Southern Guards GC secured a strong fourth-place finish at LIV Golf Adelaide, closing out a tightly contested weekend marked by record-breaking crowds and a dramatic individual comeback at The Grange Golf Club.
After a difficult opening round that left the team chasing the field, Southern Guards produced a composed response over the final three days, steadily climbing the leaderboard to fight their way back into contention and ultimately secure a top-four finish.
In front of unprecedented support, Anthony Kim completed a remarkable comeback to claim his first LIV Golf individual title. The Aces GC newcomer fired a final-round 9-under 63 to finish at 23-under-par, overturning a five-shot deficit to edge past major champions Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau in a dramatic Sunday finish.
The team competition remained fiercely contested throughout the weekend, with single shots separating multiple teams as standings shifted repeatedly. Home favourites Ripper GC ultimately claimed their second home victory in three years.
For the South Africans two players finished inside the top 10. Dean Burmester led the Southern Guards challenge, finishing tied sixth on 16-under-par, seven shots behind the winner, while Branden Grace ended tied eighth on 15-under-par.
Dean Burmester said: “What an event again. For four years we’ve been coming to Australia, and each year it gets bigger and better. They’ve put on an amazing show – certainly one of the coolest vibes I’ve experienced during my time at LIV. The team stuck together well. We had a tough first day where nobody really
performed, but we grew into the tournament day by day.”
LIV Golf Adelaide once again reinforced its reputation as one of the premier stops on the global schedule, setting a new attendance record for a professional golf event in Australia, with more than 115,000 spectators attending across four days.
Southern Guards GC now turn their attention briefly back to home soil, where Burmester, Grace and Charl Schwartzel will compete at the SA Open Championship at Stellenbosch Golf Club from 26 February to 1 March.
The LIV Golf season continues with upcoming events in Hong Kong and Singapore, before the league makes its historic debut in South Africa. Interest continues to build ahead of the event, with 76,806 tickets already sold, including just over 8,500 tickets secured for Thursday.
Article Link: Burmester praises Southern Guards after strong finish