Emotions run high as LIV Golf tees off on the African continent

[p]To the delight of the partisan home crowd the ‌South African team, the Southern Guards, lead the team event at ‌18 under-par on an emotional day on the Highveld.[/p][p]South ‌Africa has a long and storied golf history and while it has several tournaments on the DP World Tour, lacks a major event ‌to bring some of the sport's best to ⁠its shores.[/p][p]With several Major ‌winners in the LIV Golf field, interest in the inaugural tournament on ​African soil has been enormous, with around 100,000 tickets expected to be sold over the four days.[/p][p] South African [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/schwartzel-charl/4pAWLCrO/"]Charl Schwartzel[/a] said. [b]"I've ⁠played Presidents Cups, I've ​teed off in front of Presidents in New York, and that first tee gave me goosebumps.[/b][/p][p][b]"I almost had tears in my eyes. It was a really proud moment."[/b][/p][embed guid="6f8002b2-da89-497f-a10f-ec6bb0c3630c" url="https://x.com/livgolf_league/status/2034682103967719888?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/howell-charles-iii/t2g5rWZR/"]Howell III[/a] was faultless in ‌his round with eight birdies, while [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/dechambeau-bryson/vZG7Cn7s/"]DeChambeau[/a] managed nine birdies but also dropped a shot on the par-three eighth.[/p][p]Home golfer [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/grace-branden/S2gO5fgJ/"]Branden Grace[/a] (64) is a shot further back on the par-71 Jack Nicklaus-designed course, tied for third with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/garcia-sergio/fRIZumKj/"]Sergio Garcia[/a] (64).[/p][p][b]"It's amazing," [/b]Grace said. [b]"This is what we hoped for. I feel South Africa has been hungry for a big golf event like this and this experience."[/b][/p][embed guid="230ade1d-9fba-4001-8ecc-aad925827b88" url="https://x.com/livgolf_league/status/2034667962557235258?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]The team event collates the scores of ‌the four players, with Grace, Schwartzel (66), [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/burmester-dean/rHpTAtr2/"]Dean Burmester[/a] (67) and captain [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/oosthuizen-louis/buFvZY7a/"]​Louis Oosthuizen[/a] (69) out in front.[/p][p]Burmester also conceded to shedding ‌a tear on a day he will never forget.[/p][p][b]"It's probably the pinnacle of my career, honestly,"[/b] he said. [b]"This is probably the greatest day I've had on the golf course, the most fun, the most backing I've ever had.[/b][/p][p][b]"I've ⁠played all over the world ⁠and I've never felt ‌this kind of emotion and this electricity."[/b][/p]