Home favorite Southern Guards GC enters the weekend at LIV Golf South Africa in contention for both the team and individual titles but will need to outlast a stacked leaderboard if the all-South African lineup hopes to leave Steyn City with either one of the highly coveted trophies.
As a team, the Southern Guards are in solo second, two shots behind Torque GC. Individually, Branden Grace is tied for second, two shots behind Crushers GC Captain Bryson DeChambeau, the 36-hole leader seeking his second consecutive LIV Golf individual title. Grace’s teammate Dean Burmester is tied for fourth, another shot back.
“This is exactly where I want to be going into the weekend,” Grace said. “Coming in, I know tomorrow is going to be even more electrifying than today – and we’re ready.”
DeChambeau began the day in a tie for the lead with teammate Charles Howell III but quickly took control with a spectacular eagle at the par-4 first. He was 5 under through his first five holes, looking as if he may run away with the tournament.
But last week’s Singapore winner cooled off, playing his next 10 holes at even par before finishing with a tap-in birdie on the par-5 18th. DeChambeau’s 6-under 65 stretched his score to 14-under for the week, with Grace and Fireballs GC’s David Puig his closest pursuers at 12 under.
Through birdies and bogeys, DeChambeau is soaking in the experience in LIV Golf’s first trip to the African continent, as well as his own personal initial visit to South Africa.
“Making birdies and playing great golf matters, and I still get frustrated and disappointed when things don’t go my way,” he said. “But I look back on it ultimately when I give a fist bump or a high five, that weighs a lot more on me, and I think it’s really cool to see that we’re doing this around the globe, especially here in South Africa.”
Grace shot a 5-under 66, riding hot irons and a steady putter to a strong round that included six birdies and only one bogey.
Grace, who didn’t have the opportunity to tee it up on the first hole on Thursday, got a taste of what his teammates Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel felt in such an important moment for the Southern Guards. He was in the final group with DeChambeau on Friday and will join him again – along with Puig – in the final group Saturday.
“Louis and (teammates) told me last night … listen, get yourself ready because you’ve not experienced anything like that. It was that and better,” said Grace.
“I got a little teared up there on the first hole. It’s a very special week for us. We’ve dreamt of bringing the LIV Golf event here to South Africa, and we bought into this thing from day one. We believe in the product. We believe in the league, and we believe in all the players here, and we believe in where we’re going.”
Puig went low, shooting a 7-under 64, tied for the low round of the day with Burmester to get into a tie for second alongside Grace. The Spaniard is looking for his first LIV Golf victory.
“I’ve been in this position before,” Puig said. “Never kind of got it done, but I’ve felt that I’m working on the right things, and I feel I’m ready. I’m pretty pumped, excited, and going to give it my best for the next two days.”
While DeChambeau owns the 36-hole lead and Grace enters Saturday as the closest South African chaser, it was Burmester who stole the show and electrified the home crowd after each of his multiple great shots and holed putts. It was especially true when he donned the just-released jersey of South African’s Bafana Bafana soccer team at the par-3 17th, then nearly walked in a hole-in-one.
“I’m having a hell of a lot of fun, I’m not going to lie,” said the affable Burmester. “It’s incredible the reception that we’ve all got. I’m sure all four of us have got. I walk on every tee box, walking down every fairway to every green, they’re all shouting my name … It’s hard not to smile out there; I’m not going to lie.”
The South African crowd is clearly cheering on their Southern Guards as well as the beloved DeChambeau, but after shooting a 5-under 66, Legion XIII captain Jon Rahm is poised to make his presence known this weekend. Rahm has now played two rounds without making a single bogey and is three shots back of DeChambeau’s lead at 11-under.
Tied with Rahm are both Abraham Ancer, who shot a 6-under 65 and Howell III, who shot a 3-under 68. Overall, there are 11 players within four shots of the lead.
The Southern Guards rode adrenaline to the first-round lead but now find themselves two shots back of Torque at the halfway stage. Torque was led a trio of 6-under 6’s from Ancer, Joaquin Niemann and Carlos Ortiz.
Burmester and Grace paced the Southern Guards as Louis Oosthuizen shot a 3-under 68 and Schwartzel carded a 1-under 70 as he continues to battle through back spasms.
Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs are another stroke back, while DeChambeau’s Crushers lurk in fourth. The most popular non-South African this week looks forward to the final 36 holes.
