One of the sneaky news bits of the week is that LIV Golf’s future road map includes plans for “home-team” events, a move that could help to bolster the league’s struggling team dynamic. From the looks of things at The Grange, however, Ripper G.C. captain Cam Smith already has a formidable homefield advantage cooking as Australian golf fans trampled the ropes and stormed the 18th fairway as Smith wrapped up his opening round on Thursday.

This has shades of Phil Mickelson at Kiawah in 2021and Tiger Woods at East Lake in 2018. But instead of following ailing legends who rekindled their former glory for One Last Ride™, the gallery at LIV Golf Adelaide was following a 30-year-old guy with a mullet at a tournament that’s not even eligible for world rankings points. That’s not even a shot at LIV or Smith, who finished five shots back of leader Jinchiro Kozuma on Thursday. It’s just to say that the context here—especially on day one, with nothing on the line—is very different.

Kudos to the Aussie golf fans for showing up and showing out, though. Regardless of the stakes (or lack thereof), golf needs as much buzz and excitement as it can get right now and it’s nice to know we can rely on our party-loving friends Down Under to keep the fire hot and the beers cold.