Rahm in South Africa golf debut

LIV Golf is making its South Africa debut this week, and Jon Rahm of Spain isn’t quite sure just what to expect on his first visit to the nation.

Except kikuyu grass at The Club at Steyn City, a Jack Nicklaus-designed course in Midrand, South Africa. It’s a thick grass native to Africa, but it isn’t uncommon in the US, especially in warm-weather climates. It’s tough to hit the ball out of the rough. And the fact the thick turf typically favours the long hitters — like Rahm — will play to his advantage.

“Off the tee, you’re not going to expect a lot of roll; you can probably be aggressive,” Rahm said. “There’s quite a bit of a margin of error off the tee, so hitting it long is going to be an advantage. Greens seem to be soft. It’s going to be tricky to get them as firm as they probably want to.

“But that combination essentially gives the people that hit it the furthest an advantage. And I would say the same thing in desert golf; usually it’s not as firm as it needs to be. Power and birdies is what you need. Not that people that hit it a little bit shorter can’t do it, but when you give some of the best players in the world that have distance free range off the tee, you’re going to see a lot of birdies, and I think that’s what’s going to happen.” — AFP Sport.