Apr 2, 2023; Orlando, Florida, USA; Sam Horsfield of the Majesticks plays his shot from the seventh tee during the final round of a LIV Golf event at Orange County National. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports Three of the four members of Majesticks GC are from England, giving the team a home-country advantage at LIV Golf UK, which begins Friday.
Perhaps no player has a bigger advantage than Sam Horsfield, who is the most familiar with JCB Golf and Country Club, the Rocester, England, course where the tournament will be played.
“I’m a member. I live like five minutes from here,” Horsfield said. “So when I’m over in the UK, this is where I practice and play. Obviously looking forward to it.”
The Majesticks have yet to win a weekly LIV team event, but maybe this is the week for Horsfield, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson to do so. The gallery, no doubt, will be filled with Brits cheering for them.
“This is obviously our home event, and even more so for me, I guess, because I’m from the Midlands, and I did grow up only an hour and 20 minutes away,” Westwood said. “My phone has been quite lively for the last month or so with people wanting tickets. It’ll be fun playing in front of friends and family and also people from this area in England.
“It’s always special to play in the UK. Golf fans are very knowledgeable. They’re great fans. I’m sure they’re looking forward to coming out and seeing some world-class golf.”
Poulter agreed on the potential boost from the partisan crowd.
“Whenever we have the opportunity to come and play in front of home fans, and especially this week, extending the tickets to 14,000, should be awesome for us,” Poulter said. “We don’t play enough golf over here, so when we do, it’s pretty special.”
Horsfield can give his teammates a clue about what to expect from the course, which the players expect won’t be easy.
“This is going to be a tough test this week. Golf course layout is good, but it’s going to be strong, and we’re really looking forward to the challenge.”
Westwood said the challenge will be stiff.
“It looks pretty tricky to me. There’s a lot of undulations out there. The fairways feel quite tight. The rough is certainly penal if you stray off the fairways,” he said.
“Unless you’ve got control of your ball, it’s going to be difficult to get close to the flags, I think. A little bit of breeze forecast, not too much. As we know, England conditions can change within about half an hour.
“I mean, I went around the front nine yesterday and I thought three 69s might be good scoring, but I haven’t seen the other nine. The volatility is there. There’s quite a bit of water involved. Nobody knows what to expect. That’s the great thing.”
Cameron Smith won the individual event last July when LIV Golf UK was played at the Centurion Club in London. Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces won the team event, with the Majesticks finishing fifth.
“We haven’t made a podium yet this year,” Westwood said. “We’ve come fourth a couple of times, been close. So it would be nice to be getting some champagne on Sunday night.”
–Field Level Media
