Fans lift hurting Charl Schwartzel as SA team takes first-round lead on emotional day

South Africa’s golfers floated on the roars of the fans who flocked to Steyn City to watch the opening day of LIV’s South African debut on Thursday, rising to take the lead in the team competition by one stroke. Their Southern Guards outfit produced a combined 18 under par, with Branden Grace firing a seven-under-par 64 to find himself one shot off the lead, shared by Americans Bryson DeChambeau, the winner in Singapore on Sunday, and veteran Charles Howell III, who played in the 2003 Presidents Cup at Fancourt. Charl Schwartzel shot 66, but he had to fight through back pain, clutching at his lower spine on the last couple of holes.

He was in so much pain on Wednesday night that he phoned captain Louis Oosthuizen and told him he didn’t think he’d be able to play. “I said to him … ‘I’m not sure I can play, I don’t want to come out here, play badly, I’d rather let somebody else play’ and he said to me ‘look, we’ve come a long way with this, you deserve to play so at least try’.” A CLUTCH putt 😤Charl Schwartzel keeps his cool for his fifth birdie of the day 👏🇿🇦📺 Stream#LIVGolfSouthAfricaon DStv:https://t.co/rM90YyQxawpic.twitter.com/3M9OBrD22m Schwartzel, whose back woes started in Singapore on Sunday, arrived at the course four hours before his tee time. “I was in a jacuzzi, then I was in another sort of bath and getting [acupuncture] and I had like a whole bunch of things going on this morning.

And then lastly, we took a couple of tablets. “But it’s just amazing to me what an amazing crowd does to uplift you. I don’t know if I would have got through today if I didn’t have all the people supporting us as hard as they did.

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It was amazing … I just hope I can manage it like I did today going forward. I don’t need it to get any worse.” He didn’t know the reason for the pain, but believes it’s not a disc.

Oosthuizen and Schwartzel, good friends who have been playing together for more than 30 years, shared the emotion at the start of play, both standing on the first tee which was packed with fans. “I was tearing up a little bit,” Oosthuizen said after carding 69.

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