“It really did feel like Sunday out there already, and it’s only Friday,” DeChambeau said. “I can’t wait to see what the weekend brings. But this atmosphere is something that I want to play in a lot more, and I know we can do that across the globe.
“But this place is just a special place. It’s exceeded my expectations.”
TOP OF THE LEADERBOARDS
Individual Top 10
1 (-14) – Bryson DeChambeau, Crushers (63-65)
T2 (-12) – Branden Grace, Southern Guards (64-66); David Puig, Fireballs (66-64)
T4 (-11) – Jon Rahm, Legion XIII (65-66); Dean Burmester, Southern Guards (67-64); Abraham Ancer, Torque (66-65); Charles Howell III, Crushers (63-68)
T8 (-10) – Talor Gooch, Smash (65-67); Joaquin Niemann, Torque (67-65); Carlos Ortiz, Torque (67-65); Richard Bland, Cleeks (66-66)
Team Top 3
1 (-36) – Torque GC (Ancer 66-65, Niemann 67-65, Ortiz 67-65, Muñoz 70-67; Rd. 2 score: -22)
2 (-34) – Southern Guards GC (Grace 64-66, Burmester 67-64, Oosthuizen 69-68, Schwartzel 66-70: Rd. 2 score: -16)
3 (-33) – Fireballs GC (Puig 66-64, Ballester 69-65, Garcia 64-70, Masaveu 70-67: Rd. 2 score: -18)
ROUND 1 NOTES
DECHAMBEAU’S ELECTRIC START: Bryson DeChambeau began his second round with an incredible slam-dunk eagle on the 393-yard par-4 1st. After his 355-yard tee shot found the right rough 61 feet, 10 inches from the hole, DeChambeau was faced with a relatively difficult greenside chip shot for his second. The Crushers GC captain gauged it out of the thick Kikuyu rough, jarring it for a two on the scorecard.
“All I was thinking was, just hit it a little left, a little long, make a 12-footer for birdie, nothing crazy,” said DeChambeau. “At the last moment I just said, I feel like I can hit this harder and push it more towards the hole, and I did that. I mean, I didn’t think I’d fly it in, but I hooped it, and that was one of the worst celebrations I’ve ever had in my entire life, so pretty disappointed in that, actually.”
DeChambeau’s eagle on the first was the third time he’s eagled his first hole in a round. Round 2 in Indianapolis 2025 and Round 1 in Mexico City 2025 were the others.
PHIL BOUNCES BACK: On Thursday, Phil Mickelson made his 2026 LIV Golf season debut after missing the first four events due to a family health matter. Understandably, the HyFlyers GC captain struggled to a 4-over 75 that included both a double-bogey and a triple bogey.
After shaking off the rust, Mickelson bounced back with a stellar round on Friday. He made four birdies without a single blemish on the scorecard, posting a 4-under 67.
WILDCARDS STAY HOT: Last week in Singapore, Richard T. Lee almost pulled off the unexpected, with the Canadian taking Bryson DeChambeau to a playoff before missing a two-foot putt to fall just short of LIV Golf history as the league’s first Wild Card winner. This week, a few other Wild Cards continue to show the stacked field that they belong.
Scott Vincent, from nearby Zimbabwe, and Japan’s Yosuke Asaji both enter the weekend in the top 20. Vincent has posted rounds of 66-68 to sit in a tie for 15th while Asaji went 68-67 and currently has a share of 19th. Asaji, who entered the week as the only player in the league without an eagle, had two eagles in his round.
“It’s been amazing,” said Vincent of the support he’s received from the fans at Steyn City. “Every fairway people are cheering for me and yelling ‘Zimbo’ for Zimbabwe. Loving it. The support is unreal. I wish I could have more events like this.”
GUARDING THE LION’S DEN: Steyn City’s signature hole – the 153-yard par-3 17th nicknamed the Lion’s Den – has delivered some electric moments through the first two rounds. On Friday, the Southern Guards protected their home turf by turning the Lion’s Den into target practice.
Dean Burmester, Charl Schwartzel and Branden Grace put their tee shots to a combined 8 feet, 2 inches. Burmester and Grace made birdie on the hole, while Schwartzel missed his short putt. Burmester’s shot was only one foot away and the closest of the week so far.
“That’s top three highlights of my career, I think, especially after hitting a shot like that after all of that is awesome,” Burmester said of his dart into 17. “Yesterday I tried to get them amped up, and I airmailed the green, so today obviously I took less club, and it worked out. It’s a bit of a guessing game with adrenaline pumping through your veins.”
