ADELAIDE PREVIEW: IN-FORM FIREBALLS SKIPPER GARCIA WILL BE THE MAN TO WATCH IN ADELAIDE

ADELAIDE – With two playoff losses already this season, Fireballs GC Captain Sergio Garcia will be hoping to bring his brilliant ball-striking ability this week to a golf course he feels comfortable on and win his first career LIV Golf title in Adelaide.

Last year, Garcia made 16 birdies at The Grange in his three successive rounds of 4-under 68 to finish on 12-under total and in tied 11th place.

This season, the 44-year-old Spanish superstar has been in terrific form, finishing runner-up in Mayakoba after a four-hole playoff against Joaquin Niemann that finished in complete darkness, and then bossed on a demanding Trump National course at Doral before missing a short par putt on the 54th hole that would have ensured he finished a shot ahead of the eventual champion Dean Burmester.

Garcia, who is fourth in the Individual Standings, one ahead of his teammate Abraham Ancer, is ranked 8th in Fairways Hit, tied 6th in Greens in Regulation and is 4th in Scrambling. Those are stats that show he is hitting the ball extremely well off the tee and with his irons, and is solid when he misses the greens. The only category where he is lagging is Putting, averaging 28.87 putts per round to be tied 33rd.

In his quest to bring down his putting stats, Garcia has switched to a Never Compromise Reserve NC Contrast Model 4s putter this week. He has been using a Scotty Cameron Prototype El Nino in Miami and the Masters. He is the first LIV Golf player to use a custom-fitted putter from Dunlop Sports’ recently relaunched brand.

Ancer, fifth in Individual Standings, broke through in Hong Kong recently, where he prevailed against Paul Casey and Cameron Smith in a playoff. He then produced a top-10 finish in Miami, where he was 7-under for his weekend rounds.

That’s encouraging form from the two veterans in the all-Spanish speaking team, and it will also be a good time in Adelaide for the two youngsters – David Puig and Eugenio Chacarra – to make a meaningful contribution. Both have a tied 15th as their best result – Puig doing it twice in Las Vegas and Jeddah, and Chacarra in Hong Kong after a very encouraging opening two rounds.

Puig was tied 32nd in Adelaide last year, which included a good round of 67 on Saturday. But Chacarra did not have a great time Down Under, finishing tied 44th at even-par and broke par only in the second round (68).

Despite their individual results, Fireballs haven’t yet finished on the podium this year. Their best result was a tied 4th place in Miami. That’s definitely one thing Garcia and his men would like to change in Adelaide this week.