LIV Golf pro reacts to members' uproar over 'damage' at The Grange

Ben Smith's picture
Tue, 9 May 2023
LIV Golf pro reacts to members' uproar over 'damage' at The Grange

LIV Golf most certainly left its mark on Australia when the breakaway tour debuted in Adelaide. 

It will undoubtedly be remembered for Chase Koepka's hole-in-one at the 'watering hole' which sent the patrons into a frenzy

Related: LIV pro reacts to 'conspiracy theory' about Koepka's ace

There was an almighty beer shower as Koepka celebrated with Ian Poulter and Paul Casey

Over the course of the three-day, 54-hole event some 60,000 spectators were at The Grange to witness the tournament in what Greg Norman would describe as a golf-deprived area of the world. 

If you didn't know, The Grange is a private golf club where members pay $4,000 a year on top of a $7,000 joining fee.

Members' use of the course was disrupted in the build-up to the event so the club gave away free tickets. 

Per a report by Adelaide-based Advertiser, it appears that the majority of the members were happy with the PR and are content with LIV returning in 2024. 

A club survey reportedly stated that 86 per cent of members were satisfied or very satisfied with the event, seven per cent were neutral while the remainder were unhappy. 

One of those in the unhappy camp, it is clear to say, is Trevor Craig. Craig has been a member north of 40 years and told the paper that LIV was a 'profit-making circus' where the people 'paying the price are the members'. 

He told the paper:

"We're not a charity, we're a private club, and I don't think we've been compensated adequately. We're going to have a mess for six months and then it's going to be back again."

Barry Linke, the general manager of the club, told the publication:

"We have received many emails, letters and phone calls congratulating the club for delivering the event."

Related: Why LIV aren't getting OWGR points yet

One of the players who competed was of course England's Lee Westwood

He decided to simply post this in response to the 'uproar':

LIV Golf are playing their sixth event of their 2023 campaign this week in Tulsa, Oklahoma after back-to-back events overseas. 

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