The Southern Guards were led by Branden Grace, who shot a 7-under 64 with only one bogey on his scorecard.

“It’s amazing,” said Grace about playing in front of the home fans. “This is what we hoped for. They’re coming out in numbers. They’re coming out to support the event. I feel South Africa has been hungry for a big golf event like this and this experience.”

RELATED: Southern Guards face the tricky challenge of being the hometown favourites

Charl Schwartzel, who teed it up Thursday morning despite dealing with back spasms, rode the adrenaline provided by the home crowd to a 5-under 66.

“I think that was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had on a golf course,” Schwartzel said. “I’ve played Presidents Cups, I’ve teed off in front of Presidents in New York, and that first tee gave me goosebumps. I almost had tears in my eyes. It was a really proud moment.”

"This is probably the greatest day I’ve had on a golf course" – @BurmyGolf #LIVGolfSouthAfrica | @SouthernGuards pic.twitter.com/gRIg5xwj5s

— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) March 19, 2026

Prior to tee off, Schwartzel was unsure that he could even play due to the injury.

“It was close,” he said. “I phoned Louis last night, and I said, I don’t think I’m going to be able to play. Bad back started in Singapore on Sunday, and I thought I could get it better. Tuesday was better, Wednesday got real bad. I think I was out here 6 a.m. this morning, four hours before my tee time getting acupuncture and physio and warm baths and all sorts of things that I could try and do. I managed it, but I feel like it was all on adrenaline.”

Dean Burmester shot a 4-under 67 and captain Louis Oosthuizen shot a 2-under 69.

Like Schwartzel, Burmester was extremely emotional on such an important day for both the Southern Guards and LIV Golf.

“It’s probably the pinnacle of my career, honestly,” said Burmester. “This is probably the greatest day I’ve had on the golf course, the most fun, the most backing I’ve ever had. I’ve played all over the world and I’ve never felt this kind of emotion and this electricity. Obviously, they’re backing the Southern Guards boys, and all four of us I’m sure were getting shouted for all over the golf course. That lifted us up.

“I walked on to that first tee after the 18th, shaking like a poisoned dog and shed a tear, really. Yes, it was emotional. It was amazing. That’s about all I can say about it.”

Added Oosthuizen: “I was a little lost for words on No. 1 when Charl teed off. I stood there and I had goosebumps. To see all these people here, I know what it took to bring this tournament here, and the fans were unbelievable.”

Bryson cutting corners to the fairway

He's currently 6-under and 2 back of teammate Charles Howell III #LIVGolfSouthAfrica | @Crushers_GC pic.twitter.com/injKR1ID03

— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) March 19, 2026

On the individual side, it was a pair of Crushers GC teammates, Bryson DeChambeau and Charles Howell III, that grabbed the early lead at 8 under. Howell shot a bogey-free 63 while DeChambeau’s included one bogey on the par-3 eighth.

The Crushers’ captain remains in impeccable form after winning LIV Golf Singapore last week.

“I’m playing really good,” DeChambeau said. “My driver just got a little quirky today. I still feel like I’m playing really good, swinging it well. Just going to go tighten it up a little bit. But yeah, for the most part I feel really comfortable with my game.”

Jon Rahm, in terrific form himself, fired a bogey-free 6-under 65 and is in striking distance of the leaders.

Fireballs GC Captain Sergio Garcia shot a bogey-free 7-under 64 and is T3 alongside Grace. Talor Gooch carded a 6-under 65 and sits in a tie for fifth with Rahm.

Ten players, including Cameron Smith, David Puig and Lee Westwood, are 5 under in a tie for 7th.

Overall, Steyn City played extremely easily with a scoring average of –2.74, with 12 of the 18 holes playing under par.

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The Southern Hemisphere showdown between the all-South African team and all-Australian team has thus far been one-sided, with Ripper having won six times as a team on LIV Golf to the Southern Guards’ three. This season, Ripper began the season by winning back-to-back in Riyadh and on home soil in Adelaide.

“I think we’re all really determined to keep the momentum going,” said Ripper GC captain Cameron Smith. “I think it’s obviously a lot of hard work to do that and something that we’re trying to do. But at the moment, we’re all playing really good golf. We feel confident.”

Although they haven’t finished on the podium yet this season, the Southern Guards are getting better each week and rounding into form at just the right time. Branden Grace began his season with back-to-back top 10’s in Riyadh and Adelaide, Louis Oosthuizen finished T8 in Hong Kong, Dean Burmester has finished in the top 10 in three of four starts, and while Charl Schwartzel hasn’t had the high-end finishes like his teammates, he’s finished in the top 30 of all four tournaments this year.

