LIV Golf LIVE: Leaderboard and final day scores as Charl Schwartzel wins and Patrick Reed latest PGA Tour star to join

Day three of the inaugural Saudi-backed LIV Golf event is here with a first winner set to be crowned on the rebel tour. Former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel has seized the lead entering the home straight, ahead of compatriot and Stinger teammate Hennie Du Plessis. Dustin Johnson’s charge fell a little short, but the former World No 1 remains in contention, with the winner pocketing $4m.

The final day of play comes as more players are expected to jump ship from the PGA Tour. On Friday, Bryson DeChambeau was announced as the latest star to join the breakaway series and it followed the confirmation from the PGA Tour that rebel players who participate in this or any future LIV Golf event have been suspended with immediate effect.

The stunning news further entrenched both sides in the battle that threatens to change the sport as we know it and was welcomed by players such as Rory McIlroy, who has remained committed to the PGA. It came as Ian Poulter, one of the 17 golfers sanctioned by the PGA Tour, stated his intention to appeal the suspension. “It makes no sense,” Poulter said. “I didn’t resign my membership because I don’t feel I have done anything wrong. I have played all over the world for 25 years. This is no different ... it’s a power struggle and it’s just disappointing.” Follow all the action from the final day of the inaugural event of the controversial tour, below:

LIV Golf Round 3 Leaderboard

• Leaderboard: -7 Schwartzel, -6 Du Plessis, -5 Grace, -4 Uihlein, -3 Horsfield

• Third and final round underway at Centurion Club

• Delaney: Will football ever have its own LIV Golf? It’s already here

• Reed joins DeChambeau to become latest to join rebel tour

• Poulter to appeal against PGA Tour ban of LIV Golf players

• Schwartzel wins first LIV Golf event

LIV Golf: Final round

19:27 , Karl Matchett

Schwartzel speaks after his win:

“I had to stay calm, I made a bad mistake on 12 but I’m proud of how I hung in and it’s a great feeling.

“Hennie played fantastic golf and he’s got a bright future. I’m proud of him and my teammates, it’s a historical moment. It’s awesome!

“The guys put on an amazing show, what they’ve done (at LIV Golf) is beyond our expectations. The way they treat everybody and the amount of money they put up as prizes!”

LIV Golf: Final round

19:25 , Karl Matchett

Schwartzel goes close to par but doesn’t need to worry - he taps in for a bogey and a one-shot win at Centurion!

Charl Schwartzel is the inaugural winner of the LIV Golf Series and a $4m paycheck.

LIV Golf: Final round

19:23 , Karl Matchett

Not quite enough on it for Du Plessis and it’ll be a par perhaps for him, leaving room for safety and a bogey for Schwartzel.

Uihlein has a long putt for a share of third...and he sinks it! That’s a tremendous effort to go five under alongside Grace - and a single shot worth over $200,000 difference.

Hennie Du Plessis sinks his putt and it’s second for him unless Schwartzel fails to finish in two putts.

LIV Golf: Final round

19:20 , Karl Matchett

Schwartzel with a very long-range putt on his fourth - and it’s still a bit of a distance for his fifth and par. It’s not quite all over and done with and much depends on how much pressure Du Plessis can apply here.

The Stingers teammates are not quite going to be on the same page for this next few minutes!

LIV Golf: Final round

19:15 , Karl Matchett

Last hole for most, here’s how it stands in the top 10:

1. SCH -8

2. DUP -6

3. GRA -5

4. ULN -4

5. HOR -3

6. BEK -2

6. OTG -2

8. JSN -1

9. GCH E

9. HAR E

LIV Golf: Final round

19:06 , Karl Matchett

Hole 18 then for the front two. Du Plessis needs a big turnaround here if he wants to steal top spot. Two behind Schwartzel still.

His first shot flies into the long, long rough on the side.

Schwartzel opts against the driver as he plays for safety on this par five - it’s a fine strike and right onto the fairway.

Bekker recovers from a bunker shot to get a shot at par and stay on two under...that’s a great finish from him.

LIV Golf: Final round

18:57 , Karl Matchett

Charl Schwartzel now onto hole 17, a par 3 at just 138 yards. He goes very central and very gentle on the drop - it barely bounces and that should be a routine two-putt. Very nice, and very close to a $4m payday.

Phil Mickelson signing plenty of autographs for fans as he makes his way around.

Horsfield on hole 1 can’t make a birdie so should finish four under, in fourth - he dropped a place a couple of holes ago.

