Charl Schwartzel wins LIV Golf Invitational Series' first event, pockets $4.75M

ST. ALBANS, England — Former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel banked $4.75 million on Saturday by winning the richest tournament in golf history.

Schwartzel held on for a one-shot victory at the inaugural LIV Golf event outside London to secure the $4 million prize for the individual victory — along with another $750,000 from his share of the $3 million purse earned by his four-man Stinger team for topping the team rankings.

Schwartzel, the 2011 winner at Augusta National, collected more prize money from winning the three-day event than he had from the last four years combined. It came at a cost, though, having resigned his membership of the PGA Tour to play on the unsanctioned series without a waiver.

Schwartzel had not won a PGA or European tour event since 2016.

Fellow South African Hennie Du Plessis, who was selected for Stinger by team captain Louis Oosthuizen in the draft, earned $2.875 million by finishing second at Centurion Club, located between Hemel Hempstead and St. Albans.

It is the first of eight events in the first year of LIV Golf, which began against the backdrop of the PGA Tour banning players who signed up. The European tour has yet to comment on any sanctions for players who jumped to the series without its approval.

Twenty players have now defected from the PGA Tour, with Patrick Reed the latest former Masters champion confirmed on Saturday as signing up to LIV Golf as the final round was being completed.

However, the lucrative rewards for joining the series funded by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund have not been enough to entice any players ranked in the world's top 10.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.