ADELAIDE PREVIEW: 4ACES GC SET TO DEFEND TEAM TITLE IN AUSTRALIA
Team: 4Aces Golf Club
Previous event team finish: 8th at LIV Golf Miami
Season-long team standings: 7th
Top finisher from previous event: Dustin Johnson, 6th
Fun stat: 4Aces GC’s short game is excelling. The team is third in scrambling (66.2%) and tied for second in putting average (1.58).
Preview
The good vibes are flowing this week for 4Aces Golf Club as it returns to The Grange Golf Club to defend its team title at LIV Golf Adelaide.
It was an amazing overall scoring performance for 4Aces GC in 2023, when it combined to shoot 47 under during the three days, including a League-best 18 under in the final round. In fact, all four players from last year’s team finished in the top 10 in individual standings, including current team members Patrick Reed (T-3), Pat Perez (T-3) and Captain Dustin Johnson (10th).
The timing of the event – and the location – appears to line up perfectly to get one of the team’s best players going. Reed can not only look back to this venue last season and draw confidence from his podium finish, but he can also look back to earlier this month for an extra boost. Reed started the season a little slow, with his best finish in the first four events coming at the season-opening LIV Golf Mayakoba, where he claimed a tie for 17th.
But earlier this month at LIV Golf Miami, Reed posted his first top-10 finish of the season with a tie for ninth. It came at legendarily difficult Doral, where all parts of a player’s game are tested. Reed put it all together off the tee, his ball-striking was on point, and his well-known fantastic short game was dialed in. It all lines up for a successful week in Australia for Reed, who currently sits 30th in the season-long individual standings.
Johnson is also trending nicely entering Adelaide. The two-time major champion flashed nicely to start the season, finished T-5 in the season opener before hoisting the hardware and winning the individual title at LIV Golf Las Vegas. Since then, his best finish in three events is a T-21 in Hong Kong, but like Reed, Adelaide will bring back some positive thoughts. In 2023, Johnson finished 10th and was particularly outstanding on the weekend when he combined to shoot 12-under par on Saturday and Sunday. Johnson currently sits sixth in the standings and a likely jump is in the cards.
Teammate Harold Varner III has found his footing after a slow start to the season and is settling in nicely with his new team. Varner III is 38th in the standings entering Adelaide and a recent T-15 finish in Hong Kong might be what kickstarts his season. He will welcome playing The Grange Golf Club this week, considering last season he shot a stellar 8-under 64 in Round 2.
Pat Perez has contributed nicely when his team has needed him but is looking to put his T-48 finish at LIV Golf Miami behind him. Just like his teammates, Perez, who sits 42nd in the standings, has fond memories of Adelaide. He finished in sixth place here last year after shooting three consecutive 5-under 67s.