The first LIV Golf season left South Africans laughing all the way to the bank, with Branden Grace being the highest earner with over R300 million placed into his fast expanding bank account.
Grace, who won the Portland LIV Golf event, earned a staggering R304 028 130 from the six events he participated in; however, due to injury, he had to withdraw from the Bangkok event. Grace was second in overall season earnings, with American Dustin Johnson leading the statistics with a staggering R651 345 661.
Charl Schwartzel was second with R149 367 548, and Louis Oosthuizen was third with R99 060 200.
The season earnings of 26-year-old Hennie du Plessis will likely be the most life-altering. With only two victories on the Sunshine Tour to his credit, Du Plessis made a staggering R83,175,783 with LIV Golf.
The 2020-21 Sunshine Tour Order of Merit winner Christiaan Bezuidenhout earned R7.7 million in South Africa last year. Last place in one LIV Golf event (yes, just one) would have been sufficient for fifth place on the Order of Merit for the whole season.
The career earnings of Oosthuizen, Grace, and Schwartzel on the other tours also make for intriguing reading. Schwartzel has earned $20,912,493 or R308 million on the US PGA Tour and €17,661,955 or R288 million on the DP World Tour. Oosthuizen has won $28 124 759 (R432m) on the PGA Tour and €19 334 034 (R312m) on the DP World Tour. Grace has earned $12,222,147 (R188 million) on the PGA Tour and €14,152,358 (R233 million) on the DP World Tour.
💸 The #LIVGolf highest earners 😲 pic.twitter.com/8NZNwJI2sv
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) November 2, 2022
The Saudi regime’s human rights violations are heinous, and the country’s monarchy’s role in LIV via supporting the series through its Public Investment Fund has been widely criticised.
Events such as the LIV Golf series are blatant examples of “sports washing.” However, it is evident that the best players will always tee off if the money is appropriate.