The latest round of the LIV Tour takes place this week, starting with a shotgun start at 2.45am BST on Friday, when the field assembles down under in Adelaide.
Former world number one Jon Rahm will be looking to put his disappointing Masters behind him and is set to go off favourite, just ahead of Bryson DeChambeau, who claimed a sixth-placed finish at the Augusta showpiece.
- Joaquin Niemann to win LIV Golf Adelaide
- Bryson DeChambeau to win LIV Golf Adelaide
- Abraham Ancer to win LIV Golf Adelaide
Niemann Can Extend Form
New LIV recruit Jon Rahm heads the betting this week but the Spaniard is still trying to find the love for the new format and had a disappointing Masters as defending champion, so a trip to the other side of the world may not be what he is looking for right at this moment.
Local hopeful Cameron Smith will be popular in the betting after finishing sixth in the first Major of the year, but preference is for a Chilean player, who is enjoying an excellent start to the campaign.
Joaquin Niemann ticks a lot of boxes this week, not least because he has tasted two victories in the LIV season already after winning at Mayakoba and in Jeddah.
He has also performed well in traditional four-round events with a third place in the Oman Open and fourth in the Dubai Desert Classic, while he also adds some excellent recent results in Australia into the mix.
Niemann was fifth in the Australian PGA and won the Australian Open, a performance which helped him gain a special invite to Augusta, so he knows exactly what is required to be successful down under and we could witness another excellent performance this week.
DeChambeau To build On Augusta
While Rahm will reflect on a poor Augusta, one player who will be quite pleased with his effort will be Bryson DeChambeau, who stormed into the lead with a Thursday 65 and then managed to control himself when the going got tough to finish sixth.
Wide fairways in Adelaide should allow him to play to his strengths and the big-hitting boffin, who is never short of confidence, will have still been boosted by his performance a fortnight ago.
DeChambeau has posted top-ten finishes in the last four LIV tournaments and this could be the week when he finally makes his first breakthrough of the season.
Ancer Has Fond Memories
A player a little further down the field who could make his presence felt is Mexico’s Abraham Ancer.
This is a short track that could play to his strengths and he should be buzzing after coming out on top when LIV congregated in Hong Kong recently.
Ancer knows what it is like to taste victory in Australia after winning the Australian Open in 2018 and those memories could help him push on again to be a factor in this week’s Adelaide get-together.
