“Didn’t really know how to shake that champagne” - Charl Schwartzel reflects on his 2022 LIV Golf London win as he returns to Centurion Club
A year since it first started off, Charl Schwartzel is looking at how far the LIV Golf series has come and what a positive change it has been.
LIV Golf first made its debut in 2022 at the Centurion Club London. Now, it returns a year later, with excitement in the air.
The inaugural event was especially memorable for Charl Schwartzel. He managed to make a one-stroke victory to win the very first event of LIV Golf, taking home a cash prize of $5 million. The South African fondly remembers back to the time when he made his LIV Golf debut.
LIV Golf introduced a lot of new things to what was known to be a traditional gentlemanly sport. From team competition to wearing shorts and celebrating on the podium with champagne, it was a breath of fresh air for some.
Speaking about it via Golf Week, Charl Schwartzel said:
“I didn’t really know how to shake that champagne bottle. I had never really done that so that was new to try to figure that out. It was just new to golf. We’d never seen that. You see that in Formula 1 where they get podium finishes, and all of a sudden this is what LIV Golf has done."
Charl Schwartzel excited to be a part of the future of LIV Golf
Initially, when LIV Golf was announced, there was a lot of uncertainty regarding the future of the Series and how it would pan out with the PGA Tour. However, this year has seen a massive change and the future is looking positive for LIV Golf.
Speaking about the tournament's future, Schwartzel said:
“Last year at this time, there was a lot of uncertainty. We were getting a bit of scrutiny. But here we are a year later, and it seems like there’s a lot of positives for the future."
This year LIV Golf has seen added interest from fans, with spectators coming to watch all their events.
"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.”
Now, with the new Saudi PIF and PGA Tour deal, things are set to change even more.