On Wednesday, longtime LIV captain and former major champion Louis Oosthuizen announced his departure from LIV Golf, dealing the latest blow to the league’s future.
Oosthuizen joins Jon Rahm as the most notable LIV players to publicly confirm their exits from the league. And while Rahm is a far better player than Oosthuizen, and his decision to leave far more impactful, Oosthuizen’s importance to the league should not be overlooked.
He captained the Southern Guards team for LIV’s entire existence. That team was made up entirely of South African pros, and LIV’s South Africa tournament has been one of its biggest success stories. Furthermore, Oosthuizen’s success in major championships, including his 2010 Open Championship victory and a pile of high finishes, raised the stature of the league.
Another difference between the two players’ departures? Rahm’s announcement came via lawyers in a bankruptcy court filing.
Oosthuizen took another route, penning an emotional farewell shared across his social channels.
Louis Oosthuizen confirms he’s leaving LIV Golf, plans to play DP World Tour
The post on Oosthuizen’s social channels opened by confirming that “he will not re-sign with LIV Golf for its next chapter” and instead will play the DP World Tour in 2027.
It then featured several quotes from Oosthuizen, in which the major champion shared that joining LIV at its inception was “one of the best decisions” of his life.
“Five years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life, moving away from the traditional golf world and into something very special with LIV Golf and Southern Guards GC. I’m the biggest supporter of team golf and always will be. Golf needs more of it,” Oosthuizen said.
Oosthuizen revealed that his decision hinged on his belief that he has a few years left to contend on pro golf’s biggest stages, and his “biggest fear” was that LIV’s 2027 schedule would hinder his ability to do so.
“I realized I have a lot more in me, and my biggest fear was that the schedule on LIV 2.0 would be tough to manage,” Oosthuizen said. “I feel I have a few more years of good, competitive golf left in me, and the only way to be really sharp and competitive is through a schedule I control.”
He also expressed his regrets over leaving his Southern Guards team and described his move away from LIV Golf as the “hardest decision” of his entire career.
“Southern Guards is my team. It always has been and it always will be. That’s what makes this so difficult. This is probably the hardest decision I’ve had to make in my career, but I have to do what I believe is right for my golf,” Oosthuizen explained. “It doesn’t change how I feel about the team or the guys.”
He continued: “Bringing LIV Golf to South Africa was one of the best things I’ve done in my career. It was for the people of South Africa, and I think it was a great success. That’s the best thing that came out of this year. I’ll always be grateful to PIF and LIV for what they did for me. I made new friends and got even closer to my current friends and family.”
In comments to the South China Morning Post ahead of his appearance in the Asian Tour’s Link Hong Kong Open, Oosthuizen said it was “time to move on,” and he reiterated his focus on the majors.
“I’ve had some success at majors, but you work and play to have a sniff of that again. I’m at a different stage of my golfing life, but it’s pretty sweet when you still get called the Open Champion,” Oosthuizen said. “The Open is at a course I love and where I’ve won. The goal is to get my game as sharp as possible, to have myself ready, then see how it goes.”
In addition to his 2010 Open win at St. Andrews, Oosthuizen has collected five runner-up finishes in majors, most recently at the 2021 PGA Championship and 2021 U.S. Open. He lost the 2012 Masters to Bubba Watson in a playoff, and Zach Johnson topped him in a three-man playoff at the 2015 Open at St. Andrews.
As a result of his 2010 win, Oosthuizen is qualified for every Open through the age of 60, so he’ll be there when it returns to St. Andrews’ Old Course in July of next year. He has significant work to do to qualify for the other 2027 majors.
Once ranked as high as 4th in the Official World Golf Ranking, Oosthuizen has seen his ranking plummet to 539th since joining LIV.
Oosthuizen is the second LIV captain to exit the league in recent weeks, following Rahm. Another captain could also be on his way out. Sergio Garcia’s LIV contract was terminated at his lawyers’ request in early October.
Garcia had previously expressed interest in playing LIV 2.0 and the DP World Tour in 2027. But in light of the DP World Tour’s recent LIV ban, he will have to choose between the two. Given his interest in being a part of the European Ryder Cup team, it seems likely he will choose to depart LIV Golf as well.
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