LIV Golf Riyadh: Final Round Live Blog
- SHANK
- Feb 7
- 8 min read
2023 GMT Excellent coverage from TNT Sports - Oliver Wilson explains how he has enjoyed his first LIV Golf event, fair, balanced and honest coverage from start to finish. They were not afraid to criticise LIV Golf when they felt it necessary but this was a refreshing change from what we have seen for so long on Sky. TNT complimented and added to the worldwide feed seamlessly.
So, that concludes the live blog from the final round of LIV Golf Riyadh. Keep an eye out for the final day report later, and more exclusive content coming up next week ahead of LIV Golf Adelaide.
2020 GMT It is good to see that the trophies for LIV Golf event are now particular to that event, the Arabic coffee pot for the champions of LIV Golf Riyadh, and it was spring water sprayed by the winning team, Ripper GC, in an alcohol-free nation - they still did the shoey!
2010 GMT Excellent post-round Analysis from Craig Doyle and Oliver Wilson for TNT Sports, I am hoping they still show the podium celebrations, as that is one of the elements which separate LIV Golf from the rest.
2002 GMT What a performance from Elvis Smylie, even when it looked like it could get a bit stressful over the last couple of holes he ensured he didn't buckle, and is the first winner on debut since Henrik Stenson in the first season of LIV Golf.
1958 GMT Magnificent, unflappable, unbeatable. Australian Elvis Smylie wins on LIV Golf League debut, to put his name up in lights in Riyadh. Tonight, for Elvis, Anyplace is Paradise, but that place is the Riyadh Golf Club. The 23-year-old puts Jon Rahm in Heartbreak Hotel, and leaves the LIV Golf League All Shook Up.
Ripper GC won the team title, and the Australians head home as the leaders of the pack in LIV Golf.
1950 GMT Smylie's approach to the last hole comes up just short from the rough, he has two putts to win and avoid a playoff with Jon Rahm
1940 GMT Smylie's caddie has been extraordinary all night, concise instructions, speaks when required and puts no doubt in Elvis' mind
1939 GMT Smylie buries the par putt at 17 and he leads by one with one hole to play
1938 GMT Rahm's eagle putt just misses on the high side, he birdies and finishes with four consecutive birdies to post 23-under-par in the clubhouse, back to 17....
1936 GMT Oh dear, Smylie's long putt at the 17th is low, left and short, he will have just shy of five feet to avoid a first bogey of the night
1929 GMT OH MY GOODNESS ME. Jon Rahm drives the 18th green to inside 30 feet, he will have a putt to reach -24 and tie the lead!
1927 GMT Tonight, for Elvis Smylie, Anyplace Is Paradise, the place is Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Australian birdies the 16th to move 3 clear before Rahm rolls in a fine putt at 17 to move to -22. 2 shot lead with 2 holes to play.
1920 GMT Smylie puts the hammer down! A sensational approach to the 16th green, he has four feet for birdie which would surely close the door on any challengers. This is breathtaking.
1917 GMT Magnificent drive from Smylie at 16 he could be just a few good swings from the biggest win of his career - his win in the 2024 Australian PGA Championship earned him 13.02837 OWGR points which took him from outside the top 700 to inside the top 300 on the World Rankings, a win here could push him inside the top 100
1908 GMT A stunner from Jon Rahm at 16 and he has a tap in for birdie to reach -21, and Smylie shows the first chink of nerves, with a missed birdie putt from 6 feet at the 15th
1857 GMT This is quite remarkable. Elvis Smylie rolls in a fabulous birdie putt to make it three in a row, and he has the trophy by one hand now, 3 clear at -23 with 4 to play. What a performance. Smylie's first professional win came on the DP World Tour/PGA Tour of Australasia at the 2024 Australian PGA Championship.
1850 GMT The individual and team titles look like they are going Down Under, but both are still up for grabs over the final five holes, meanwhile we have a four-way tie for 10th place (OWGR points) including Bryson DeChambeau, Talor Gooch, Branden Grace, Byeong-Hun An and Carlos Ortiz, all -15
1845 GMT Lots to smile about for Elvis so far, yet another easy birdie for this unflappable Australian and he is 22-under-par and two strokes clear of Thomas Detry and David Puig with 5 holes to play. Are we watching the next Australian great in this sport?
1822 GMT It is absolutely superb from Elvis Smylie, he stripes yet another sublime approach to the 12th hole and he will have inside 10 feet for another birdie
1812 GMT 8 holes to play and Thomas Detry and David Puig have moved to within 1 shot of Smylie, the youth was one of the big stories ahead of this season, and Puig and Smylie fit into that category
1758 GMT ELVIS SMYLIE BIRDIES THE 10TH HOLE TO REACH 20-UNDER-PAR, he leads by 2 from Rahm, Detry and Uihlein
1756 GMT Uihlein's chip lips out for eagle at the 10th, and Smylie will have a putt to move to -21
1750 GMT 2 shots cover the leading 7 players with 9 holes to play, and Jon Rahm is now 1 back after birdie at the 10th hole, this is heading towards being a stunning finish
1740 GMT 9 holes to play and at the moment we are set for an Australian party in the desert. Smylie leads by 1 shot, Ripper GC leads by 2.
