On Saturday, it was officially announced that the breakaway golf series will head to South Africa for the first time. Apart from the Stingers – made up of captain Louis Oosthuizen, Dean Burmester, Charl Schwartzel, and Branden Grace – many of the world’s top players will also be competing. These include former world number one Dustin Johnson and big-hitter Bryson DeChambeau, to name just a few.

The Club at Steyn City is one of South Africa’s newest golf courses. In fact, it’s so new that former Open champion Oosthuizen has yet to play there.

Oosthuizen said he’s only heard positive things about Steyn City, and the team will aim to make the most of the local knowledge during the first LIV Golf event in South Africa – part of a multi-year deal.

“It'll be at Steyn City – I’ve actually never played there, but I watched a tournament there a while back, and I’m really excited,” said Oosthuizen.

“I’ve heard many great things about it, so I’m keen to go and see it for myself. I’ll probably head over sometime this year to check it out and see how we can maybe improve a few things on the course side. But I’m really excited to take the event to South Africa.”

Steyn City. Photo: Stingers

Oosthuizen added that it’s important to bring the best players in the world to South Africa – a country with a rich golfing tradition, but one that rarely gets to host the global stars. One of the last major events featuring top-ranked players was the 2003 Presidents Cup, which saw both Tiger Woods and Ernie Els in action.

“Look, we’ve been on LIV’s case for a while now, saying we need a tournament in Africa, and it just makes sense to bring it to South Africa,” Oosthuizen said.

“I think the last time we had a truly world-class field here was probably the Presidents Cup, when Ernie and Tiger went head-to-head.

“So, it’s amazing to be bringing a top-tier event to the country again. 2010 was such a great year for us with the FIFA World Cup, and now it’s time for another big sporting occasion on home soil.”

Tickets for the tournament went on sale over the weekend and are reportedly selling like hotcakes. More than 10 000 tickets were sold within the first 24 hours of going on sale, Oosthuizen believes the turnout and atmosphere will be something to remember.

“I think we can expect great crowds – probably similar to what we saw in Australia, if not better,” he added.

“We’re a big sporting nation, and I think it’s going to be great to see everyone out there enjoying themselves. Expect top golf, good vibes, and some serious competition.”

LIV Golf South Africa at Steyn City will take place from 20 to 23 March 2026.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek cg