LIV Golf Set Up a Celebration, and a Golf Tournament Broke Out

Centurion Club had plenty of pomp for the first event of the startup series, but after the shotgun start players said 'it was just golf.'

HERTFORDSHIRE, England – The first LIV Golf International Series went off Thursday with all the bells and whistles you would expect from an entity that has unlimited to funds to put on a show along with a golf tournament.

There were the Grenadier Guards, a faux version of the Buckingham Palace institution known as the Queen’s Guard, doing their duty in and around the Centurion Club.

There were the London cabs, staged perfectly outside the course to shuttle players to their respective tees for the shotgun start, a different format not typically seen at a professional tournament golf.

There were The Blades, a formation of planes zooming overhead as music blared and play got underway at exactly 2:15 p.m. local time.

And then ... it was a golf tournament.

“Once you got going, it was just golf for me,’’ said Charl Schwartzel, who leads fellow South African Hennie Du Plessis by one shot after an opening-round 65. “But the start was a little bit different.’’

Well, yes, about that start. The shotgun start. Schwartzel began his round on the 3rd tee. When he got there, he was the only one. Wade Ormsby and Graeme McDowell had yet to arrive.

Schwartzel wondered if something was amiss. “I called Graeme and asked him, “Am I in the right place?’’

He was.

While there’s been considerable angst around the start of a new endeavor such as this, including the defection of several PGA Tour players – with more to come – competing in a new format that includes teams, shotgun starts, just 54 holes and whopping sums of money, it evolved into something you’d come to expect at any professional golf event.

The crowds were not nearly as big as you will see next week at The Country Club for the U.S. Open or at the this week’s RBC Canadian Open, the PGA Tour event being played for the first time in three years due to COVID-19 cancellations.

But it was similar to what you might witness on an early-morning telecast on Golf Channel of a European Tour (now DP World) event in some faraway locale, with a good number of spectators in prominent positions and a smattering elsewhere.

And there were some other familiar sights, such as Phil Mickelson hitting from the trees or Dustin Johnson standing over a missed putt or Kevin Na – sometimes – walking one in.

There was the seemingly effortless swing of Louis Oosthuizen, and the look of annoyance from Sergio Garcia and renewed good play of Schwartzel.

“Don't get me wrong, this is the type of golf course that you need to be focused on what you're doing,’’ said Garcia, who shot 71. “It's not an easy golf course. You have to drive the ball very, very well. It's very tight. I missed just two drives, and I paid heavily for it.

“So obviously it's something that you have to be very focused on, and it's a very solid golf course.’’

Phil Mickelson was playing for the first time in more than four months, since the final round of the PIF Saudi International tournament, where he finished 17th. It was the last tournament he played before his life was turned upside down over his involvement with LIV and comments he made about the PGA Tour.

After a slow start, Mickelson settled down to play the back nine in 3 under par and shoot 69, trailing Schwartzel by four.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve played, so I don’t know. It seemed awfully fun," Mickelson said. "The people were terrific and it was fun to hit some good shots and get in a competitive frame of mind again. I really enjoyed it.

“It’s a very cool energy here.’’

When it was complete – and basically, all finished at the same time due to the shotgun start – the festivities began again. Players were driven back to the clubhouse in those London cabs. They went to a scoring area to sign and attest their scorecards. A few met with media members.

And then the music started up again, the planes flew overhead and a concert with James Morrison and James Bay was set to commence. And it continued into the evening.

LIV Golf spared no expense to put on this golf tournament in a matter of two and a half months. It shook up the golf world in the process.

But once inside the ropes, well … it was golf.