LIV Golf Greenbrier Preview: 4Aces GC players have fond Greenbrier memories
Team: 4Aces Golf Club
Previous event team finish: 10th
Season-long team standings: 10th
Top finisher from previous event: Dustin Johnson, Harold Varner III (both T20)
Fun stat: 4Aces GC is tied for second on the season in Putting Average (1.57) while Patrick Reed is fifth overall (1.54).
Preview
4Aces Golf Club will be looking for positives entering this week at LIV Golf Greenbrier. After all, it hasn’t quite been the season the team expected to this point. But all is not lost.
One positive for the all-American team is returning to the United States ready and rested. Events in the UK and Spain concluded with middle-of-the-road results, and 4Aces GC finds itself in 10th place in the season-long standings with only three events remaining.
The team is mathematically eliminated from challenging for a top-3 seed and earning a bye. That means it will be among the 10 teams that must play in the Day 1 quarterfinals at the season-ending Team Championship in Dallas. That makes Greenbrier the perfect place to begin a wave of strong play.
A handful of disjointed efforts have been the main reason for the team’s tumble down the standings in 2024. 4Aces GC has twice as many 10th-or-worse finishes this season (four) than top-four finishes (two). It’s a trend the team wants to reverse starting this week at a familiar venue.
West Virginia’s fresh mountain air might be just what the team needs. This will be the second time The Old White course has hosted the event, and 4Aces GC members are deeply familiar with the layout. The course has hosted multiple professional events through the years and has become a mainstay on the LIV Golf League. And it’s known as a course where you must go low.
“You come to a golf course like this and you can’t just cruise around and shoot 3-, 4-, 5-under a day,” Reed said. “Right from the beginning, you have to go out and be aggressive, go make as many birdies as you can. But you have to be smart. You can’t be reckless out there and be hyper aggressive. You have to pick your moments.”
In 2023, 4Aces GC Captain Dustin Johnson shot a combined 9-under on Friday and Sunday at The Old White, but a 3-over 73 on Saturday proved to be his most frustrating part of the week. Reed shot under par all three days including a 3-under 67 in Round 2, and will be one to watch this week as a good course fit.
Pat Perez was solid here last season as well. He had under-par rounds on Friday and Sunday, but like Johnson, Saturday was his most difficult day and saw Perez shoot 4-over 74.
It’s a big week for Perez for another reason. Players 49th or lower in the final individual points standings at the end of the season will finish in the Drop Zone. Going into this week, Pat Perez is on the Open Zone bubble, ranking 48th with 7.76 points.
If there is one 4Aces GC member to key on this week, however, it should be Harold Varner III. While playing for a different team in 2023, Varner III was electric at Greenbrier and finished in sixth place with a 14-under total. He came out on fire in Round 1 with a 7-under 63 and stayed hot through the weekend.
Couple that with Varner III currently coming off a T20 at LIV Golf UK, which was his second-best finish in his last seven LIV Golf starts, and a T4 last week at International Series England on the Asian Tour, and it doesn’t take a leap of faith to project a stellar week.
Like Perez, Varner III will need it. He is currently No. 47 and on the Open Zone bubble entering Greenbrier.
The Old White’s course characteristics and weather conditions typically have more of a say during tournament week than other event’s host venues. It is a short-ish course at 7,299 yards with only two par 5s, and players must rely on driving accuracy and a sharp short game.
The par-70 layout ends on a par 3, which provides plenty of drama for the players and fans alike. And keep an eye on the weather as rainy conditions can (and seemingly always does) pop up during competition, forcing players to lock in and refocus on answering questions the famed course asks.
Still, the players talked about the importance of soaking in the extraordinary experiences and surroundings at this famed resort. The scenic setting is an ideal place for the players to reflect on how the season has gone and where they want it to go. Then after resetting, the goal will be to take those positives to the course.
“Every time I’ve come here with my family to Greenbrier, everything stops and it’s slow motion,” Reed said. “You actually get to enjoy life, enjoy your time with family. You have so many activities to do, and the golf course is absolutely amazing.”