The first-ever LIV Golf tournament in Africa is taking place in Johannesburg this week at the Steyn City Golf Club in the Fourways area.

Fifty-seven golfers will be in action each day from Thursday to Sunday.

Thirteen teams of four players each will also be vying for a team prize at the end of the week. There will also be five “wild card” players participating.

A South African team, made up of Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Dean Burmester and Branden Grace, feature on the LIV tour and will be in action at Steyn City. They’re called the Southern Guards, previously known as Stinger Golf.

LIV Golf teed off for the first time in June 2022. Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace and Dean Burmester have won individual tournaments.

A staggering amount of money is again on offer this week, as is the case at every LIV Golf tournament.

The total purse for each tournament is $30 million (R510 million) – $20 million to be split among the individuals and $10 million to be shared among the teams.

The winner on Sunday, with the best score after four rounds of golf, will bank $4 million. In Rand terms that is R68 million.

Second place gets $2,25 million (R38,25 million), while third place gets $1,50 million (R25,50 million).

But it’s not only the podium finishers who’re well compensated for their efforts; every player in LIV gets something. There’s no halfway cut so the player who finishes last, in 57th place this weekend, will pocket $50,000 or R850,000.

The winning team will get $3 million (R51million). The last-placed team (13th of the teams) will share $200,000 (R3,4 million).

For interests’ sake, the winner of last week’s Players Championship on the US PGA Tour, which is regarded by many as the unofficial fifth Major, Cameron Young, received a winner’s prize of $4,5 million.