Ripper GC ready to re-ignite old rivalry at Steyn City<\/a><\/p>\nWhile none of the quartet topped the individual leaderboard, their collective effort \u2013 highlighted by a late charge \u2013 set the tone for what looms as a fiercely supported home campaign, much in the same vein as LIV Golf Adelaide and the all-Aussie Ripper GC team.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably the pinnacle of my career, honestly,\u201d said Dean Burmester after a four-under 67. \u201cProbably the greatest day I\u2019ve had on the golf course, the most fun, the most backing I\u2019ve ever had. I\u2019ve played all over the world, and I\u2019ve never felt this kind of emotion and this electricity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Charl Schwartzel, who battled a back issue to post a five-under 66, echoed that sentiment.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the best experiences I\u2019ve ever had on a golf course,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve played Presidents Cups. I\u2019ve teed off in front of presidents in New York and that first tee gave me goosebumps. I almost had tears in my eyes. It was a really proud moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Branden Grace led the charge for the hosts with a seven-under 64 to sit tied for third individually, while captain Louis Oosthuizen \u2013 instrumental in bringing LIV Golf to the country \u2013 signed for a two-under 69 that featured early turbulence before settling.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what it took to bring this tournament here, and the fans were unbelievable,\u201d Oosthuizen said. \u201cFor a Thursday, to have this many people here, it\u2019s all our dreams come true.\u201d<\/p>\n
Southern Guards\u2019 round built momentum late. After a steady opening stretch, the team caught fire across the back end of their rounds, sparked in part by Grace\u2019s eagle early in his inward nine. The quartet played their final holes in a combined 10-under, riding a wave of noise and energy that translated directly to the scoreboard.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think everybody just got on the bandwagon and one thing led to another,\u201d Grace said.<\/p>\n
Despite the home dominance in the team standings, it was Crushers GC who set the individual pace, with captain Bryson DeChambeau and Charles Howell III sharing the lead at eight-under 63.<\/p>\n
DeChambeau, fresh off a playoff win in Singapore, closed with four birdies in his final six holes in his first competitive appearance in South Africa, playing alongside Oosthuizen and Dustin Johnson in the marquee group.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat an environment,\u201d DeChambeau said. \u201cSouth Africa showed out today, and it\u2019s only Thursday. I\u2019m quite impressed with the environment here and the people and the love that we felt today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Howell\u2019s round was notable for its precision, producing his sixth bogey-free card of the season while leading the field in strokes gained putting on softened greens following heavy rain earlier in the week.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it\u2019s a big week for them, a special week for them, but it\u2019s also a big week for LIV and LIV Golf on a global scale,\u201d Howell said. \u201cI\u2019m quite sure the next three days will be pretty crazy and chaotic out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cam Smith was the pick of the Aussies, carding an opening round of 5-under to help Ripper GC reach a 12-under total to sit tied-ninth five shots back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[IMAGE: LIV Golf] The long-awaited arrival of LIV Golf in South Africa delivered both theatre and a homegrown…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":551970,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,273011,6933,6409,273012,273013,273014,273015,755,272341,36642,198637,273016,85,272342],"class_list":["post-551969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-branden-grace","tag-bryson-dechambeau","tag-cam-smith","tag-charl-schwartzel","tag-charles-howell-iii","tag-crushers-gc","tag-dean-burmester","tag-golf","tag-liv-golf-south-africa","tag-louis-oosthuizen","tag-ripper-gc","tag-southern-guards","tag-sports","tag-the-club-at-steyn-city"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=551969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551969\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/551970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=551969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=551969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=551969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}