LIV Golf: Final round

18:50 , Karl Matchett

Fist-clench from Schwartzel as he sinks a pressure putt. Two ahead, two to play.

Du Plessis follows the leader with his own putt for par and the gap stays at two.

McDowell goes close to a birdie as he chases a late top-10 finish, but it’ll be a par.

LIV Golf: Final round

18:41 , Karl Matchett

Dustin Johnson on hole 18, currently two under in sixth. Hasn’t quite challenged the front-runners in the end, but still a solid outing. Needs to putt from middle distance to save par...but it breaks left and just misses. That’ll be a bogey.

Schwartzel is top in both individual and team events, it’s worth noting.

Grace birdies to go into third ahead of Horsfield.

LIV Golf: Final round

18:33 , Karl Matchett

Quick reminder of the prize money breakdown for the top 10 today:

Win: $4,000,000

2: $2,125,000

3: $1,500,000

4: $1,050,000

5: $975,000

6: $800,000

7: $675,000

8: $625,000

9: $580,000

10: $560,000

LIV Golf: Final round

18:32 , Karl Matchett

Schwartzel first with his long-range putt, into the wind. He has a superb line on it - and it’s just a couple of inches from the pin. Pressure transfered back to Du Plessis for his own putt...and he’s a little further out. Needs to sink the putt to stay two back with three to play.

His largest paycheck to date is a little over $100,000. Second is good for a little over $2m today if he holds on. Quite the difference.

LIV Golf: Final round

18:27 , Karl Matchett

Du Plessis is still two behind Schwartzel but his lofted shot onto the green takes an awkward bounce and rolls away, not toward, the pin - that makes it unlikely he’ll birdie and close the gap.

Charl himself puts his third shot on hole 15 quite short as well, not quite making the raised half of the green. Tough for both of them on the fourth shot.

LIV Golf: Final round

18:23 , Karl Matchett

Three to play now.

Branden Grace will par to stay four under and tied for fourth.

Ian Poulter goes for an ambitious eagle and lands a few inches long. Easy birdie tap-in.

The top 24 get points, we’re reminded, so that crowded mid-section could yet see an all-important shuffle over the closing few holes.

LIV Golf: Final round

18:19 , Karl Matchett

Hole 15 for Schwartzel. Can he find a better drive this time around? He paid a one-stroke penalty for a poor hit off the tee last time around - this one drifts into the thick rough but should be fine.

Horsfield aggressively goes for a hole 17 birdie, but just misses out. He’s still third though.

LIV Golf: Final round

18:14 , Karl Matchett

Sergio Garcia, three over on hole 18. He goes for a long birdie putt, but it’s a yard wide. Should be a routine par in the end.

Oliver Bekker misses a birdie by all of an inch on 15. He’s still in eighth though.

LIV Golf: Final round

18:11 , Karl Matchett

Schwartzel with a big putt for par breaking left...and doesn’t quite manage it. That drive proving costly and he’ll be back to just two ahead.

Du Plessis needs a fairly big putt of his own to take par and keep the pressure on - and it’s a great response. A fist pump as it drops.

Branden Grace has moved into fourth place, four under.

LIV Golf: Final round

18:09 , Karl Matchett

Schwartzel’s drive on the 14th wasn’t great and although his second is onto the green, he has work to do.

Mickelson sinks a nice putt for par, while Du Plessis looks for a big putt uphill from off the green - and bypasses the hole by a couple of metres.

Horsfield can’t take advantage though with his own putt.

Four and five rounds to play for most.

LIV Golf: Final round

18:06 , Karl Matchett

Mid-round we break off to hear that Pat Perez has just signed for LIV Golf as the newest player confirmed. Busy old weekend for LIV Golf paperwork.

Pat confirms he’s “very excited” about it all and that Dustin Johnson is “100% the reason” for him being involved. “DJ wanted me on his team and the opportunity to follow a world-class player like that is an honour.”

LIV Golf: Final round

17:59 , Jamie Braidwood

Schwartzel picks himself up with a birdie at the par-5 13th after stopping his long eagle putt to within a couple of feet. De Plessis also had a chance at eagle but rolled it well past the hole. Still, he’s able to make birdie too to stay within three of Schwartzel.

LIV Golf: Final round

17:40 , Jamie Braidwood

So there is a twist in the scores. Schwartzel gets out the bunker but at a cost of a double-bogey six. It drops him to -8.

Now, can Du Plessie make this a three-shot swing? He cannot. The birdie putt slides by.

