LIV Golf Watch: Stars set for Alfred Dunhill Championship

This week, five LIV Golf players will be in action, with three teeing it up in the Alfred Dunhill Championship on the DP World Tour’s Opening Swing, one playing in the Victorian PGA Championship on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and one playing in the Saudi Open presented by PIF on the Asian Tour.

ALFRED DUNHILL CHAMPIONSHIP 

The Alfred Dunhill Championship is the fourth event of the five-tournament Opening Swing on the DP World Tour's 2026 schedule, co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour. The tournament has been temporarily relocated for this year only from its traditional home of Leopard Creek to the Royal Johannesburg Golf Club (East Championship Course) in Johannesburg.

The East Course is a highly regarded parkland layout that was the tournament's original home from 2000 to 2004. Royal Johannesburg is an extremely long course, even after factoring in Johannesburg's high altitude. The course is a par 72 and measures 7,922 yards. It features classic championship elements, including long, tree-lined fairways, significant elevation changes and fast Bentgrass greens.

DEAN BURMESTER. After finishing third at the PIF Saudi International, Burmester surprisingly missed the cut at the Fitch and Leedes PGA Championship. The South African has been a stalwart at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and has made seven starts in the event since 2011. The Stinger GC star's best finish came in 2023 (T7).

BRANDEN GRACE. Grace won the Alfred Dunhill Championship in 2015 and has six top-10 finishes at the event in 10 tries. The Stinger GC veteran has made only one start this offseason, but played extremely well, finishing T5 at the PIF Saudi International.

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN. The Stinger GC captain won the Alfred Dunhill Championship in 2024 and has four top 10s at the event in nine tries. It’s been boom or bust for Oosthuizen, as he failed to make the cut in his other five tries. Oosthuizen flashed some form at the Link Hong Kong Open last month (T3) but failed to follow it up with a strong performance in his most recent start at the PIF Saudi International (T42).

VICTORIAN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP 

The Victorian PGA Championship is an event sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia. It is the oldest of the Australian state professional championships, having first been held in 1922. The tournament is held at Moonah Links Resort in Fingal, Victoria, and utilizes both of the resort championship courses.

Each player will play one round on the Open Course and one on the Legends Course during the first two days of the event. After a 36-hole cut, the final two rounds will be played on the Open Course. The tournament is played concurrently with the Victorian Celebrity Amateur Challenge, a Pro-Am team competition.

MARC LEISHMAN. Leishman is coming off a strong two weeks in Australia. The Ripper GC star finished third at the BMW Australian PGA Championship and T18 at last week’s Crown Australian Open. Leishman will be playing alongside his 13-year-old son, Harvey, in the Pro-Am portion of the event.

SAUDI OPEN PRESENTED BY PIF 

The Saudi Open presented by PIF is the season-ending event for the Asian Tour. The tournament will be played at the Dirab Golf & Country Club outside Riyadh. Dirab is historically significant as the country's first green-grass course, opened in 1994, and is known for being a more traditional layout unlike many of the desert courses in the region. It's a par 72 that measures 7,280 yards.

SCOTT VINCENT. This will be Vincent’s first start since earning a spot on LIV Golf through the International Series rankings. He finished T42 at the Saudi International in his most recent outing.

PLAYER NEWS 

After struggling by his lofty standards for the better part of the year, Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith reminded golf fans why he’s such a fascinating talent when he plays well. Smith fired a bogey-free 6-under 65 in Round 2 of last week's Crown Australian Open, finding himself in weekend contention for the first time in recent memory. “Really stoked," he said after the round. ‘It’s been a while, so I’m happy I’m up there. It was nothing special. I don’t think it was anything different to what I’ve been doing. It’s just a few putts went in and the momentum was up and felt really good.”

The success continued into the weekend for Smith, as he contended until the final putt dropped (Rasmus Neergaard-Peterson won after making a 10-foot par putt). Smith shot rounds of 66-69 over the weekend to emphasize that while form is ever changing, class is permanent.

An article for Golf Monthly took a look at the Hall of Fame cases for LIV Golf players Dustin Johnson , Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka.

While speaking at Royal Melbourne in advance of last week’s Australian Open, Rory McIlroy praised LIV Golf’s Adelaide event. "You've got these other tours, obviously LIV," McIlroy said. "I think what LIV has done here in Australia has been amazing. The tournament in Adelaide looks absolutely incredible, especially in a country that has sort of been starved of big-time golf events. I think they’ve done a really, really good job.”

Over the weekend, South African Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie attended the premiere of Greens & Gold: A Lekker South African Sports Story. The documentary offers an inside look at Stinger GC and will debut on SuperSport on Dec. 14.

Marc Leishman, Ben Campbell and Lucas Herbert will be taking place in the Cathedral Invitational from Dec. 9-10. The 36-hole unofficial tournament features a field of approximately 46 male and female professionals, as well as amateurs. The event is played at Cathedral Lodge and Golf Club in Thornton, Victoria.