Dean Burmester was left unhappy with a LIV Golf fan in Adelaide, after the Stinger star hit out at a crowd member during Sunday’s dramatic team playoff at The Grange
LIV Golf star Dean Burmester slammed a member of the Adelaide crowd on Sunday as he competed in the breakaway league’s first ever team playoff.
Burmester was playing alongside his Stinger captain Louis Oosthuizen, as the all-South African team took on home favourites Ripper GC in a tense playoff to decide the team champion following Sunday’s final round. The two teams ended 54-holes tied at 53-under-par for the week.
This then saw two players from each side return to the course to settle the event, with Burmester and Oosthuizen representing Stinger and the Australian duo Cam Smith and Marc Leishman battling it out for Ripper.
Unsurprisingly the Australian crowd had pledged their support behind fellow countrymen Smith and Leishman, as a rowdy crowd built up around the 18th hole. It looked as if however it would be the South Africans would come away victorious, as they both hit their approaches close into the first playoff hole, providing two putts at birdie to win.
Burmester and Oosthuizen however both burned the edge, missing their putts to ensure the fourball were forced to return to the tee. With the atmosphere growing, Burmester sent his tee shot slightly down the right-hand side, but still left himself a clear approach into the green.
With the Aussie crowd jeering around him as he set up for the second shot though Burmester was left unimpressed, as he was heard shouting: “Shut the f*** up!” in the direction of the Adelaide gallery. The crowd then continued to taunt throughout Burmester’s back swing, as he went on to hit his second shot long into the bunker, which was met with one of the loudest cheers of the day.
With Oosthuizen also in the sand and Leishman in close, the latter’s two-putt par ensured it was a win for Ripper in front of their home crowd. Despite the sour scenes late on, Aussie favourite Smith hailed The Grange atmosphere on the back of his team’s win.
“This week has far exceeded my vision for what was ahead,” Smith said. “I think I always knew internally that Australia would really embrace LIV with the culture, with the music, with the entertainment, everything that goes on around it. I always felt like this was the place where it was going to make it big, and how it’s been the last couple of years has been just insane.
Going on to rank the Adelaide event as the best he has ever played for a second time, above winning The Open at St Andrews in 2022, the former world No. 2 added: “Last year I said, I’m biased, this is the best tournament I’ve ever played. I think this year it’s done it again.”