LIV Golf: Final round

17:30 , Jamie Braidwood

Schwartzel hacks himself out from under a tree branch and onto the fairway. Disaster averted but he still has work to do to avoid dropping a shot at the 12th.

Or maybe not! From the fairway, Schwartzel plugs his ball into the bunker at the back of the green. Du Plessie then puts his ball in birdie position.

LIV Golf: Final round

17:26 , Jamie Braidwood

Schwartzel sends his tee shot at the par-four 12th well left, right into the trees. A nervy few minutes await for the leader as awaits to see where his ball landed.

LIV Golf: Final round

17:10 , Jamie Braidwood

Schwartzel had to chance to move to -11 but narrowly missed his birdie putt at the 11th.

Former Masters champion Patrick Reed, meanwhile, joins the broadcast. He says LIV Golf has been ‘exciting’ and ‘refreshing’ to watch. At least there is one.

Unsurprisingly, he is not asked any questions about Saudi Arabia or where the money funding the series is coming from.

LIV Golf: Patrick Reed joins rebel tour

17:05 , Jamie Braidwood

LIV Golf: Final round

16:54 , Jamie Braidwood

Well that was quite the eventful ninth hole, at least in comparison to the rest of the front nine. Schwartzel landed himself in bother with his tee shot that went left. After cutting out of danger, he pinned a lovely approach pitch to within six feet and calmly steps up to knock down the par.

A faultless opening nine holes from Schwartzel and the South African is halfway to the $4.8 million prize.

LIV Golf: Final round

16:34 , Jamie Braidwood

Schwartzel ends his run of pars at seven... with a birdie at the eighth. It came after the shot of the day from the South African, who is now five shots clear.

LIV Golf: Final round

16:28 , Jamie Braidwood

Schwartzel has perhaps played the shot of the day from the left-hand rough at the par-four eighth, cutting it back inside to set up a birdie chance from six feet.

Johnson then rattles the pin with a bunker shot, only to see if a couple of feet away for his par.

LIV Golf: Final round

16:17 , Jamie Braidwood

Peter Uihlein, who is also playing in the final group, moves alongside Du Plessis with a birdie at the seventh hole, as the South African hangs around with a long, long par putt at the same green.

And there’s another par for Schwartzel - his seventh in a row.

LIV Golf: Final round

15:59 , Jamie Braidwood

Ah, so our first dropped shot of the day in the leading group. Hennie Du Plessis landed himself in trouble in the long grass on the bank above the sixth green. His chip down rolled to 15 feet or so and was follwed by bogey.

Schwartzel responds by sinking a tricky eight-footer for par. The South African is now four shots clear.

LIV Golf: Final round

15:48 , Jamie Braidwood

Well, at this tournament they say “don’t blink” but if you had nodded off for the first hour and a half of play you would not have missed much. The top of the leaderboard remains as it was at the start of the day.

LIV Golf: Final round

15:45 , Jamie Braidwood

Johnson, at the seventh, once again stretches back in frustration after another birdie putt stops an inch or two short of the hole. Sergio Garcia had fired himself into the top 10 at -1 but looks to be in some trouble in the long rough.

LIV Golf: Final round

15:39 , Jamie Braidwood

Mickelson has gone +3 over his first five holes and is up to +7. The American thuds a tee shot into the gorse and looks set for further trouble.

LIV Golf: Final round

15:36 , Jamie Braidwood

The likes of Craig David, Jessie J and James Bay have or are all taking part in ‘after-party’ concerts at Centurion Club after the day’s play - which has just been compared to Glastonbury by the tournament broadcasters.

Bit of a stretch.

LIV Golf: Final round

15:27 , Jamie Braidwood

Schwartzel stands over a 15 foot birdie putt uphill but gives it a nod after leaving it a couple of feet short. Four holes down, so four pars for the tournament leader - who isn’t being put under much pressure from those behind him. Johnson, meanwhile, scrambles to par after finding a green-side bunker.

LIV Golf: Final round

15:14 , Jamie Braidwood

Three holes down and Schwartzel remains on track after scrambling for his par on the previous hole. There’s been no movement at the top of the leaderboard since Johnson’s opening birdie.

LIV Golf: Final round

14:55 , Jamie Braidwood

Johnson leaves another birdie putt short, this time at the fifth, as Schwartzel slices his drive into the crowd at the par-four third.

LIV Golf: Final round

14:40 , Jamie Braidwood

The chasing pack will be looking to get off to a fast start to put the pressure on Schwartzel.

