South Australia Premier Peter Malinauskas says that LIV Golf is “welcome back in Adelaide, but warns that the state government is ‘not going to pay for anything that doesn’t deliver,’” according to Thomas Kelsall of ABC.net.au. LIV’s annual event at Adelaide has been a success, with the event at the Grange Golf Club one of the league’s “biggest money-spinners.” But as LIV looks for new investment with the PIF pulling out, Malinauskas believes that LIV’s “business model was ‘their problem.’” He said, “What matters is that we get what we pay for, and on that score, I don’t think there’s any doubt about the fact that it’s been a massive success for our state.” Malinauskas said that LIV had “already signalled to the state government that it was looking at different business plans.” Malinauskas: “We welcome that, and we’ll be at the front of the queue if it stacks up for us. I don’t owe LIV anything. The people I owe and care about are the people of South Australia, and I’ll make my decisions about what’s in the best interest for the state writ large.” He added, “Thus far, it’s been a massive success. Whether it is in the future or not will depend on whether or not it stacks up for us” (ABC.net.au, 5/6). CODE SPORTS’ Adam Pengilly wrote LIV Golf player Cameron Smith is “‘absolutely’ confident the embattled LIV Golf will return to Adelaide next year.” Smith said, “The team are working hard behind the scenes and they’re doing everything we can for us” (CODE SPORTS, 5/6).

NOT JUST ANY TOURNAMENT: AUSTRALIAN GOLF DIGEST’s Nick Cutler wrote Adelaide has “not just been ‘another’ tournament added to the calendar.” It has “felt like it always belonged.” It is a “reminder of what golf in this country can look like when we are not treated as an afterthought.” If it “disappears, it will not just leave a gap,” it will “leave the game here far worse off.” When it is LIV Golf week in Adelaide, “you can feel it.” Not just “in the galleries, but in the way people talk about the event.” The city is “buzzing and the tournament matters to the people there.” It “feels like something you need to be at.” Then “there is the crowd,” with more than 115,000 people across the week in Adelaide. That is “not normal for golf in this country.” Australian golf fans “will show up if the product is right.” It does “not just appeal to the traditional golf fan.” It “brings in a different crowd,” one that is “younger, more casual, and more open to a version of golf that does not feel locked in the past” (AUSTRALIAN GOLF DIGEST, 5/6).

DERAILING THE FOCUS: In D.C., George Gerbo wrote LIV is back in Northern Virginia this week, though as it returns to the area for the third time, the league is “shrinking and on life support.” The conversation surrounding the tournament this spring has “nothing to do with what’s happening on the course.” LIV Golf Virginia once again occurs ahead of a major — last year, it was the U.S. Open; this year, it is the PGA Championship. This year’s event “will be missing some of the firepower” that played in 2025, both from its departed stars as well as the absence of Phil Mickelson “due to a family health matter” (WASHINGTON TIMES, 5/6).