Greens with envy: Adelaide’s Pieter de Wit tees off with superstar Cam Smith at the LIV Golf pro-am event in Adelaide

Teeing off alongside one of the world’s best golfers would leave any amateur player a little jittery. So how did Pieter de Wit fare against superstar Cam Smith at the LIV pro-am?

Amateur golfer Pieter de Wit was a bundle of nerves and excitement on Thursday morning when he teed off alongside one of the world’s best golfers, LIV Golf tour drawcard Cameron Smith, at the tournament’s pro-am event.

The small-business owner from Stonyfell had been working on his swing the night before and arrived at Grange Golf Club about 7am to work on it some more, before the pro-am kicked off at 9am.

The lucky golf fan replaced Premier Peter Malinauskas, who offered up his spot at the event. Mr de Wit won his place in a competition for Advertiser subscribers, prevailing in a fiercely competitive best-of-five putt-off on Monday.

Once he stepped up to the plate, all his practice paid off as he executed a beautiful shot that impressed the crowd as it sailed down the centre of the par four fairway.

“That first shot off was probably the highlight of my week. I thought I went quite well. It was probably my best shot so far,” Mr de Wit said.

Advertiser competition winner Pieter de Wit teamed up with pro golfer Cameron Smith for nine holes. Picture: Dean Martin

“I went and hit the driving range yesterday afternoon to try and get at least a bit of a swing happening, but I do play each Friday and have a hit.

“I’ll probably be 100 yards shorter than Cam’s drive, and try to hit one or two greens then I’d be pretty happy for the day.

“But I’ll be here to watch him (Smith) and see how he does his masterclass.”

On Thursday, the pro-am event was more of a hit-and-giggle than a serious challenge, but that did not stop Mr de Wit from showcasing his skills as he held his own against Smith, staying just two or three shots behind him on each hole.

Pieter de Wit with Cameron Smith. Picture: Dean Martin

The pair discuss golfing strategy. Picture: Dean Martin

Despite no official scoring, Mr de Wit and two other amateurs, Liming Hu and Takashi Yao, who joined the foursome, all managed to play well.

After they finished their nine holes together, Smith told The Advertiser the amateurs were “good fun” and “good to play with”.

“Yeah, I think they had a good time which is the main thing. They weren’t too bad,” he said.

“It’s been a lot of fun in Adelaide. I think the city is buzzing.

“I think Adelaide has been starved a little bit for a really high level of golf and Adelaide has done a really good job over the past couple of weeks of bringing not only golf, but the footy was down here last weekend and the town definitely has a buzz to it.”

The three-day LIV Golf tournament begins on Friday.

Premier Peter Malinauskas said holding the LIV Golf tour in Adelaide had “easily” exceeded his “expectations” when tickets sold out and was looking forward to a future long-term investment with the league.

“We do see it as a partnership. LIV is obviously a relatively new format of the game of golf, and as far as Australian golfing fans are concerned, it’s been a long time coming,” he said.

“The moment those tickets went on sale and they sold out within minutes.

“I remember I called my team and I saw the sold-out banner on the website and I called my team and I said, ‘something’s gone wrong’.

“The anticipation has been here from the get-go (and) we’re just so wrapped to have yet another weekend of extraordinary hospitality activity in our state.”

CEO of LIV Golf, Greg Norman. said it meant a great deal to have the tournament held in Adelaide and was looking forward to bringing it back.

“We are not just coming in here just flashing and burning and disappearing,” he said.

“We’ve made a commitment, and you heard the Premier mention the one word, which is very, very important to me and LIV is a partnership.

“It’s a partnership with the state. It’s a partnership with the country, but it’s a partnership for the game of golf.”