Johnson and Du Plessis both leave birdie putts short but the conditions are looking favourable early on.

LIV Golf: Final round

14:30 , Jamie Braidwood

The leaders are underway.

Du Plessis sends his opening drive down the middle of the fairway. “Stinger!” someone from the crowd shouts, as if that is a normal thing to do.

Schwartzel, his Stinger team-mate and tournament leader, goes next and also puts his ball into the fairway.

Although it was a shotgun start, the leaders still teed-off about 10 minutes behind the rest of the field.

Remember, don’t blink.

LIV Golf: Final round

14:24 , Jamie Braidwood

Johnson rolls in an opening birdie to move to -2, seven shots back.

LIV Golf: Final round

14:18 , Jamie Braidwood

And we’re off, the tournament’s shotgun start of course meaning everyone gets underway at the same time.

Dustin Johnson, back at -1 and eight shots off the pace, hits his opening tee shot to within 12 feet or so at the par-3 5th.

LIV Golf: Final round

14:13 , Jamie Braidwood

At least Charl Schwartzel isn’t hiding his motivations, as he is told he could walk away with $4.75m today.

“It’s a big possibility.,” he shrugs. “That’s the beuaty of it: if you play well you can win lots of money. But I’ve been a professional for 20 years and I am only thinking about lifting the trophy. I haven’t won since 2016 so that is what is motivating me today.

LIV Golf: Final round

14:05 , Jamie Braidwood

Right, the final round of this first LIV Golf event is here - and within seconds of the opening segment of the broadcast we have hear the phrase “in a blink of an eye”.

We are set for a “bonkers” day of action, apparently, although it very much looks like Charl Schwartzel and Team Stinger are crusing towards victories in the individual and team competitions.

What certainly is bonkers is the $25m prize fund that will be split between the field.

Poulter to appeal against PGA Tour ban of LIV Golf players

13:55 , Jamie Braidwood

Ian Poulter will appeal his suspension from the PGA Tour for playing in the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series.

The breakaway circuit has shaken the sport to its core, with the likes of six-times major champion Phil Mickelson and former world number one Dustin Johnson signing up.

Poulter was among 17 golfers sanctioned by the Tour shortly after play got underway at LIV Golf’s inaugural event outside London on Thursday.

“I will appeal for sure. It makes no sense,” the former world number five said after carding a five-over 75 in the opening round at Centurion Club.

“Having two Tour cards and the ability to play golf all over the world, what’s wrong with that?

“I didn’t resign my membership because I don’t feel I have done anything wrong. I have played all over the world for 25 years. This is no different ... it’s a power struggle and it’s just disappointing.”

Players back PGA Tour decision to suspend LIV Golf players

13:45 , Jamie Braidwood

McIlroy: “All he (PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan) is doing is basically going by the book. I think that the majority of the membership that are here this week and that haven’t went and played elsewhere really appreciate that.

“So I think he’s done the right thing because these guys have broken rules and done things outside of the tournament regulations, and because of that, there are going to be consequences, I guess.”

“I’m pleased,” Thomas added. “I think anybody that’s shocked clearly hasn’t been listening to the message that Jay and everybody’s been putting out. They took that risk going into it, whether they thought it was a risk or not.

“Like I’ve said the whole time, I have great belief and great confidence in the PGA Tour and where we’re going and continuing to grow to, and those guys just aren’t going to be a part of it.”

LIV Golf: Team leaderboard

13:25 , Jamie Braidwood

1. STINGER GC - Total: -15

RD. 2: Counting Scores: Schwartzel 66, du Plessis 68

2. CRUSHERS GC - Total: -8

RD. 2: Counting Scores: Uihlein 66, Smyth 69

3. MAJESTICKS GC - Total: -6

RD. 2: Counting Scores: Poulter 66, Horsfield 70

4. ACES GC - Total: -4

RD. 2: Counting Scores: Bekker 67, Johnson 70

LIV Golf: Leaderboard

13:15 , Jamie Braidwood

-7

Charl Schwartzel (65, 66)

-5

Hennie Plessis (68, 66)

-4

Peter Uihlein (70, 66)

-3

Oliver Bekker (70, 67)

Selected others: Dustin Johnson (-1), Sergio Garcia (+1), Ian Poulter (+1), Phil Mickelson (+4)

Delaney: Will football ever have its own LIV Golf? It’s already here

13:05 , Jamie Braidwood

Given the number of football people that are still obsessed with golf, many have naturally been messaging friends on the tour about the LIV controversy. The responses have been as varied as they have been predictable. Some are aghast at golf’s august institutions being ravaged, some think it’s fair enough to take the money. A core of the game’s officials fear something similar again for football, others are sensing more opportunity.

