Charl Schwartzel has the distinction of setting yet another precedent for LIV Golf -- defending champion.
The former Masters champion won LIV's inaugural event 13 months ago, collecting a $20 million check, which was a record in professional golf at the time. He is back at the Centurion Club this week to defend his title along with team Stinger GC, which swept the podium in London last year.
"Last year at this time, there was a lot of uncertainty. We were getting a bit of scrutiny," Schwartzel said on Thursday. "But here we are a year later, and it seems like there's a lot of positives for the future.
"Wherever we've gone in the last year, it seems like every event has gone really successful, and it looks like there's a lot more -- people are looking for more tournaments, more local tournaments going forward, so it seems like it's very positive."
There also remains a lot of uncertainty -- and spirited debate -- following the framework merger between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and the Public Investment Fund (PIF). What LIV's future will look like is among the most hotly debated topics, but the Stinger GC players only see improvement and growth on the horizon.
"Everything has gotten bigger and better as the weeks progressed on," Branden Grace said. "Obviously, the way we started last year was like a fairy-tale start, getting one-two-three on the podium and the team win, as well.
"It's just amazing how things have progressed, how happy we are, how we're enjoying golf, how we're enjoying the environment, and it's great to be here."
After defending their individual and team titles at Centurion this week, Grace, Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen will turn their attention to The Open Championship. Oosthuizen was already in the field, while Schwartzel and Grace went through qualifiers along with Stinger GC teammate Dean Burmester, who did not make The Open field.
Schwartzel believes the strong showing by LIV players in majors this year -- most notably, Brooks Koepka winning the PGA Championship -- validates the quality of golf being played on the breakaway tour. His counter to critics of the 54-hole team format is that players are showing up ahead of tournaments just as they did before, all while being more prepared because there are fewer rounds to grind through.
"Guys come and spend more time," he said. "I think their games are sharp when they do start the tournaments, and I think we can see why the scores that are being shot -- the guys are playing really good out here. What it does is it's broken up nicely for us so you can stay sharp."
Oosthuizen, 40, acknowledged that he was on his "final stages there on the PGA Tour" and considered walking away from the tour after 2021. LIV arrived and presented what Oosthuizen said "was an opportunity I didn't want to let go."
A "major" sticking point is the lack of Official World Golf Ranking points for LIV players. Players continue to slide down the world rankings as they have only the majors to currently earn points in -- and the majors are becoming increasingly difficult to qualify for without earning rankings pints for LIV events.
Oosthuizen is currently ranked 348th, down from No. 22 just last summer. Schwartzel has plummeted from 116th after the 2022 PGA Championship to 297th. Branden Grace, once ranked as high as No. 10 in the world, is now 383rd.
Burmester, the only member of Stinger GC who won't be at The Open - is still inside the Top 100 at No. 98. But that's only because he joined LIV this year, competing in three PGA Tour events in 2023 before making the move and then added a 54th at the PGA to slow his rankings slide, if only temporarily.
Asked whether he hopes the framework agreement will open the door for a return to the Presidents Cup, Oosthuizen took aim at the rankings system.
"Look, there's a lot of things that need to happen. I think the first thing is somehow getting world ranking points to LIV or changing the system completely," he said. "I think the system at the moment is really -- it's not a real reflection of what's going on out there.
"That can change, and we can somehow get back to getting points and things, I think there's a lot more possibilities to play."
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