NASHVILLE RECAP: 4ACES GC FIND POSITIVES FROM THE GROVE

COLLEGE GROVE, Tenn. – 4Aces Golf Club entered the week on a positive trend after finishing T4 in Houston. A second-half surge seemed all but assured, but a slight step back at LIV Golf Nashville will force the team to look ahead to Spain next month to make a jump in the standings.

A slow start at The Grove put 4Aces GC in a tough position, and despite gritty efforts from all involved, the hole proved too deep. The result was a ninth-place finish as the team remained 10th in the season-long team standings.

Round 1 was a study in frustration as the counting scores combined for 2-over par. But there were no bad outliers on Friday as Harold Varner III shot even par while his teammates Pat Perez, Patrick Reed and Captain Dustin Johnson all shot 1-over 72s. In short, they were close to putting it all together and one low score away from a better position on the team leaderboard.

The players bounced back Saturday when they all shot under par. But Varner III was the team’s star after his stirring 7-under 64 which included eight birdies and only one bogey. He entered the final round T7 and just six shots off the lead, but Varner III couldn’t get much going on Sunday and shot an even-par 71.

Pat Perez was the team’s main storyline in the final round. He entered 1 under through the first two rounds but erupted for a 7-under 64 on Sunday to vault up the leaderboard and finish T14. Perez had seven birdies and no bogeys in challenging conditions for his best finish of the season.

Teammate Patrick Reed also found some magic in the final round. The 2018 Masters champion was even par after the first two rounds, but he posted an impressive 4-under 67 on Sunday to finish the week T32.

The Grove proved to be challenging for some teams but a good fit for others. With wide fairways, the thought entering the week was that the longer hitters would have an advantage due to having shorter irons entering greens. But the fast greens, slippery slopes and tricky fall-offs proved to be a bigger challenge than first expected, and those who were on top of their short games benefited most.

Couple that with dry, hot and humid weather, and the greens became even more challenging as the week wore on. Multiple players commented on how true the greens were rolling, and some even said they were similar to those at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 the previous week. So, it was no surprise that some of the League’s better short-game players who are not necessarily the longest bombers played well.

The team will now reset, rest and prepare for LIV Golf Andalucía at Real Club Valderrama in Spain from July 12-14.