NASHVILLE PREVIEW: 4ACES GC TRENDING NICELY ENTERING THE GROVE

Team: 4Aces Golf Club
Previous event team finish: 4th
Season-long team standings: 10th
Top finisher from previous event: Patrick Reed, T3
Fun stat: Patrick Reed led the field in Putting Average in Houston (1.46) and needed only 79 putts.

Preview

The second half of the 2024 LIV Golf League season began two weeks ago in Houston. It was there where 4Aces Golf Club would find out which team it would be for the remainder of the year. Would it be the team that finished second in Las Vegas where its captain, Dustin Johnson, won the individual trophy, or the team that finished 10th or worse in three of seven events.

So, after a fourth-place finish in Houston where it was one of the best teams through two rounds, it’s clear 4Aces GC is primed and ready for a strong run. That brings us to LIV Golf Nashville, the inaugural event at The Grove where the team enters 10th in the season-long standings.

Johnson continues to lead the way for his club. The two-time major champion is tops on the team in the individual season-long standings at No. 7 and has back-to-back top-13 finishes on the LIV Golf League. Johnson is coming off a missed cut at the U.S. Open at brutally hard Pinehurst No. 2, but his game wasn’t out of sorts during rounds of 74 and 75. He is seventh on LIV Golf in birdies per round (4.63), ninth in greens in regulation (73.1%) and ninth in driving distance (309.0). In short, he’s close to his early-season form when he opened the year with a T5 and a win.

Perhaps the best news for the team is the recent play of Patrick Reed. The 2018 Masters champion finished in third place in Houston, just two shots behind the winner and was consistent throughout, shooting rounds of 67-68-68. Reed is 20th in the standings but expect him to make a jump considering his recent form.

Teammates Harold Varner III and Pat Perez have done their jobs at times, but the club is looking for more consistency. Varner III finished 3 under for the week in Houston and contributed a solid 3-under 69 on Sunday when all four scores counted. Perez was on form on Saturday with a 68 but finished with a 77 in the final round.

Now they enter LIV Golf Nashville, which might prove to be a crucial week on the schedule. The Grove was designed by LIV Golf League CEO Greg Norman and is a treasure tucked into one of the lushest landscapes in the Nashville area. One of the most challenging aspects of the layout is McCrory Creek, which winds throughout holes and is known as one of the most beguiling natural hazards in competitive golf.

The water features don't stop there. There are plenty of ponds surrounding greens and fairways, which offer true risk-reward opportunities for all skill sets. The course also begs players to take chances, and if executed correctly, the payoffs are huge. The greens should be fast this week and the fairways are generous. Couple that with elevation changes and The Grove should provide plenty of drama.