Oosthuizen, Grace, Schwartzel resign from PGA Tour to play LIV Golf

South African golfers Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Branden Grace have quit the PGA Tour to play in the new Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf series, starting in London on Thursday.

They join other notables like Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Graeme McDowell, Sergio Garcia, and Martin Kaymer in the new golf series.

Other South Africans who’ll be in the field at the Centurion Club outside London this weekend include Justin Harding, JC Ritchie, Hennie du Plessis, Shaun Norris and Oliver Bekker.

According to a report on Sport24, Oosthuizen revealed his reasons for quitting the PGA Tour.

“For me, where I am at in my career, it would’ve probably been the last year on the PGA Tour,” Oosthuizen told reporters at Centurion Club.

“I always said, when I get to the stage around 40, I want to do something else and not just golf. I wanted to try something else. 

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“Everyone knows I love being on a farm and being outside, so I was almost done. And along came this opportunity, where I can do four years of this quickly and be able to spend more time with my family after this. 

“The format and the way this is all set up is so exciting and it reminded me of being part of the Presidents Cup and I just said, ‘Why not give it a shot?’

“I made the decision with my wife and what’s the best for where I am right now and I’m going to grab it and play. I’m a professional golfer and this is decent amount of money that we play for, so why not?”

The 54-hole events on the LIV Golf tour (LIV referring to the Roman numeral for 54) don’t have a halfway cut. In this weekend’s event in London, the winner will walk away with $4-million of a $25-million total purse.