LIV tournament at Steyn City is hole-in-one for SA golf

Louis Oosthuizen of Southern Guards GC will play at the LIV tournament at Steyn City next week. Picture: Jason Butler/Getty Images Joburg, especially Steyn City, is ready to host some of the world’s best golf players, and thousands of excited fans, when the first LIV tournament is held in South Africa next week. The Saudi-backed golf tour will visit Africa for the first time since its launch in June 2022.

Originally an eight tournament 54-hole format series, LIV has a no-cut structure, and massive guaranteed purses – for individual players and teams. South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel won the first event at Centurion Club, UK, taking home $4.75 million. The tour now features 14 events each year and every tournament is played over 72 holes.

LIV South Africa will take place at Steyn City, on the outskirts of Fourways, from next Thursday to Sunday. Four tournaments have already been held this season, in Riyadh, Adelaide, Hong Kong and this week in Singapore. An estimated 90,000 fans are expected through the gates of Steyn City next week, according to organisers.

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Also, they say South Africa sold 10,000 tickets in under 24 hours and 30,000 in the first week of going on sale. Over 70,000 tickets have currently been sold. The boost for the South African economy is also seemingly massive.

LIV Golf coming to South Africa will have an estimated average R650 million economic impact on the country and, according to the Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille, for every 13 tourists who attend the event, one job is created. “As we prepare to welcome LIV Golf to South African soil, we are once again demonstrating our country’s ability to host world-class global events that deliver far-reaching economic, reputational and destination marketing value,” said De Lille at the launch of the tournament at the end of January.

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