Many are describing it as “golf’s European Super League moment”, and it is why the threat of that project is still so pertinent. Its next steps will dictate the future of the game, and decide whether anything even worse – such as LIV Soccer – is yet possible in football.

Piece by The Independent’s chief football writer Miguel Delaney:

Will football ever have its own LIV Golf? It’s already here

What is the prize fund?

12:55 , Jamie Braidwood

Each regular season event will have a prize fund of $25m - every player in the field receives a cut, with a guaranteed $4m for first and $120,000 for last place. Of the $25m, $5m will be split between the top three teams.

The top three players in the overall individual championship will receive a split of $30m, with the overall champion taking $18m, the runner-up receiving $8m and third place getting $4m.

The season-ending team championship has a prize fund of $50m, with the winning team splitting $16m and the team who finishes last receiving $1m. Each player receives a 25 per cent cut.

For comparison, the winner of the PGA Championship, one of golf’s four majors, receives $3m out of a total prize fund of $15m.

How will the season work?

12:45 , Jamie Braidwood

The LIV Golf London event at Centurion Club is the first of seven ‘regular season’ events to take place in its inaugural year, with the season-ending team championship closing the year as the final event of the season.

The team championship will see all 12 teams seeded and a four-day knockout tournament will be played using match play scoring to determine the winner, with a championship match taking place on the final day.

An individual champion will also be crowned using points accumulated over the seven ‘regular season’ events.

• LIV Golf London, Centurion Club - June 9-11

• LIV Golf Portland, Pumpkin Ridge - June 30 - July 2

• LIV Golf Bedminster, Trump National - July 29-31

• LIV Golf Boston, Greater Boston - September 2-4

• LIV Golf Chicago, Rich Harvest Farms - September 16-18

• LIV Golf Bangkok, Stonehill - October 7-9

• LIV Golf Jeddah, Royal Greens - October 14-16

• LIV Golf Miami, Trump National Doral - October 27-30

When does it start and is it on TV?

12:35 , Jamie Braidwood

The third and final round kicks off with a shotgun start at 2:15pm on Saturday 11 June.

LIV Golf has yet to be picked up by a major broadcaster in the UK.

However, the action will be live streamed for free on the LIV Golf YouTube channel and Facebook page.

What are the rules?

12:25 , Jamie Braidwood

LIV Golf Series events will be played over three days and 54 holes, rather than the traditional four-day events with 72 holes. There won’t be a cut, either, so the 48 players who start the week will play all three rounds.

There will also be individual and team competitions within the same event. The individual competition will be won by the player who shoots the lowest score over 54 holes, as normal.

The team competition, however, will be made up of 12 teams of four players, with team captains selecting the teams using a ‘snake draft’ ahead of the opening event at Centurion Club. Teams will also have their own unique names and logos.

In terms of scoring, the best two individual scores will count towards the team’s overall total across the opening two rounds, with the best three scores combining on the third and final round. The team with the lowest overall score at the end of the third round will be the winner.

What is LIV Golf?

12:15 , Jamie Braidwood

Reports of a new breakaway league first emerged in 2019 but gathered pace last year as two-time Open champion Greg Norman became the face of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series as its chief executive.

With Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund financing the series, there is a clear link to the Saudi Arabia government, whose record on human rights has been criticised by groups such as Amnesty International.

But what for a long time was considered to be a bargaining threat to the traditional PGA and DP World Tours and nothing more took shape as the LIV Golf Series, which also features new competition rules and what tournament organisers say is an “exciting” new format.

LIV Golf: Bryson DeChambeau becomes latest player to join tour

12:05 , Jamie Braidwood

Bryson DeChambeau has become the latest high-profile golfer to join the controversial LIV Golf tour.

The former US Open champion and eight-time winner on the PGA Tour joins the likes of Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson in switching to the breakaway Saudi-backed series.

The PGA Tour confirmed on Thursday that all players currently playing at the opening event in St Albans this week and any who play in future events are indefinitely suspended.

“Bryson DeChambeau is an exciting addition to LIV Golf’s supercharged style of play. He is passionate about the sport, innovative in his approach and committed to pushing the boundaries in pursuit of excellence,” said LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman upon the announcement.

Bryson DeChambeau becomes latest player to join LIV Golf tour