Three South African golfers have earned over half a billion rand on the LIV Golf tour, with Branden Grace leading the pack at $40,158,094, amid uncertainties surrounding the league’s future due to Saudi PIF funding withdrawal and strategic shifts. Seen here: (l-r) Branden Grace, Louis Oosthuizen, Dean Burmester, Charl Schwartzel. Picture: Southern Guards GC
Image: Southern Guards GC
It’s great work if you can get it. That’s certainly true of playing on the LIV Golf tour, and even more so in the case of South African golfers.
Branden Grace is the leading SA money earner on the Saudi-funded breakaway tour, which began in 2022.
The following are total earnings, including team prize money and bonuses.
Grace, in 53 events, has earned a staggering $40,158,094, which works out to R671,392,994, or well over half a billion rand. Part of this total included an $8m (R133m) bonus for finishing second on the LIV Golf money list in 2022.
Grace is ninth on the career earnings charts for LIV Golf, with Spain’s Jon Rahm leading the way with $92,433,196, which works out to over R1,5bn.
Next is Dean Burmester with $32,883,723 from 47 events, which is R549,937,658.
In third among the SA contingent is Louis Oosthuizen after 54 events. The 2010 Open champion has pocketed $30,477,474 or R510,174,223.
Fourth is 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel with his earnings of $27,920,588 or R467,417,425. As the ‘poor man’ of the SA quintet which make up the Southern Guards, Schwartzel is the only player to not yet surpass the half a billion mark.
Here is the complete list of SA player career earnings on the LIV Golf Tour:
Three South African golfers have earned over half a billion rand on the LIV Golf tour, with Branden Grace leading the pack at $40,158,094, amid uncertainties surrounding the league’s future due to Saudi PIF funding withdrawal and strategic shifts. Graphic: IOL
Image: IOL
The future of LIV Golf, however, remains uncertain as the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) withdrew its funding, and the league has already announced a new investment plan as a result.
At the heart of the uncertainty is a broader shift in Saudi Arabia’s strategic priorities. The PIF—one of the world’s most powerful sovereign wealth funds—has used sport as a key pillar of its global investment strategy, aligning with the kingdom’s Vision 2030 plan to diversify its economy and expand its international influence.
However, those investments have not been without controversy. Critics have frequently described Saudi Arabia’s aggressive push into global sport—including LIV Golf—as an attempt at “sportswashing,” a term used to suggest that high-profile sporting investments are designed to improve the country’s international image amid ongoing scrutiny of its human rights record.
Saudi officials have consistently rejected that characterisation, arguing that the investments are part of long-term economic diversification.