LIV Golf getting ‘better and stronger’ as breakaway league shows sign of intent amid PGA Tour talks
Charl Schwartzel was LIV Golf’s first ever champion at Centurion in June 2022, and two years on the South African has highlighted the breakaway league’s growth in the game

LIV Golf are only getting ‘better and stronger’ according to the league’s first ever champion Charl Schwarzel, two years on from his maiden victory at Centurion.

LIV are back in the UK for a third time this week, but have ventured away from their birth place in St Albans with JCB Country and Golf Club playing host to the 2024 event. Much has changed since the Saudi-backed series first launched at Centurion in June 2022, on and off the golf course.

The man who became the league’s first ever winner of their £3.1 million jackpot was former Masters champion Schwartzel, but even on the back of that success, it remained unknown as to what the future would hold for the South African and his fellow defectors.

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The feeling among the golfing community around the Centurion event was hostile, after the PGA Tour announced they had suspended all of those who had teed it up at the league’s opening event just minutes after the shotgun start. This would be a sign of things to come in the coming months, as the game was left split in two.

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For Schwartzel however looking back only brings happy memories, having banked his first professional win in eight years. “It is a memory that will stick for ever, winning the first LIV event ever,” the former green jacket winner told Mirror Sport at LIV UK this week.

“It was my first win in a while. I had a bit of a drought going into there. There were a lot of good things that happened that week.” Much has transpired since Schwartzel lifted LIV’s first piece of silverware two years ago, with their dispute with the PGA Tour seemingly coming to an end with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) in ongoing talks with the Tour over a peace deal.

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Charl Schwartzel won LIV Golf’s first title (
Image:
Getty Images)
In that time, the South African believes the LIV setup has solidified its role as tensions have died down. “There is definitely more acceptance,” he added. What is more, Schwartzel believes the growth of the Saudi-fuded league is only going to continue moving forward.

“LIV is getting better and stronger,” he added. “It is amazing being able to play around the world in front of so many fans, and that is what LIV is. A global tour.” Schwartzel is part of strong South African contingency on the LIV roster, playing alongside his fellow countryman Louis Oosthuizen, Dean Burmester and Branden Grace.

Having talked up LIV’s global reach, could Schwartzel and co see their home country become a stop on the schedule? He hopes so. “I need to play one LIV event in South Africa before I get kicked off the team,” he said with a smile. “It would be fantastic. We have been getting a lot of requests for it and it would be good to get one down there. It could happen, but it might take some time.”