NORTH PLAINS — Standing on the 18th green, Branden Grace laughed as he got drenched by champagne. As if the onlookers at the LIV Golf Portland Invitational needed a visual reminder that he was about to be showered in wealth.
Shortly after Grace tapped in for par on the 54th hole Saturday to seal his victory at LIV Golf’s second event, fellow South African Louis Oosthuizen and an accomplice snuck onto the green at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club and started spraying Grace with bubbly. A crowd that spilled across the 18th fairway roared. A group of about 20 players, a few of them holding alcoholic beverages of their own, laughed as they watched from next to the green. LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman loomed over it all, watching the bleachers of a VIP tent positioned behind the green.
The scene was very un-golf, but perfectly LIV Golf. The upstart tour provided some drama on the course during the final round, as Grace came from two shots behind Dustin Johnson and Carlos Ortiz at the start of the day to win thanks to a seven-under par 65. But the LIV Golf experience has never primarily been about the play within the ropes.
The league has marketed itself as innovative, and it lured fans to Pumpkin Ridge with a fan village full of free, interactive attractions and concerts on the driving range after each round. It brought an informal vibe to a traditionally stuffy game, with players slapping five with fans, or even chatting with them, a common sight between shots. It allowed fans to get up close and personal with some of the biggest names in the sport — regardless of how well they were actually playing.
At one point Saturday, with Grace and Ortiz tied at 10 under par as they played the ninth hole, a slew of fans flocked about 50 yards away from the leaders to line the ropes at hole No. 1. Why? To catch a glimpse of Phil Mickelson, who at that point trailed by 18 shots. Mickelson finished 10 over par, tied for 40th place and 23 shots behind the lead.
Nevertheless, fans lobbed a mixture of compliments and ridiculous questions at him as he walked by, everything from “let me see those calves” to “who you got in Cubs-Sox tonight?” Nearly everyone used their phones to document the scene, and each of the dozen or so times Mickelson flashed his signature thumbs up, fans cheered.
More than anything else, LIV Golf is about money. Its prodigious funding, which the league has worn like a badge of honor, has both stirred controversy and helped it poach players from the PGA Tour. Another former winner is on the way, as the news that Paul Casey will join LIV Golf broke during Saturday’s round.
The money was on display all week, but never more so than as the leaders finished up on the 18th green. Pat Perez, fresh off shooting an 8-over 80, laughed as he put his arm over the shoulder of his wife. Perez would make $903,000 for finishing tied for 29th individually and being a part of the winning 4 Aces team. In nine events on the PGA Tour this season, Perez had earned a little more than $500,000.
“You can’t do that on other tours because normally on a Saturday it’s your third round, if you shoot 80, you’re gone, you’re totally done,” Perez said. “We got the pom-poms out and we were rooting for the boys.”
When Ortiz made a birdie putt from about 30 feet, which had no impact on his second-place individual finish, the three players on his Fireballs team jumped up and down and hugged in celebration. The putt broke a tie between their team and Torque GC for third place, earning each $125,000 in addition to their individual prize money.
Grace earned $4 million for his individual win, plus another $375,000 for being part of the second-place Stinger GC team. The $4.35 million total payday nearly doubled his best career year on the PGA Tour — he made $2.88 million in 2015-16.
The exorbitant signing bonuses and prize money have prompted some to wonder how much the LIV golfers care about their actual performance. But Johnson said the allure of a massive payday has given him more to play for.
“I’ve got more motivation to play well and work hard,” he said. “We are playing for a lot of money, and I want to win.”
The leading threesome certainly appeared motivated on the course. Ortiz, who entered the day tied with Johnson for the lead, looked initially like he might cruise to a victory. He birdied three of the first four holes, and when Grace bogeyed the fourth, Ortiz found himself four shots clear of the nearest competitor and five ahead of Grace.
But Ortiz played the rest of the round even par, and Grace wouldn’t make another bogey. Birdies on both the eighth and 10th holes tied Grace with Ortiz at 10 under. Then Grace holed a birdie putt from about 20 feet on No. 13 to claim his first lead of the tournament. Two holes later, his chip from just off the green rolled into the hole, prompting Grace to lift his wedge into the air with his left hand and then fist pump with his right. A final birdie on the par-5 17th hole assured Grace of a first-place finish, allowing for his final hole to serve as a coronation.
“I’m no Tiger, but that was as close as I’m going to get to feeling what Tiger feels like,” Grace said. “Coming down the 18th with everybody just surrounding you, chanting your name, it was amazing. I’ve never experienced anything like that.”
The post-round party extended beyond the 18th green. More champagne was sprayed at the trophy presentation. Four of the six players who spoke to reporters at the post-round news conference arrived with drinks in hand. They grinned at one another like the whole thing was an inside joke.
For LIV Golf, that’s all part of the plan. While the Saudi pockets may be deep, the funds aren’t endless, and the path to long-term viability for the league almost certainly includes inking a TV contract. In order to do that, the league needs to continue to bolster its star power. LIV Golf plans to lure others through fear of missing out, and not just on the paychecks.
“This week was absolutely insane,” Patrick Reed said. “It was so much fun. … The guys that do come are just going to absolutely love it, and the guys that don’t, they’re missing out. This is the best thing I’ve ever been a part of, and I can’t wait just to keep on going and having some more fun with it.”
— Mitchell Forde for The Oregonian/OregonLive
