Charl Schwartzel wins inaugural LIV Golf individual competition and $4 million prize

By CNN Sport staff

Updated 1001 GMT (1801 HKT) June 12, 2022

South African golfer Charl Schwartzel celebrates his victory at the LIV Golf Invitational.

(CNN)South African Charl Schwartzel won the inaugural individual stroke-play competition of the controversial Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series on Saturday.

With the victory, Schwartzel earned $4 million for the three-round, 54-hole event. The 37-year-old shot 7-under at the Centurion Golf Club outside London, finishing one stroke clear of Hennie du Plessis.Schwartzel's four-man team, Stinger GC, also won the team competition by 14 shots over Crushers GC and will split the $3 million prize. The 2011 Masters champion combined payday for winning both individual and team contests is $4.75 million.Phil Mickelson finished in 34th place on 10-over in the 48-player field. Dustin Johnson placed eighth, and ended the tournament on 1-under.Fronted by former world No. 1 Greg Norman, the LIV Golf series runs from June to October with the aim, it says, to «holistically improve the health of professional golf on a global scale to help unlock the sports' (sic) untapped potential.»Read MoreIt is backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) — a sovereign wealth fund chaired by Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and the man who a US intelligence report named as responsible for approving the operation that led to the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Bin Salman has denied involvement in Khashoggi's murder.READ: What the LIV Golf series was actually like on the groundReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHSaudi golf controversy 02:58The source of the money has led to queries and criticism aimed at organizers and players about choosing to play for money from