At the start of this year, Stingers GC was rebranded as Southern Guards GC. The new identity was inspired by the principle of Ubuntu – “I am because we are” – and represents a new chapter for the all-South African team.
Central to its refreshed identity is the rhino, a powerful symbol deeply rooted in our culture. (You’ll see the animal emblazoned on their new kit.) It represents strength and resolve, embodying the team’s competitive toughness and commitment to legacy.
Richard Glover, General Manager of Southern Guards GC, said in January: “This has been an emotional and considered decision, but we felt the time was right to embrace a name and visual identity that more authentically reflects who we are and where we come from. Southern Guards GC reflects the responsibility we carry in representing South Africa on a global stage. With LIV Golf coming to the country for the first time, the timing couldn’t be more fitting for us to represent our heritage with pride.”
The rebrand marks a defining moment for the South African team as anticipation builds for LIV Golf South Africa, set to take place at Steyn City, Joburg from 19–22 March 2026.
The Captain
Louis Oosthuizen
Age: 43
Career Highlights:
- 2 x LIV Golf playoffs; Tucson & Dallas
- 11 x European Tour wins
- 1 x PGA Tour win
His name is synonymous with SA golf. A legend by every metric and a player known for his smooth swing and resolute consistency. Louis Oosthuizen has got accolades aplenty, but his foray into LIV represents a new chapter, not just captaining a team of close friends, but spear-heading his own business. It’s a lesser-known fact that this is also a financial venture for the pro golfer, and so he splits his time between golfing and building a successful brand.
Oosthuizen is laidback in his interview, his answers short and to the point. Quizzed on his mindset going into a new era of golf, he says: “It’s a very chilled mindset really on the team thing… The business side of things is more working with our GM to see if we can build the brand and build the name. Southern Guards GC is a new moniker for the roster after they rebranded from Stingers GC at the start of this year. “It’s its own identity, basically,” says Oosthuizen. The name Stingers had been inherited.
“We chose the name. So, I think it’s easier to build on from this. More South African sort of. Hopefully, we can build the Southern Guards to be bigger than what it was.” The rebrand was ushered in ahead of the inaugural LIV Golf event in South Africa, and Oosthuizen is excited for the spectacle of a truly major tournament in the country again. “The goal is to bring it to the people,” he says. “I can’t remember the last time we had a massive event with big names playing.”
At the time of our interview, Oosthuizen and the team were in Adelaide ahead of the tournament’s Australian leg. He’s just finished up a morning practice round “in the sun”, so it’s a chance to ask how he prepares for tournaments. In recent years, there’s been an uptick in pro golfers – particularly the new crop of younger stars – hitting the gym to add muscle to inject power into their swings, flexibility for smooth movements and cooldowns to ensure they aren’t plagued by aches, niggles and pains.
“I’ve never been a gym-er. I’ve got a few band exercise that I do, but I’m not one who goes after weights and does the whole gym thing,” he says. “All-natural raw strength,” adds Oosthuizen, laughing. His approach to prepping for LIV events takes a similar measured approach. In his own words, “When I take time off, I take time off.” Translation: if he’s got a three-week break, he won’t touch a club for two-thirds of his sabbatical. Then in the seven days leading up to an event, he’ll start playing rounds of golf with his mates, spend time in the putting studio at his home and work on a few skills that could use some “sharpening”.
When it comes to his mental reps, that’s a constant focus. “There’s a lot of quiet time, just you and your thoughts [when you’re playing in a tournament],” says Oosthuizen. He says that when he’s walking between shots, he tries to shut his mind off from anything golf-related, i.e., try not get lost in the weeds. That mental toll can put immeasurable strain on you over the course of the tournament, especially when the goal is to approach each shot with razor-sharp focus. Iiest’s why Oosthuizen’s primary objective as a captain is to ensure his teammates are relaxed. “I try just to be chill, really,” he says, sounding like nothing in the world can faze him.
The Heavy Hitter
Dean Burmester
Age: 37
Career Highlights:
- 2 x LIV Golf individual wins
- 4 x European Tour wins
- 11 x Sunshine Tour wins
Playing on the PGA Tour can be a lonely existence. You seemingly gravitate from the hotel room to press conferences to the course and back to your empty abode again, and again, and again. It’s the nature of a traditionally lone-wolf sport with a packed calendar and a field of similarly minded (and equally driven) individuals trying to master 18 holes to prove they’re at the top of their game. And you’re on the road, a lot. Before he signed up to Southern Guards GC to play in LIV Golf in 2023, Dean Burmester remembers he spent 34 weeks of the year prior playing in PGA Tour events.
