He is The Masters champion who resigned his PGA Tour membership and ended up winning LIV Golf’s first ever event

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Joaquin Niemann making history with his victory was not the only reason LIV Golf UK marked a significant moment for the league.

It was Joaquin Niemann who broke his own LIV Golf record for the most victories with his triumph on Sunday at JCB. The Chilean has now won seven times since making the jump from the PGA Tour.

JCB has now hosted LIV Golf’s UK event for the last two years. And it is fair to say that the tournament was another major success for LIV.

But of course, it was another venue just a couple of hours away which hosted the very first event in LIV Golf’s history little more than three years ago.

The Masters champion who won LIV Golf’s first ever event after resigning from the PGA Tour

With Phil Mickelson on board from the early stages in 2022, LIV Golf was always going to have a real chance of luring some big names away from the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour. Of course, the finances involved would have also prompted many to make the leap.

The winner at the LIV Golf Invitational London was set to receive $4.75 million.

Along with Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Sergio García were among the major champions in the field at Centurion Club. But it was another Masters champion who ended up securing the big prize that week.

Charl Schwartzel, of course, won at Augusta National in 2011, the year it all went wrong for Rory McIlroy in the final round.

However, by 2022, the South African had not won in more than six years on the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour. Meanwhile, you would have to go back to 2018 for the last year in which Schwartzel had played in all four majors.

He would miss the cut in three of them.

Nevertheless, it would be Schwartzel who would write his name in LIV Golf folklore after deciding to resign his PGA Tour membership and sign up for the event in the UK.

How Charl Schwartzel made LIV Golf history at Centurion in 2022

Rounds of 65 and 66 put Schwartzel in control of the tournament in Hemel Hempstead.

He actually ended up shooting the worst final round of any player who finished inside the top 10. His 72 left him just one shot clear of Hennie du Plessis.

Du Plessis’s LIV career would not last too much longer, and he now finds himself outside the top 1000 in the world rankings having initially returned to the DP World Tour. However, he did earn just shy of $2.9 million with his runner-up finish in 2022.

Branden Grace ensured that it was an all South African podium after he finished third.

Elsewhere, Johnson finished eighth and six shots off the lead on one under par. Mickelson – who was the player who presented Schwartzel with his green jacket 11 years earlier – meanwhile was 10 over par for the week and tied for 33rd.

Schwartzel would return to the podium in 2024 in both Jeddah and Adelaide. He also finished second in Miami earlier this year ahead of The Masters. But his win in 2022 remains his most recent victory.

The 40-year-old has now played just one of the last 11 majors not staged at Augusta. But he looks well placed to hold onto his place on LIV for another year, as he sits 19th in the standings after just missing out on the top 10 at JCB this past week.