LIV Golf reportedly sold nearly 100,000 tickets for the series’ maiden outing in South Africa this weekend. The Saudi-backed series’ latest ticket sale numbers turn many heads as it reflects its growth since their inaugural event in 2022. Ahead of the Johannesburg event, 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel has come out applaud the circuit’s journey since its inception.
For the unversed, Schwartzel joined LIV Golf’s own South African team Stinger GC, now rebranded to Southern Guards GC, for the inaugural season in 2022. He joined the likes of Louis Oosthuizen, Branden Grace, and Dean Burmester on the league. Having played four seasons on the breakaway tour, the 41-year-old admits that the series started off with a ‘lot of turmoil’ in golf. However, he went on to laud how the circuit has ‘grown and gotten better’ over the years.
Speaking ahead of his ‘home’ event from The Club at Steyn City in Midrand, the South African golfer claimed being ‘proud’ as the LIV series ‘really come to life.’
Charl Schwartzel said on Thursday, as quoted by Flushing It Golf:
“That first event (LIV’s maiden event) in June in 2022, there was a lot of turmoil in our sport, a lot of uncertainty. Obviously, it was coming from guys that had come to LIV. Nobody was sure what to expect… But from a LIV standpoint, it’s been fantastic to be part of it, to see how it’s grown, gotten better. Every year they improve.
Now just to see what we’ve created here in South Africa; it makes you very proud to see. This is fantastic. I don’t think there’s never been a golfing event in South Africa that’s ever been set up like this, and I don’t think many sporting events here. This is really amazing, and it’s sort of great to have seen, and proud to be a part of it, that’s what we thought and what we were told it could be when we signed up with LIV, and it’s really come to life. It’s amazing.”
LIV Golfers on LIV Golf’s African milestone
Schwartzel also addressed the LIV Golf schedule’s success across the globe. The 1x LIV winner dubbed the highly attended Australian event as being the ‘pinnacle’ of the series. For the unversed, the Saudi-backed circuit’s Adelaide outing is often considered the premier event on the league. It is pertinent to note that over 115,000 fans gathered at the event Down Under last month to watch a rejuvenated Anthony Kim win, beating the previous record of 77,000 fans in 2023.
With LIV South Africa selling 100,000 tickets in the first season, the event is being lauded as the upcoming contender for the series’ premier event. Apart from Schwartzel, his team captain Oosthuizen also addressed the event’s popularity and dubbed it a milestone.
Speaking on Tuesday at a pre-tournament press conference, Oosthuizen said, as quoted by ASAP Sports:
“For a while we’ve been trying to figure out how we can get it done, get a tournament here. Realistically we were thinking of getting it hopefully in ’28, maybe in ’27. But yeah, we had some great support from the minister and from Steyn City and from everyone, and I think we all yesterday drove through the fan village, walked through Club 54, walked through the golf course a bit, and we were extremely proud.”
For the unversed, LIV’s South African debut event makes Africa the sixth continent the tour has played on.
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