“I missed my whole son’s year growing up,” he recalls. “I kind of felt like a stranger in my own house, you know, because you come home and then you feel like [you’re] disrupting the routine a little bit.”
There’s no doubt Burmester loved playing in the PGA Tour, but the trade-offs – long flights, empty hotel rooms and feeling like a foreigner in his own house – were starting to take their toll.
It was in this state of mind that he remembers getting a call from Louis Oosthuizen, the Southern Guards GC captain. “Yeah, so I initially got approached by the Secret Service… no, I’m kidding,” he says, dryly. “I had Louis’ number at the time. We played practice rounds at the Majors before and we’ve obviously spent quite a bit of time together. “I wouldn’t say that we were the best of friends – I probably knew Charl and Branden a lot better… But [Louis] said to me, ‘Look, I don’t know how you feel about it or what your standing is, but we would really love to have you’.”
In stark contrast to the Tour, LIV Golf sounded positively idyllic on the scheduling front. Rather than 72-hole, 4-round events with a field of over 100 players (and heartbreaking cut-offs), LIV at the time featured 54-hole, 3-round events and every player gets to play through to the bitter (or sweet) end. Plus, the PGA Tour can have as many as 47 events per year (see: the 2022/23 season) while LIV’s latest season has just 14 scheduled. A week later, after mulling the decision and bantering in a dedicated WhatsApp group, Burmester’s mind was made up. He was going to take a leap of faith and play in LIV.
Nerves, Belief and Beating a Legend
Unlike the ‘traditional’ golf tournaments, LIV is a team sport. While there are individual rankings and podium finishes, each player contributes to their overall team standings, too. (Think of it like F1’s Drivers and Constructors cups.)
In 2023, Burmester had an admirable start during his inaugural season of LIV, finishing 14th in the individual standings before returning home to win the Joburg Open and SA Open Championship. A highlight for sure, but that would pale in comparison to his feats in the third season of LIV in 2024.
On the heels of a T3 finish at the opening event in Mayakoba, he would go on to square off against the legendary Sergio Garcia and claim an undisputed first place in Miami. For Burmester, who grew up watching Garcia do battle with other greats like Els and Woods, it was a surreal experience. To play against him? “That was something I dreamt of as a kid,” he says. To actually beat him? He still thinks about that moment to this day.
But there’s another aspect to going head-to-head with such legendary figures of the game: how do you keep a cool head? Former Australian pro Bruce Crampton once described golf as a compromise between experience, ego and nerves.
“I think anxiety comes from a good place,” says Burmester. “You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t feel it a little bit. It’s just how you control it [that matters]. Focus, belief and self-talk, these things all play a big role in how you can take on a guy like Sergio down the stretch in a playoff.” Burmester says, ultimately, he feels calm in those moments. He’s in his element. He’s spent tons of hours in practice, doing countless repetitions and making small changes. “So when you get into that position [to play], it’s just about backing yourself more than anything else,” adds Burmester.
Why LIV Golf’s South African Debut Matters
LIV is gaining serious momentum. The tournament was smashing attendance records throughout last year, converting a wealth of new fans, and many of those were men and women who had never even considered giving golf a glance. And now, with LIV set to make its debut in SA at Steyn City, us locals get a chance to jump on the hype train. Burmester believes there’s a space for both ‘traditional’ golf and this new electric, all-vibes tournament. (LIV’s audience skews younger.) “There’s music, vibes and obviously drinks… You can have a good time, and I don’t see why there’s not a place for both things in the world of golf,” he says.
The Comeback King
Charl Schwartzel
Age: 41
Career Highlights:
- 1 x LIV Golf Invitational win; London, 2022
- 1 x Masters Tournament win
- 11 x European Tour wins
- 2 x PGA Tour wins
When Charl Schwartzel squared up to the tee at the inaugural LIV event in London in 2022, he hadn’t “won for a while”. “I had a drought for quite some time,” he says. “I was struggling with injuries and all sorts of things.”
He wanted a win, he was hungry for it. And what a place to potentially do it; on the debut leg of the maverick tournament that had plunged the golfing world into “turmoil”.
Schwartzel is no stranger to comebacks. Rewind the clock to 2011. It’s the final day of the 2011 Masters, and Rory McIlroy holds a four-shot lead over a four-man chasing pack, including Schwartzel. McIlroy looked unshakeable, but Schwartzel has always felt in his prime when the odds are stacked against him. “I always seem to play better in those sorts of circumstances. I don’t know if my concentration level goes up a notch… But I’ve always thrived under those conditions,” he says.
