Next stop for LIV Golf: Australia. A country of great memories for David Puig, as just two months and ten days ago he claimed his first career victory there on the DP World Tour. He pocketed the BMW Australian PGA Championship. Interestingly, regarding that triumph, there is a funny coincidence that Puig invokes in the lead-up as if it were some Galician witches. The young man from La Garriga recalled that he travelled to Australia directly from Riyadh before winning the tournament, exactly the same as he has done this time, since last week they played in Saudi Arabia.
Obviously, it’s just a curious coincidence, but it never hurts to have all the forces that can be favourable to win a tournament on your side. Who knows if, just as he achieved his first victory on the DP World Tour, his desired first triumph on LIV Golf might come in the same way. “I played well here last year (they won as a team and David finished fourth individually). In fact, I practically made the same trip: I came from Arabia when I won the PGA and here I am again coming from Arabia once more. Hopefully, I can repeat what I did in Brisbane and have a good week personally and, of course, hopefully, we can defend the title and have a great week here in Adelaide.”
Beyond more or less esoteric conjectures, the real reason why a victory for Puig this Sunday should not be ruled out is his current form. He is playing great golf. Since the Open de España last October, the Catalan has played eight tournaments and finished in the top 10 five times, seven times among the top 20, and the only slip was at the Open de Australia, just the week after his victory. “I am very excited about this week and the season. I think all four of us are playing very good golf. I am too. Hopefully, we continue to play well this week and have a good season as a team,” he states.
Sergio García, the captain of the Fireballs, is keen to repeat last year’s victory. “It was a very fun celebration. Hopefully, it happens again. I am very proud and very happy with the team,” he assures. Regarding the world ranking points that have started to be awarded to LIV Golf, the man from Borriol does not believe it is the fairest, although he accepts it as a first step. “It doesn’t feel totally fair. It would be nice if it were expanded a bit more, as we believe it should be. Hopefully, it will come soon. When someone wins, that player will make a leap in the ranking, which is great. But every time you finish 11th or worse, you get a zero and also add another event to the divisor. That, in the not-too-distant future, can be very damaging.
In any case, it’s a step forward and it’s positive. In the end, it will help some of these guys, if they play well, to climb in the ranking. Hopefully, they play very well.”
What the 2017 Masters champion did not want to do was wade into the debate about whether THE PLAYERS should be considered a Major, something that stemmed from a promotional announcement released by the PGA Tour and to which Brandel Chamblee, Golf Channel specialist, gave a voice by claiming that in his view THE PLAYERS is a better tournament than the four Majors. “I am not going to talk about other tours, obviously, but I will be happy to claim a second major if that happens (referring to whether there should be a Major in Australia if THE PLAYERS were considered a Major). They will do what they think is best for them. It’s a different tour than the one I play. I focus here and this is an incredible event and we want to do well.”
Finally, regarding the change to 72 holes, Puig offered an interesting reflection. “For the best players of that week, it’s better because you have to perform one more day to win or finish high. For me, with three days, that first round was super important: if you started very well, you had chances to win and it was easier to finish high. However, if you had a bad first round, you were fighting for two days to get into the top 10 or top 15. I think now it is fairer and better.”
