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Fifty-four of the game's best players will feature at the first tournament in Africa next year.
Louis Oosthuizen and his SA LIV Golf team, Stinger, will be in action in South Africa in March next year. Picture: Tom Dulat/Getty Images
LIV Golf is coming to South Africa in 2026.
This was announced by the organisation in a special press conference held in London on Saturday morning.
The newest golf tour has been going since June 2022. South African stars Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel have been playing for the Stinger team since the inception of the tour, while Branden Grace and Dean Burmester also play on the tour.
Schwartzel won the very first tournament at the Centurion Club in London.
“We have made a multi-year commitment to go to South Africa … it’s incredible and amazing,” said LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil.
The first tournament in South Africa will be held at Steyn City in Gauteng between March 20-22 next year.
This means South African golf fans will get to see some of the game’s greatest players who might ordinarily not come to South Africa to play.
Here one thinks of Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka and Tyrrell Hatton, among others.
‘Massive’
“It’s an incredible feeling, I have so many emotions,” said minister of sport Gayton McKenzie at the announcement on Saturday.
“I come from a great country and this would not have been possible without LIV Golf. They know they cannot be called an international competition if they skip a continent.
“After meeting Scott [and others] I have nothing but praise for them. We as Africans also deserve one of the greatest shows … I want to tell South Africans this is good for our economy and for people spreading false rumours about our country.
“We’re going to have 54 of the world’s greatest golfers in our country.”
Oosthuizen said he was thrilled the tour was coming to South Africa. “Very excited about having the tournament in South Africa. It’s going to be massive for our country.”