When the dust had settled, it would be Schwartzel who donned the Green Jacket after sinking four straight birdies in his final round – a first in the Masters’ 75-year history. Fast-forward back to London, and he would have to “dig deep” again. He hadn’t tasted victory in ages, but he caught a “sniff” that it was possible. With the eyes of the world on a new era of golf, Schwartzel would emerge as the winner of LIV’s first-ever tournament. No wonder pundits labelled him ‘The Comeback King’ on the heels of his spectacular Masters’ finish – Schwartzel is clearly someone who doesn’t buckle under pressure.
Inside the Brotherhood Powering Southern Guards GC
Schwartzel and Oosthuizen have known each other for more than 30 years. From their first meeting paired together at a competition, they became regular rivals and, later, teammates. “Our careers have followed a very similar path,” notes Schwartzel. Southern Guards GC feels like the culmination of decades of friendship, a chance to build something together. “We obviously gel well,” adds Schwartzel. “We know each other’s games, personal lives and all sorts of things really well. We are very comfortable.” Throw in the addition of Grace and Burmester to the roster, and it’s like getting to work your dream job with your closest mates.
Where Schwartzel and Oosthuizen differ most is in extra-curricular training. While his captain scoffs at spending endless hours in the gym, his colleague’s approach is the polar opposite. Having spent many years of his career plagued by injuries, he routinely notches weights training and running sessions to safeguard his body against setbacks. “I’ve gymed my whole career,” he adds. “I’ve been, very consistent, but not excessive. Off weeks, when he’s not playing in a tournament, “I can go a little heavier on the weights side but when the tournament weeks come in, I scale it down because I need my flexibility.”
He also swears by cold plunges. He’s had plenty of battles with injuries; how does he push through even when his performance dips? He says it’s about doing the right things: “There are no shortcuts or quick fixes. It takes time, it’s something none of us are very patient about but when you start playing and feeling better, it makes it all feel worth it.”
The Machine
Branden Grace
Age: 38
Career Highlights:
- 1 x LIV Golf Invitational win; Portland, 2022
- 6 x Sunshine Tour wins
- 9 x European Tour wins
- 2 x PGA Tour wins
The past few seasons of LIV have proved challenging for Branden Grace. While the golfer has a knack for breaking records and engineering greatness – from being the first player ever to shoot a 62 at The Open Championship in 2017 to notching an individual win in the Portland pitstop of LIV’s first event in the US – something had crept into his game and was holding him back: two torn ligaments in his wrist.
The injury hamstrung his performance from late 2023 to 2024. In 2025, he was forced to withdraw from the LIV event in Korea due to a flare-up. Fortunately, he avoided surgery.
What the injury did do was force him to rethink his approach to not only the game, but also his training. “I’ve never been a fan of fitness,” he says. “I’ve always hated it. I hate going into gyms and going on a treadmill. I do hate it.”
But after battling with his injuries for two years, Grace knew he had to get stronger. For the previously fitness-phobic golfer, his average training week is now stacked with regular workout routines and sessions with his physio.
“I’ve gone away from doing a helluva lot of golf training,” he says. “I won’t hit more than 100 balls a day.” With his wrist injury, it’s important to minimise the strain he’s putting on his body while his gym sessions help him bolster his core, shoulder and arm strength to prevent future setbacks down the road. Making these changes has been crucial to putting him in a good mental space after gritting his teeth through a trio of disappointing seasons. With a new game plan he’s feeling confident: “I’ve found the missing piece of the puzzle,” he says. “Work harder, get stronger and get fitter, that’s probably going to take care of [everything else].”
The Power of Playing on Home Soil
The timing of his redemption arc couldn’t be better with LIV making its first-ever stop in South Africa in March. He’s excited for this debut event, “it’ll tremendously help the sport grow,” he adds, enthusiastically. Grace remembers when the 2003 Presidents Cup was held at the Links at Fancourt in George.
A few days before the tournament, Grace had been practising at the range when he spotted two other golfers in the distance. When he approached, he realised it was Tiger Woods and Charles Howell III, two icons of the sport who require little introduction. “That’s when the golf bug really bit me,” he says. “That’s been our vision with [LIV in South Africa] – I get goosebumps – it’s to give something back to the fans who have really gotten behind us… The look on kids’ faces when they see someone like Dustin Johnson, Cam Smith, Louis [Oosthuizen]. I was really lucky to have that as a kid.” To notch a win on home soil? Nothing would feel sweeter.