1727 GMT This has been a brilliant display of front running from Smylie so far, a reminder, he is 23 years of age and playing in his first LIV Golf event in unusual conditions and surroundings, and in the company of giants.
1715 GMT Jon Rahm birdies the 8th and he is just 2 off the lead
1658 GMT Uihlein has a chance for eagle at the 6th but his putt comes up well short, Smylie birdies the hole and leads by 1
1646 GMT Rahm's putt lips out and its a massive missed chance for the Spaniard, meanwhile Bryson DeChambeau makes a third birdie of the day to move to 5 back of the lead
1645 GMT Poor chip from Rahm at the sixth hole but he will have 6 or 7 feet for birdie to move 1 back of the lead
1632 GMT The battle for OWGR points is looking very interesting indeed! And Smylie birdies the fourth hole to regain a share of the lead at -18
1624 GMT Peter Uihlein ties Smylie at -17, and Rahm moves to 1 shot back, with 14 holes to play we are surely set for a dramatic conclusion.
1923 GMT Cam Smith has birdied three holes in a row and Ripper GC are moving away, 4 clear of Torque GC
1619 GMT Gooch bounces back at the third and is 2 shots off the lead as Smylie saves par from the desert
1605 GMT Jon Rahm birdies the par five third hole to move to -15 and two shots off the lead
1559 GMT Gooch bogeys the 2nd hole to fall three shots back of Smylie
1547 GMT Elvis is in the Building! Smylie birdies the first hole to take the lead and give Ripper GC the lead too!
1541 GMT Ripper GC and Torque GC are already tied for the lead at -46. Imagine if Ripper GC win the team title, and Elvis Smylie wins the individual and they head to Adelaide to get a heroes welcome next week.
1534 GMT Bryson DeChambeau has started his final round with a birdie at the par-five third hole, and has hit a stunning drive at the fourth to less than 20 yards from the green on a 419-yard hole. The Captain of Crushers GC is still five shots off the lead. The lead group have teed off on the first hole, and Uihlein has found the sand left, and Elvis Smylie has found the fairway. The Aussie youngster's walk-on song was 'A Little Less Conversation' by ELVIS.
1528 GMT Hearing Oliver Wilson say that he has actually enjoyed LIV Golf when attending his first event proves that a few of the most prominent golfers in the world might benefit from doing so as well. LIV Golf has now comfortably outlasted the Australian Super League in Rugby League, the breakaway from the ARL in 1996, and has been around longer than World Series Cricket was in the 1970's. If more prominent golfers get the chance to go to a LIV Golf event then the hatred might just soften even more.
1510 GMT WE ARE UNDERWAY IN THE FOURTH AND FINAL ROUND, there seems like a bit more buzz around the first tee this evening, but golf in Saudi Arabia is still a young sport, so please do not expect big crowds at this stage
Lots of discussion about the OWGR points ahead of the final round on TNT, and Oliver Wilson raised the issue of how some players get on to LIV Golf by being signed by the teams. LIV Golf could make an attempt to fix this issue by setting up strategic alliances with other tours across the world, aligning regional or national tours with some of the teams.
The Sunshine Tour and Southern Guards GC could align, with the leading players on the Sunshine Tour becoming eligible to replace any member of Southern Guards GC which is relegated from the LIV Golf League. LIV Golf could create an Indian-based franchise, and align with the Professional Golf Tour of India, Korean Golf Club could align with the KPGA, and the likes of Cleeks GC and Majesticks GC could align with the DP World Tour. LIV Golf can deepen their ties to the Asian Tour, expand their field to 72 players (fourballs on all 18 holes for the shotgun), and award places to the leading 5 players in each Asian Tour even preceding a LIV Golf event.
For example, this week's Asian Tour event in Philippines could see Karandeep Kochhar, Ian Snyman, Travis Smyth, Sarut Vongchaisit and Wooyoung Cho qualify for next week's LIV Golf Adelaide. The leading 5 players in the New Zealand Open could play at HSBC LIV Golf Hong Kong and so on.
Coverage begins at 1430 GMT
Welcome to the final round of the 2026 ROSHN GROUP LIV Golf Riyadh, and it promises to be an exciting, dramatic and historic day on the LIV Golf League.
We are set for thrilling finale under the lights as newcomers, veterans and superstars all in the mix heading into fourth round. 5 shots cover the leading 12 players, and 10 players are within 2 shots of a tie for 10th place and the first ever players to earn Official World Golf Ranking Points on LIV Golf.
Australian Elvis Smylie (Ripper GC) and American Peter Uihlein (Rangegoats GC) are tied for the lead at -16, with American Talor Gooch (Smash GC) one shot back at -15, Spaniard Jon Rahm (Legion XIII), Mexican Abraham Ancer (Torque GC) and Belgian Thomas Detry (4Aces GC) two adrift at -14.
In the team competition we potentially have a four-way battle for the title as just six shots separate Torque GC, Smash GC, Ripper GC and Legion XIII.
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