11 December 2023 , 13:40
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Louis Oosthuizen has become the latest LIV Golf star to win on the DP World Tour, after the South African won on home soil at the Alfred Dunhill Championship.
Oosthuizen fought off fellow LIV member, and Stingers GC teammate Charl Schwartzel to win the event at Leopard Creek by two shots. The South African was back in DP World Tour action for the second time in two months, with the event co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour.
The former Open champion battled his way into contention during Saturday's third round, carding a faultless nine-under-par 63 to ensure he shared the lead with teammate Schwartzel heading into the final 18 holes.
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Oosthuizen's crowning was then delayed during the Sunday's scheduled last day of play, as the field were forced to return on Monday due to severe weather warnings. The morning after, the South African returned to card a three-under 69 to ensure he landed his 10th DP World Tour crown.
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The former Claret Jug winner's victory was the latest for the returning LIV stars, with players from the breakaway league winning four of the last five DP World Tour events. Late last month fellow Stingers GC star Dean Burmester got his hands on the Joburg Open, before going back-to-back and winning the SA Open a week later.
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Louis Oosthuizen added to LIV Golf's success on the DP World Tour (Getty Images)The same weekend as Burmester's second triumph, LIV were also making their mark down under, as Torque captain Joaquin Niemann was crowned Australian Open champion in an event co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour of Australasia. Oosthuizen then added a fourth win on Monday to make it a run to remember for the Saudi-backed series.
If it was not for Min Woo Lee, then the LIV cohort could well have made it a clean sweep, as he claimed his home PGA Championship in Australia the same week Burmester was crowned champion in Johannesburg. As things stand the DP World Tour is continuing to take a no-nonsense approach to the LIV setup.
In April they were granted the power to fine and suspend any of its members who opted to tee it up on the breakaway league. This saw a number of its biggest names hand in their Tour cards, including European stalwarts Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood.
Despite this a number of players from the LIV roster have been able to return to the DP World Tour's South African and Australian swing in recent weeks thanks to co-sanctioning with the Sunshine Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia, as well as tournament invites.
A group of the European-based Tour's players also entered LIV's Promotion event in Abu Dhabi last weekend, with three spots on the 2024 LIV roster up for grabs. The DP World Tour once again reinstated their stance on the breakaway league, informing players that they would be sanctioning for competing in the Middle East.
This will not matter to one Tour member though, as Finnish star Kalle Samooja came out on top in the Q-School event to earn a place on the Saudi-backed series for 2024. Elsewhere, Samooja was joined by Jinichiro Kozuma and Kieran Vincent who secured their spot via a playoff.