Charl Schwartzel broke a long winless streak and took home golf’s biggest tournament prize, winning the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational – London and its $4 million first-place prize at the Centurion Club.
In addition, Schwartzel’s Stingers GC won the team competition and the $3 million prize shared among four team members – $750,000 each. In all, it was a $4.75 million payday for the 37-year-old South African – the biggest one-tournament total of his career.
“I really wanted to win again,” said Schwartzel after finishing at 7 under par. “I worked very hard the last few years and there were signs of good golf and just haven’t really been able to be in contention.”
Opening with 65-66, Schwartzel entered the final round with a three-shot lead and stretched it to five around the turn. He ran out of gas down the stretch but hung on for a 72 and a one-shot victory.
“I hit a wayward shot on 12 and it sort of derailed me,” Schwartzel said. “And then from there on, I was just trying to hang in. Hennie was playing some really good golf, he was hitting good shots and putting pressure. So you know, you could see it was a bit of just get in the house at the end.
“Couldn’t be more pleased and happy with how it turned out today.”
Finishing alone in second was Schwartzel’s teammate and compatriot Hennie Du Plessis (70), who finished 6 under.
In his six years as a tour pro, du Plessis had not even earned $1 million in career winnings. On Saturday, he won $2.125 million for solo second and another $750,000 for his team share, bringing his total to $2.875 million.
“I’ve worked hard to be in this position and to earn this amount of money,” said du Plessis. “I’ve got LIV Golf to thank for that, for giving me the opportunity. It’s been an incredible week and I’m very grateful and I’m very happy.”
Rounding out the top 3 in London was another South African in Branden Grace, who finished 5 under after a final-round 65.
“Today was really important for us to get a score that counted,” said Grace.
Peter Uihlein (69) finished tied with Grace on 5 under but lost the tiebreaker (final round score) and dropped to solo four. Sam Horsfield (68) grabbed the final spot in the top 5.
2022 LIV Golf Invitational – London
Leaderboard: Top 10
Pos-Player-To Par-(Final Rd)
1. Charl Schwartzel -7 (+2)
2. Hennie Du Plessis -6 (E)
3. Branden Grace -5 (-5)
4. Peter Uihlein -5 (-1)
5. Sam Horsfield -3 (-2)
6. Oliver Bekker -2 (+1)
7. Adrian Otaegui -2 (-2)
8. Dustin Johnson -1 (E)
9. Talor Gooch E (-1)
10. Louis Oosthuizen +1 (-1)
Notables
12. Graeme McDowell +1 (-4)
16. Martin Kaymer +3 (-1)
21. Ian Poulter +5 (+4)
22. Sergio Garcia +6 (+5)
29. Lee Westwood +8 (+2)
34. Phill Mickelson +10 (+6)
36. Kevin Na +10 (+6)
Top-5 Money Makers
1. Charl Schwartzel – $4.75M
2. Hennie Du Plessis – $2.875M
3. Branden Grace – $2.25M
4. Peter Uihlein – $1.425M
5. Louis Oosthuizen – $1.31M
