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LIV Golf set an attendance record during last week’s tournament in Australia – but two flashpoints involving fans were cause for unease amongst officials.

More than 94,000 visited the Grange Golf Club in Adelaide, with many packed into the party-style par-3 12th which is dubbed the ‘Watering Hole.’

During the second round, home favourite Lucas Herbert made a birdie on the 12th, but his caddie was left hurt after being struck on the head with a water bottle. The behaviour was widely ridiculed on social media.

Then, in the breakaway league’s first ever team playoff on Sunday, Dean Burmester was heard hitting back at a spectator whilst competing for the all-South African Stinger team.

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Burmester and playing partner Louis Oosthuizen were up against the Aussie Ripper GC duo Cam Smith and Marc Leishman on the second play-off hole. The 34-year-old was preparing to hit his second shot into the par-4 18th and asked for the large crowds to be quiet so he could play.

Clearly unhappy with some spectators who were perched in a tree, Burmester was picked up on the hot mics saying: “Are you serious? Shut the f*** up.” Burmester’s approach went long into the bunker and his Stinger team were ultimately defeated by the home favourites.

His exchange with the unruly fans certainly caused a stir, however, and became a point of discussion on The Chipping Forecast with DP World Tour pro Eddie Pepperell, Andrew Cotter and Iain Carter.

“I don’t know if I would have the courage to tell someone to shut the F up on the golf course, but I would certainly be thinking it,” Pepperell joked. “To Iain’s point, ironically for LIV the team event probably helped it — the team element helped that event this week.

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“Brendan Steele isn’t, like you say, a big name winner, but actually it was the team side of things that created that whole thing on the 18th there. So ironically for LIV, this time around, the team element clearly added to it.

“But I’m with Ian, of course, and I suspect yourself Andrew, I find it relatively unpalatable generally.

“I don’t think that it’s a direction golf necessarily needs to go in and, of course, when you have a player in contention telling the crowd to shut the F up I mean… I don’t see how that’s positive on balance.”

The Adelaide showpiece, meanwhile, is being viewed as the benchmark for LIV, which heads to Singapore this week.

“In our league’s short history, LIV Golf Adelaide has become a ‘can’t miss’ event on Australia’s calendar of major international sporting events and this week, we raised the bar once again,” said commissioner Greg Norman.

Ripper GC captain Smith added: “This week has far exceeded my vision for what was ahead. I think I always knew internally that Australia would really embrace LIV with the culture, with the music, with the entertainment, everything that goes on around it.”

topics

LIV Golf Eddie Pepperell Dean Burmester

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.