In the first-ever round of the LIV Golf series at the Centurion Club in Hertfordshire, Charl Schwartzel opened with a five-under-par 65 to lead the controversial ‘tournament’ by one stroke.
Schwartzel made an eagle, six birdies and three bogeys to lead fellow-South African Hennie du Plessis by one stroke, with Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent in a share of third on three-under and Branden Grace and Justin Harding sharing fifth on two-under.
The two big names heading up the LIV attempt at world domination, Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, were in a share of seventh on two-under.
In the shotgun start, Schwartzel began on the third hole, and picked up a birdie on the fourth. He made bogeys on six, nine and one, but then things fell nicely into place for the 2011 Masters champion, with birdies on 10, 11 and 13 and another on 17. His eagle came on the par-five 18th.
Du Plessis made an eagle, five birdies and three bogeys in a round which managed to keep all the hype at bay and showed just how well he can play under pressure.
Behind Grace and Harding, the next-best South African in the 48-man field was Oliver Bekker on level-par in a share of 11th. Then came Ian Snyman on one-over in a share of 16th, while Louis Oosthuizen was on two-over, and JC Ritchie and Shaun Norris on three-over.