“We know everybody has played some good golf,” said Grace. “We know that we’re trending. So that is good. Obviously, the last couple of weeks Louis has really played well, Charl has been up there, Burmy has had three top 10s, I started off pretty decent this season, and we’ve been very solid.”

Matthew Harris/LIV Golf

The rivalry truly began at LIV Golf Adelaide in 2024, when the teams faced off in the league’s first team playoff. On Ripper home turf, it boiled down to a sudden death playoff: Smith and Leishman against Oosthuizen and Burmester. Ripper pulled it out on the second extra hole, snatching the team title in front of the raucous Aussie crowd. If the two clubs find themselves duking it out at Steyn City, the Australians fully expect the partisan crowd to be rooting for the South Africans.

“I think there’s definitely motivation for the Southern Guards. Obviously getting beaten in a playoff, they probably are after revenge,” said Leishman. “What a great place to try and get it, here in their home country … We’re definitely excited to try and take it up to the Southern Guards, and I’m sure they’re ready for a big week, as well.”

That playoff represented a long-standing sporting rivalry between Australia and South Africa and set the stage for future battles between the prideful teams.

“Being part of that playoff was one of the best things I’ve ever done in the game of golf, obviously not coming out on top,” reflected Burmester. “I think the first playoff hole – Louis and I say it all the time – we had our chances and didn’t take it. But it was an amazing stadium kind of atmosphere. It was like any other sport you’d play anywhere in the world; I think rugby for us and cricket and such the rivalry against the Australians for so long has been something that’s come through generations.”

The rivalry extends beyond the golf course. While they have mutual respect, each nation wants to prove they have the best golf fan base in the world.

“I’m not going to say much about Australia except you know we’re going to have more people than Australia there” said Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie after the announcement of the event last summer. “To Australia’s minister, my counterpart, the fight is on. The challenge is on.”

Sarah Snyder/LIV Golf

The challenge will be a steep one for South Africa. LIV Golf Adelaide has become the headliner of the LIV Golf season, and this season saw 115,000 fans attend the tournament across the week at The Grange Golf Club, making it the highest-attended golf event in Australian history.

“We love the fact that we’ve got the best LIV tournament in the world, certainly in terms of crowd numbers,” said South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas after the historic event earlier this season. “But I can’t tell you how excited I am that we’ve got some competition coming our way. South Africa is not too dissimilar to Australia. Here is a market that has produced some of the world’s best golfers, and here is a market that’s been underserved.”

South Africa has responded by selling over 90,000 tickets so far for the week, which doesn’t include children under the age of 12, who’ll get in free.

90 000 TICKETS SOLD – Thank you South Africa! We are on our way! Can’t wait to see you at @Steyn_City #golf #livgolf #southernguards #sports @livgolf_league pic.twitter.com/bpYU7GWV57

— Southern Guards GC (@SouthernGuards) March 15, 2026

While the teams are eager to beat each other, they are also connected by representing a distinctive region of golf fans that are some of the most knowledgeable and passionate fan bases in the world.

“I’d expect [the fans] to get behind the Southern Guards the way that the Adelaide crowds have got behind the Ripper team the last couple of years,” said Lucas Herbert. “A really good, loyal, vocal fan base out here in South Africa. You see that across all the sports they excel in, whether it’s rugby, cricket, they get right behind their national teams, and the Southern Guards really represent South Africa well at this point in the golfing scene, so I would imagine they would be pretty vocally behind them.”

Both teams are extremely close off the golf course, with their relationships defined by their national pride as well as their drive to get better on the golf course.

“I think we’re all pretty cruisy, all pretty laid back,” said Smith. “But all extremely motivated to do better. We have a laugh in the team room, in dining, but once we get out on the golf course, even in practice rounds, we’re all competitive, trying to make each other better. It’s a really good team dynamic that we have and something that we’re super proud of. But we’re always trying to get better.”

The Ripper boys have had the edge this season, but with a home course advantage and plenty of experience on South Africa’s unique agronomy, the Southern Guards are confident they’ll earn their first big blow in the rivalry this week.

“We grew up with kikuyu grass,” Grace explained. “The rest of the field has probably never even seen it the way that we know it. It’s immaculate. It’s in awesome condition. Obviously, the weather has not played its part so much, but I think the weather for the week looks good, so the course is just going to get firmer, faster, better, but we’re all in for a hell of a treat.”

“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,” Grace added. “Sometimes just being relaxed and having a good time is all it needs. I think everybody is in for a big treat this week.”

Burmester, who finished runner-up in the 2022 Steyn City Championship, put it more bluntly: “Get the crowd get behind us, and we expect a lot of great things, and pretty sure the Aussies might have a slightly harder time than they do in Adelaide.”

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