LIV Golf - Adelaide Tips: Marc off the Leish on the sandbelt

• Greg Norman's LIV Golf heads down under

• Marc Leishman will enjoy the test and home support

• Phil Mickelson is up to riding the wave

Greg Norman has a lot of history with The Grange Golf Club in Adelaide.

He won his first professional title on the East Course there in the 1970s, he was responsible for an update of the same layout when he turned his off-the-course attention to design and, now that his energies have been redirected to LIV Golf, he returns to host the first renegade down under event at the club.

He does so emboldened by the fine performance of LIV golfers at the Masters and giddy that the new circuit has decided to go all out in its determination to wow his home country.

The PR machinery has had Norman - known as The Great White Shark - swimming with the real things and he's happy to talk up the future.

"It's incredible the amount of players who want to come on board," he said this week. "It would surprise you how good those names are."

Of those actually in the field, the presence of the popular Cameron Smith will add to the good vibes in front of galleries that are going to be welcomed in a manner designed to create a loud and feverish atmosphere.

The layout they face is a composite of the East and West Courses and should play a key part in the destiny of the title.

The Adelaide sandbelt is not so famous as its Melbourne counterpart but it is worthy of respect.

The fairways are often wide, but smart golfers will find the correct side of them to find pins on rapid putting surfaces protected by fiery red sand traps.

Golfers who enjoy the creative side of the game should thrive and form on the Melbourne sandbelt, plus linksland, is well worth considering.

Main Bet: Marc Leishman 1pt each-way @ 28/1

There's absolutely no doubt that Cameron Smith has lots in his favour this week.

He's unafraid of playing in wind (another constant of both sandbelts), he the reigning Open champion, he's won in front of adoring home fans before (in fact he did so last November) and he'll be motivated.

On the other hand he's finished outside the top 20 in his last two LIV starts, closed the Masters with a pair of 75s, and hasn't quite fired when playing alone on the Melbourne sandbelt.

He did finish second at The Metropolitan in the 2018 World Cup, however, playing alongside his good friend Marc Leishman and he's the top pick this week.

He'll get plenty of questions and plenty of cheers this week, but a little less insistently than Smith.

He's also had a better year, albeit he hasn't quite produced the finish his good golf has hinted he might - he was sixth in the Saudi International, T15th at Mayakoba (top 10 all week) and T13th in Tucson (when the 18 and 36 hole leader).

He's finished third on the Adelaide sandbelt at Kooyonga and on the Melbourne version he has two top 10s at Royal Melbourne and one at Huntingdale.

He regularly talks about loving playing in the wind and long the ground - he'll get plenty of that this week.

Next Best: Phil Mickelson 1pt each-way @ 40/1

The books seems to believe that the bold showing of Phil Mickelson at the Masters was something of a one-off.

Given that he flew home on a wet sail with a Sunday 65 it's a view not entirely without merit.

But he was tied tenth at halfway so it wasn't a result entirely based on 18 holes of golf.

Moreover, he was very bullish afterwards.

"I've been shooting low scores back home," he said. "I've been hitting quality shots, but when I've been competing I have not been staying focused and present for the upcoming shot.

"I haven't been letting it happen, kind of forcing it. I just haven't been scoring the way I know I can.

"Today is hopefully a stepping stone to really kick start the rest of the year and continue some great play."

If this week were a different test, one not designed to trigger an imaginative golfer, he'd be less attractive.

But getting playful is what Mickelson likes.

And his past experience of this exact type of golf - Australian sandbelt - is limited but it was promising: he was seventh in the Australian Open at the Metropolitan when in contention all week.

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