“The good thing about 17 is you can control your nerve to be able to hit a golf shot like that,” explained Grace. “It was just such a perfect distance. It was 141 yards, a little down off the left, and it was just a stock standard wedge, didn’t have to do anything special. It was more really just backing yourself to aim a little left because of the wind direction. It was phenomenal to be able to hit a golf shot like that under that pressure and then to see the crowd go absolutely bonkers.”
Louis Oosthuizen put his shot to 18 feet, 9 inches and made par.
NUMBER 22: When he reached the 17th hole, Southern Guards’ Dean Burmester put on the new kit released Friday by South Africa’s national football (soccer) team, Bafana Bafana. Burmester explained why he opted for No. 22 on the back of his jersey.
“So, 22. Two when I was growing up was my favorite number, and then I met my wife, and then two became her favorite number, and then 22 became our favorite number because we’re two twos,” Burmester said. “So we got married on the 22nd of the 11th month, and everything is kind of divisible by two. When I played cricket, I always used to bowl two. I bowled second. I always had two on my jersey, and it became 22 when we became more than one person, so it’s a pretty cool sentimental thing.”
HEADING INTO SELLOUT WEEKEND: Following the conclusion of Friday’s Rd. 2, the league announced that Saturday and Sunday are officially sold out. The shotgun start for Saturday’s Rd. 3 has been moved up to 9:35 a.m. Gates at The Club at Steyn City will open at 8:15 a.m. The live broadcast will begin at 10 a.m. (all times local).
NOTES & NUGGETS
With his two-putt on his first hole, Anthony Kim reached his 300th consecutive hole without a three-putt, the third player in LIV history to achieve such a streak.
Every player that missed the green on the 576-yard par-5 fourth made up and down on Friday. Through the two rounds, the field is a perfect 10-for-10 in sand saves at that hole
The Southern Guards’ 36-hole score of 34 under is the team’s lowest through two rounds, beating their previous best of 33 under last year in Chicago, the team’s most recent victory.
Thanks in large part to Carlos Ortiz’s birdie putt of 77.7 feet at the par-3 third, Torque GC has holed nearly 376-1/2 feet of putts Friday, most of any team.
Torque’s last 36-hole lead was last year in the regular-season finale in Indianapolis, the team’s most recent win.
Bryson DeChambeau’s leading total of 14 under is his lowest LIV Golf score through 36 holes. He has now held the lead seven times in his LIV Golf career, converting two into victories.
Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann leads the field in Strokes Gained Off The Tee through 36 holes at +3.54, including +2.36 on Friday.
Jon Rahm’s birdie on the fifth hole Friday was his 500th hole played under par in his LIV Golf career. He also had played his last 40 holes bogey-free.
Branden Grace led the field in Greens In Regulation for a second consecutive round and has missed just three greens through the first two rounds.
No surprise that Fireballs GC’s David Puig played so well on Friday, shooting a 7-under 64 to tie with Dean Burmester for best in the field. Puig entered this week ranked T3 in Rd. 2 scoring average at 66.06.
Abraham Ancer hit all 14 fairways on Friday, becoming just the second player this season to hit every fairway in a single round (Younghan Song, Hong Kong, Rd. 1)
STATS LEADERS
Round 2
Driving Distance: Matthew Wolff, 341.1-yard avg.
Longest Drive: Peter Uihlein, 359.8 yards (15th hole)
Driving Accuracy: Abraham Ancer, 100% (14 of 14)
Greens in Regulation: Branden Grace, Brendan Steele, 88.89% (16 of 18)
Scrambling: 10 players tied at 100%, led by Josele Ballester (8 of 8)
Fewest Putts: Josele Ballester, 23
Bogey-free rounds: Dean Burmester (64), Carlos Ortiz (65), Josele Ballester (65), Jon Rahm (66), Brendan Steele (66), Thomas Pieters (67), Talor Gooch (67), Bubba Watson (67), Phil Mickelson (67)
Cumulative
Driving Distance: Matthew Wolff, 337.2-yard avg.
Driving Accuracy: Abraham Ancer, Ben Campbell 92.86% (26 of 28)
Greens in Regulation: Branden Grace, 91.67% (33 of 36)
Scrambling: Richard Bland (8 of 8), Jon Rahm (7 of 7) 100%
Fewest Putts: Bryson DeChambeau, Charles Howell, 51
Fewest bogeys: Jon Rahm, 0.
This piece is courtesy of Mike McAllister in partnership with LIV Golf.