HONG KONG PREVIEW: 4ACES GC LOOK TO REBOUND
Team: 4Aces Golf Club
Previous event team finish: 10th at LIV Golf Jeddah
Season-long team standings: 6th
Top finisher from previous event: Pat Perez, 22nd
Fun stat: Dustin Johnson is averaging 5.0 birdies per round, which ranks second on the LIV Golf League in 2024. Joaquin Niemann leads with 5.33.
Preview
It might be difficult to forecast how well 4Aces Golf Club will fare this week at LIV Golf Hong Kong when looking at the small sample size through three events. Is it the team that finished on the podium with a second-place finish in Las Vegas, or the team that has finished in 12th place and 10th place in the other two events?
An educated guess would lean toward the 4Aces being a major factor this week, and it has a lot to do with its depth. Consider last week in Jeddah. The team came out strong in Round 1 thanks to counting scores from Captain Dustin Johnson (66), Patrick Reed (65) and Pat Perez (68). But as Saturday started to go a little sour, the team didn’t fold. Perez and Harold Varner III posted their team’s only two under-par scores on Saturday, and Perez followed it up with a 67 on Sunday to finish 22nd for the week to lead the team.
That kind of depth in team golf will pay off more times than not, especially with Johnson and Reed rarely being out of sorts.
"Last week I played way better than what my score was and where I finished," Johnson said. "I was really happy with the way I played. I had a tough time on the greens. Some guys, a lot of guys struggled. It's just they're really difficult to read. I like these greens (in Hong Kong). They fit my eye. I feel like I'm rolling it really well. ... I'm excited for the week. I feel like the game is in really good form, and even last week, the result wasn't good, but I feel like I played way better than what my result was."
Hong Kong Golf Club at first glance might look to be a birdie show due to its length, but there is danger everywhere. The course measures approximately 6,700 yards, but water will come into play on nearly half of the holes. This is also a tree-lined course with tight fairways, so there is trouble on even the mildest of off-line drives.
A big key will not only be accuracy off the tee, but on approach shots. The greens are large, but there are severe slopes everywhere, making pin-point iron play a must.
This would seem to line up well with Reed’s style of play. His accuracy and legendary short game will fit nicely. Reed finished T-15 at the Hong Kong Open on this course in 2023, and T-3 in 2015.
Perez and Varner III will feel comfortable at Hong Kong Golf Club as well. They aren’t the longest of hitters but rely on accurate ball-striking and good touch on and around the greens.
Johnson is the rare big hitter who has no problem dialing it back and turning it into success. Expect a lot of long irons off the tee from DJ and a reliance on his impressive putting. He is averaging 1.56 putts per hole, which ranks a more-than-solid 12th overall through three events.