Southern Guards face the tricky challenge of being the hometown favorites

JOHANNESBURG – The goal, of course, is to celebrate a trophy – or perhaps two – on Sunday. But from Louis Oosthuizen ’s perspective, his Southern Guards GC team has already posted a victory simply by bringing LIV Golf to their home country. 

Oosthuizen, captain of the all-South African club, joined LIV Golf in 2022 as one of its original members and has been pushing ever since to host a tournament, confident that his sport-loving countrymen would embrace the opportunity to see the league’s marquee names and unique team environment. 

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Realistically, he thought the 2027 or 2028 LIV Golf season was a more likely timeframe. But thanks to the government’s enthusiastic support along with the participation of lifestyle estate Steyn City as the tournament location, his team’s dream came together fast and furious in less than 12 months. 

So here we are this week at LIV Golf South Africa, with ticket sales approaching 100,000, putting it on track to become the biggest golf tournament ever held in the country. 

That’s why whatever the Southern Guards achieve in the four-day competition starting with Thursday’s first round is essentially a bonus. 

“Obviously, I think us four would love to perform well,” Oosthuizen said while sitting with his teammates – Dean Burmester, Branden Grace and Charl Schwartzel – during a pre-tournament press conference. “We'd love to play well. But I think the bigger picture is getting the tournament here. The bigger picture for me is that the four of us really enjoy this week, what everyone has done with the team behind the scenes, the LIV guys and everyone that was involved. What we've done in achieving and getting this tournament here was a massive goal of ours. 

“I know when we step on the golf course, it will be all down to business and we want to play well, but to be honest with you, I just want to enjoy this week. I want to take everything in.”

Oosthuizen is one of two members of his team to have won a major, claiming the 2010 Open Championship at St. Andrews. The other one is Schwartzel, who won the Masters the next year in dramatic fashion with birdies on his final four holes.  The Johannesburg native was asked about where this week’s tournament ranks in terms of career highlights.

“Winning the Masters will always be the biggest event, most proudest moment of my career,” Schwartzel said. “But this is in a different light. This is something that was always way off, a dream when LIV started, to be able to play a LIV event in South Africa. For it to have happened at this sort of biggest stage is, as a South African, a very proud moment.” 

For the South African foursome, promoting the tournament via off-site appearances, fan engagements and sponsorship meet-and-greets while also prepping and competing for their most coveted title during the regular season will require a delicate balancing act. 

Fortunately, another team in the league can offer guidance in that specific area. Cameron Smith and his Ripper GC deal with the same issues during their home event, LIV Golf Adelaide, the league’s most-attended tournament and the standard for what other LIV Golf tournaments aspire to deliver. 

In 2023, the Rippers were seemingly everywhere in Adelaide, appreciative of the support they received. But it left them exhausted once the tournament began, and the Australians eventually finished 8th, shooting a collective 31 under, 16 shots behind the team winners 4Aces GC. Smith finished fourth individually but none of his other teammates finished inside the top 20. 

In their next visit in 2024, the Rippers vowed to not wear themselves out prior to the opening round, instead refocusing their efforts on claiming hardware. It paid off in the final round when the won the team title in LIV Golf’ first-ever team playoff against their Southern Hemisphere rivals, the South Africans. Both teams shot 53 under to make the playoff – a 22-stroke improvement for the Rippers. 

Oosthuizen picked the brain of Smith in the lead-up to South Africa, obtaining some guidance on how to balance promotion vs. competition. The Southern Guards participated in much of the team’s social media content last week – you may have seen their “Rhino Jive” dance clips – and some of their pre-tournament obligations were rearranged to give them additional practice time at Steyn City on Wednesday.

“We knew this week was going to be tough,” Oosthuizen said. “I spoke to Cam about it on his first experience and could see how much it took out of them. Performance-level, they weren’t great that year, and the next year they were really good. I think we’ll learn from this week as well.” 

That doesn’t mean the Southern Guards have resigned themselves to a low-place finish this week, although certainly other teams enter on better form. 

With Ripper winning the first two tournaments, followed by 4Aces GC winning the last two, those two teams have set the early pace. Defending LIV Golf Team Champions Legion XIII, captained by Jon Rahm, have finished on the podium in the last three tournaments. Since joining the league in 2024 as its first expansion team, Legion XIII has never gone five consecutive tournaments without a victory; LIV Golf South Africa is the fifth tournament this season.

But the South Africans have also been knocking on the door, finishing fourth, fourth and fifth in the last three starts. Perhaps their vast edge in experience in South Africa combined with the boisterous support they will receive this week will pay dividends on Sunday. 

“We've been very consistent this year,” Schwartzel said. “We haven't had a podium, but it's been fourths and fifths. I think this tournament from a team point of view, to play with these three guys here, I think this week somehow the team aspect is going to mean a little bit more. 

Added Grace: “Maybe this is all it needs, coming home, being in front of your home fans, being comfortable, and just having all our friends and family here. Like Louis said, sometimes just being relaxed and having a good time is all it needs. I think everybody is in for a big treat this week.” 

And if the Southern Guards do happen to end up on the top of the team podium Sunday night at Steyn City? You can bet the Rhino Jive will be part of the celebration. 

“A Sunday night thing after about 14 brandy and Cokes,” joked Oosthuizen. “We’ll do it properly then.”