With this season’s International Series Rankings race going down to the wire this week, Japan’s Yosuke Asaji is taking inspiration in many different forms from the big-name stars he is plotting to join on the LIV Golf League next season.

Asaji currently sits second behind The International Series Rankings leader Scott Vincent from Zimbabwe going into the final marquee event of the campaign, the US$5 million PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers which starts tomorrow at Riyadh Golf Club. The top two players will make it through to the LIV Golf League.

The 32-year-old Asaji shot up the rankings after putting together a late-season run that included an impressive T2 at International Series Philippines and a stunning play-off win over Jeunghun Wang of Korea at the Moutai Singapore Open two weeks ago.

With this week’s Saudi showpiece offering elevated points, Asaji has a great chance to capitalise and secure a life-changing place on the LIV roster for next season.

Vincent leads the Rankings on 325.59 points, Asaji is on 285.3, while Miguel Tabuena from the Philippines holds third place, having earned 232.28 points. With the winner this week set to earn 324 points the race is wide open.

Yosuke Asaji after winning the Moutai Singapore Open two weeks ago. Picture by Graham Uden/Asian Tour.

Asaji should know what he must do to stay on track with his nearest rivals as he has been drawn in a group with Vincent and Tabuena.

Ahead of the Riyadh Golf Club event, Asaji admitted he had taken advice from “his best friend” on LIV Golf – and was constantly looking to learn technical aspects from some of the most famous names in world golf lining up in an elite-level field this week.

He explained: “Jinichiro Kozuma (the Japanese Iron Heads GC player) is my best friend, and he always says to me that LIV Golf is the best. At this week’s event we will be playing with a lot of LIV Golf players, and it is very important for me to experience that level and standard of golf every day.”

Asaji has already experienced life at the elite level – he finished second in the Philippines, behind Tabuena and tied with his compatriot Kazuki Higa, ahead of a stacked field that included former world No.1 Dustin Johnson and Major champions Patrick Reed, Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen.

However, there are specific players he will be looking out for this week in Saudi. Asaji singled out Ripper GC skipper Cameron Smith, the 2022 Open champion for his putting prowess. He also highlighted Torque GC captain Joaquin Niemann, the defending champion this week and a five-time winner on LIV Golf this season as a must-watch. Asaji praised Niemann, the reigning International Series Rankings champion, for his perfect swing technique.

He said: “I always want to learn more skills from the top LIV Golf players, and I always watch them on TV for technique. I watch a lot of Cameron Smith on Instagram – I am always checking his putting technique on there. Putting is actually something I am working more on at the moment anyway, I have been putting more focus on it than ever before. And with Joaquin Niemann, I think his swing is on a different level – his swing and process is always perfect.”