Report: Relegated LIV Golf pro sacks caddie ahead of Promotions event
Relegated LIV Golf pro Branden Grace has revealed he's changed caddies ahead of this week's Promotions event in Riyadh.
Branden Grace has revealed he's employed a new caddie ahead of this week's LIV Golf Promotions event in Riyadh.
Grace was among the first wave of players to join the breakaway tour in 2022 and was one of their most consistent performers in the league.
But he was simply dreadful in the 2024 campaign and finished 51st in the standings out of the 57 players (including reserves) that teed it up.
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His best finish came in the second event of the season when he tied for 21st in Las Vegas.
"I didn't have a good year," he told LIV Golf's official website ahead of this week's event where 91 players are vying for one spot.
"That's all on me. So now it's about putting your head down and playing golf."
Grace also revealed that after an honest chat with his wife about his career a few months ago, he has decided to switch caddies.
"Listen, the toughest thing when you go through a season like this is the harder you try, almost the worse it gets," he said.
"And it's not the harder you try meaning practice-wise and things, it's just the more pressure you put on yourself to perform.
"And I think that's when you fall behind, that's kind of what you do. It's human.
"So it was kind of a big thing a couple of months ago, [I] had a good talk with my wife and just kind of [said]: Where are we? What am I doing?
"And it's so hard to figure out. And I made a decision to change my caddie and got Johan [Swanepoel] on the bag.
"It's just been a big process. We know we are working on the right thing."
It is widely understood that should Grace fail to nab the golden ticket on offer this week then he will return to LIV with Stinger anyway.
Stinger captain Louis Oosthuizen, who is playing the Alfred Dunhill Championship this week, is a huge admirer of Grace.
Grace continued: "Louis told me, ‘Gracie, you never gave up once this year. You kept on practicing, you kept on being there, you kept on supporting, you kept on having your feeling in the team.'
"So that's all I can do. But I feel the last three months has been a big turning point."
Blast from the past enters LIV Golf Promotions
The field for the Promotions event was released on 9 December.
Whilst the field is absent of some huge names, there are a few notables teeing it up.
One-time Ryder Cupper Chris Wood is playing.
Wood came to the golf world's attention in 2008 when he finished in the top-five at The Open.
He followed that with a T3 finish a year later and also won three DP World Tour titles - including the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth - which earned him a spot on Darren Clarke's European Ryder Cup team.
It’s LIV Golf Promotions week
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) December 10, 2024
1 spot on the LIV Golf League is up for grabs
T-10 finishers and ties will earn full exemption into all 2025 events on The International Series #LIVGolf @intseriesgolf pic.twitter.com/j3XEdF9ZF6
Since then, his career went severely downhill. He didn't play in 2023.
Earlier this year, he revealed he had been battling severe anxiety and has been on the comeback trail by playing events on the Challenge Tour and Asian Tour.
Remarkably, he claimed that he thinks he's got one more Ryder Cup performance in him.
You can see the full field for LIV Golf Promotions here.
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