LIV Golf Adelaide 2026 preview, picks & analysis

One down, 13 to go. And this week the LIV Golf circus moves to Adelaide in Australia where 12 months ago it claimed to have attracted crowds of around 100,000. 

If you watched any of the action from Riyadh then you do not need me to tell you that the galleries were sparse, to say the very least.

Of course, the home gallery this week will be hoping for big things from Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman but the reality is that they are unlikely to be the focus of attention. Former Open champion Smith has been struggling horribly with his game in recent months and he showed little in Saudi Arabia to demonstrate that anything is about to change in the immediate future.

However, there will be plenty of attention for another Aussie, Elvis Smylie, who won in Riyadh on his LIV debut and will be looking for more this week.

(Image by Pedro Salado/LIV Golf)

Last week’s first 72-hole LIV tournament was played under floodlights so this week marks the first time they will have tackled four rounds in normal conditions.

Last year, Chile's Joaquin Niemann shot a final round of 65 to claim the LIV Golf Adelaide title, finishing on 13-under par to win by three shots. Niemann trailed by three shots at the start of the day's play at the Grange Golf Club, coming out on top prevailing in a battle with Abraham Ancer to win his third LIV Golf title. 

Niemann said: "I'm starting to feel the chills now because I didn't want to get out of the game rhythm because you never know what could happen, but now I feel that relief and it feels awesome." He started the day on six-under par but had pulled himself into contention by the time he reached the turn, picking up four shots to put pressure on Ancer, who had been flawless after birdies at the first two holes to take the lead.

Another birdie at the 12th by Niemann, his fifth of the round, saw him draw level with Ancer, who responded with a birdie of his own to go back in front. But Ancer failed to get up and down from a bunker at the par-three 14th to drop his first shot of the day. And while Ancer got it back at the 16th, he missed his first fairway of the day on the 17th, going on to drop out of the lead with another bogey.

Niemann held his nerve to birdie the last, and Ancer’s chances ended when he dropped another at the last to slip into a share for second with Carlos Ortiz.

Niemann and Talor Gooch have enjoyed tremendous success with LIV. And if Phil Mickelson is to be believed, Niemann is one of the best golfers in the world. 

He was the world’s number one ranked amateur for 44 weeks, from May 2017 to April 2018, when he turned professional. He won the 2018 Latin America Amateur Championship, gaining him a place in the field for The Masters the same year.

He turned professional before the 2018 Texas Open, where he finished sixth in his pro debut. He earned Special Temporary Member Status on the PGA Tour for the rest of 2018 with a T6 finish at the Memorial, his third top-ten in only five starts. He earned a PGA Tour card for 2018-19 after a fourth top-10 finish in eight tournaments.

In September 2019, Niemann won The Greenbrier for his first PGA Tour victory. He became the first PGA Tour winner from Chile, and the youngest international PGA Tour winner since 1923.

In December 2019, he played on the International team at the Presidents Cup but was on the losing side as the USA won 16-14.

In January 2021, Niemann shot a final round 64 at the Tournament of Champions but lost in a playoff to Harris English. The following week he finished tied second at the Sony Open. He also lost in a playoff at the Rocket Mortgage.

In February 2022, Niemann won the Genesis Invitational and in August that year announced that he was joining LIV Golf. He won the Australian Open at the end of 2023.

On 4 February 2024, Niemann shot a 12-under-par 59 in the first round of the LIV Golf Mayakoba in Mexico. He won the event in a playoff with Sergio Garcia for his first individual LIV Golf title. Later in the year he also won LIV Golf Jeddah. 

And he enjoyed an incredible 2025, winning five times on the LIV Tour.

Tournament Winners:

It was won in 2024 by Cameron Smith and last year by Joaquin Niemann.

Form Guide:

Talor Gooch and defending champion Joaquin Niemann have dominated proceedings in recent months and there is little reason to expect anything different this week.

The Course:

The Grange Golf Club celebrates its 100th birthday this year. It was carved out of swampland and was the scene of Greg Norman’s maiden professional victory. It is well bunkered, features lots of tricky drop-off areas and contoured greens. It is a par 72 measuring 7,025 yards.

Prize Money:

The individual winner this week will pick up $4m.

How to Watch:

Thursday, February 12-Sunday, February 15, TNT Sports, 12.30am.

To Win:

Talor Gooch. Making money for fun

Each Way:

Joaquin Niemann. Class act

Each Way:

Bryson DeChambeau. Always fun to watch

Five to Follow:

Talor Gooch. Dominant

Joaquin Niemann. Has few weaknesses

Bryson DeChambeau. Crowd favourite

Ben An. Sweet swinger

Elvis Smylie. Hits a LOT of fairways