspect of home advantage.
"I don't think we feel the pressure to perform," said the 44-year-old from Sydney. "We give ourselves enough pressure that we want to win and play well every week and just because it's at home, that doesn't really change. We still want to perform and play as well as we can.
"Last year, the crowds were amazing and it's going to be even bigger this year. I'm expecting the Australian fans to go crazy."
Marc Leishman believes that lessons learned from 12 months ago and various adjustments made by the Rippers in their preparation for Friday's opening round will have a positive impact on their chances this week.
"We got in a day earlier just to spread everything out and get practice done early in the week," he said before heading to the clubhouse. "Obviously a lot of commitments closer to the tournament, but the key was to not feel underdone when we got to the event, not feel really tired and not feel like we hadn't got enough time on the golf course. We've done all that already, so we have changed it up and used our experience from last year to prepare better."
Asked what was the biggest lesson learned from last year, Leishman replied: "I think just trying too hard. You don't play your best golf when you're trying too hard and it's pretty easy to do that when you've got 30,000 people out there each day all hoping that you play well. So we are going to just try and enjoy it, and we will enjoy it. And just remember to breathe and do all the important things!"
Following LIV Golf's wildly successful debut in South Australia last year, the tournament was named World's Best Golf Event in 2023 by the World Golf Awards. That honor came as no surprise to Ripper GC.
"Last year exceeded all expectations for all of us," said Jones. "The atmosphere, especially for walking up the 18th hole for the first time when we walked on the green, people started cheering before we'd even hit a shot. Got on the tee, they started cheering. To have even more people this year will make the experience that much better. I'm looking forward to it, and I think it's going to be amazing."
The Rippers have yet to taste team victory this season but they came close in Hong Kong last month before finishing third after a dramatic final round of fluctuating fortunes.
Asked what they needed to do differently to secure a team victory, Jones replied: "It's just a matter of getting the scores to count and for each of us to play well. We have all played well in a tournament, here and there. But all four of us haven't played well in one event, and that is really what you need to win."
Smith would love to see his team triumph this week on home soil.
"It would be really cool to get our first win here," he said. "It would be pretty epic, and it's definitely been on our mind. We probably haven't ham-and-egged it the best this year. We've had a few good finishes individually but haven't quite got it across for the team.
"Hopefully this is the week where it all comes together. We learned a lot from last year, and the preparation has definitely been better already."
Has the preparation been sufficient, and will Ripper GC's home advantage be a blessing or a curse? Come Sunday evening at The Grange, the answers to those two questions will be revealed.