The SA-player team, the Southern Guards, are now left with just Charl Schwartzel and Dean Burmester.
South Africa’s Branden Grace has quit LIV Golf. Picture: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images
Just a day after the news of Louis Oosthuizen’s exit from LIV Golf, Southern Guards team-mate Branden Grace has also called it quits.
Grace announced on Friday he would also be returning to the “European Tour” from next season, just as Oosthuizen announced on Thursday.
The 38-year-old Grace has nine DP World Tour titles to his name. He won one LIV Golf tournament, in Portland in July 2022.
“Returning to the DP World Tour feels like coming home,” said Grace in a statement on Friday.
“Some of the proudest moments of my career have happened on this tour, from my four-time win breakthrough season in 2012 to winning the South African Open in front of home fans. I am hungrier than ever to compete and write the next chapter of my career on the global stage.”
Future of Southern Guards
With Oosthuizen and Grace now gone from LIV, the South African-player team is left with only Charl Schwartzel and Dean Burmester. It is not known what their plans for the future are.
LIV Golf is believed to be in the process of looking at its structure and schedule following the withdrawal of financial backing recently of the Saudi public investment fund, which backed the tour. A new version, called LIV 2.0 is apparently in the works.
Spaniard Jon Rahm has also pulled out of LIV Golf.
The breakaway tour started in June 2022, when Schwartzel triumphed in Hertfordshire, England, at the first tournament.
“My time on the LIV Tour was a memorable chapter, especially getting to travel the world and compete alongside some of my closest friends in the game,” said Grace.
“The camaraderie, team spirit, and lifelong friendships we shared on and off the course are memories I will always cherish as I take this next step in my journey.”
