Uihlein stays on course for perfect finish to season
American Peter Uihlein took another step towards securing The International Series Rankings today after finishing in a share of the halfway lead for the PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers at Riyadh Golf Club.
He is in front with fellow LIV Golf stars Cam Smith from Australia and Chilean Joaquin Niemann, as well as fellow American Logan McAllister.
Uihlein won the International Series Qatar last week to take over at the top of the rankings for the first time this year and is clearly still on point – shooting a six-under-par 65 today to move to 11-under.
Smith shot 64, Niemann 66 and McAllister 63 – which is a new course record.
Englishman Tyrell Hatton, another LIV Golf alumni, is a stroke further back also after 63, along with compatriot Steve Lewton (65), Australia’s Travis Smyth (66) and American Jason Kokrak (68).
Cam Smith. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
First-round leaders Chang Wei-lun from Chinese-Taipei and Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana fell away with rounds of 73 and are five under.
The cream rose to the top today in the season-ending event on the Asian Tour and The International Series.
Uihlein, also a winner at the International Series England in August, uncharacteristically dropped his only two shows on two of the par fives, normally bread and butter for the big hitter, but he chipped in for a birdie on 16 to catch the leaders.
“Proud of the way I handled those situations, and yeah, I feel good,” said the 35-year-old.
“Obviously, there’s so many points available and there’s two more days. Anything can happen. Just going to kind of keep trying to do what I’m doing, what I’ve been doing and hopefully it keeps going.”
Joaquin Niemann. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
A thousand points will go to the winner this week meaning the rankings race is wide open. The winner will earn a place on the LIV Golf League next year.
“It would be awesome [to win the rankings]. It’s a goal to try to win The International Series Rankings. It would be nice to accomplish that goal. I feel like I played pretty solid most of the events out here. I had a couple hiccups but for the most part been pretty solid. It would be nice to finish it off, for sure.”
Smith is looking for his first victory over 72 holes since his win at the Australian PGA Championship at the end of 2022 and is well placed to achieve that heading into the next two rounds.
Having spent the last two weeks in Australia – where he missed out on a fourth Australian PGA title, finishing second – he arrived here jet-lagged and welcomed this morning’s calm conditions.
“Just played really solid,” said the 2022 Open champion.
“I didn’t really do too much wrong. Bogey-free game was nice. It was just really quite an easy round of golf, which is obviously nice.
“It was nice getting out there this morning and no wind. With a bit of jet lag, being off early I think it kind of actually worked out in our favour.”
Tyrrell Hatton. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
He did win twice on the LIV Golf League last year individually and has been runner-up on three occasions this season – including a play-off defeat in Hong Kong.
Added the Australian, who plays for Rippers GC on LIV Golf: “A win would be great. I think also just being in contention on Sunday would also be great. I’m sorry, on Saturday. We started on Wednesday here.”
Niemann is also psyched for victory this week.
He said: “I’ve been playing great. I feel like I’ve been missing that Sunday round the last couple tournaments that I’ve played. I’ve been having a chance to win all of those weeks, but I just didn’t have that good Sunday.
“Right now, my form has been the best, a really good first two rounds. There’s still a lot of golf to play, and I’m looking forward to that.”
With the course having been lengthened this week and a number of changes made, McAllister and Hatton’s round set a new course record. American MJ Maguire also shot 63.
Defending champion Abraham Ancer from Mexico signed for 68 and is six under.
American John Catlin, who wrapped up the Asian Tour Order of Merit title last week in Qatar, is in second place on the rankings and has given himself an outside chance of overtaking Uihlein.
He came in with a 69 having rallied after looking like missing the cut at one point.
Chinese-Taipei’s Chang Wei-lun capitalised on securing his visa to play here this week at the last minute by taking a share of the lead in the US$5million PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers today.
He fired a bogey-free seven-under-par 64 here at Riyadh Golf Club, along with Sadom Kaewkanjana from Thailand, to make the best possible start in the star-studded season-ending event on both the Asian Tour and The International Series.
Korea’s Yubin Jang and Chilean Joaquin Niemann are next best placed after 65s, while American Peter Uihlein, who currently leads The International Series Rankings, is in a group of 11 players who carded 66.
“I only got my visa on Monday, which was the day I arrived,” laughed Chang.
Sadom Kaewkanjana. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“It is a really big event, probably the biggest I have played in, so I am a little nervous.”
Four birdies on the front and three on the back saw him upstage a field that includes 42 players from the LIV Golf League.
The 31-year-old is clearly still on a high after finishing joint second in the BNI Indonesian Masters last month, which helped secure his playing rights for next season.
He added: “I am especially excited to see DJ [Dustin Johnson] here this week. It would be really cool to play in the same group as him.”
Sadom, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour, dropped his only shot of the day on 17 but birdied the last, like Chang.
He said: “This is the last tournament of the year, and I’ve prepared well. I’m happy and honoured to be playing in this tournament where there are so many great golfers in the world. I’ve tried to study every good shot from them.”
Joaquin Niemann. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Niemann is here after finishing joint fifth in the Australian Open week and despite the lengthy trip showed no signs of tiredness.
“I feel like, yeah, my game is in good shape,” said the Chilean, who finished the year second individually on the LIV Golf League.
“I mean, it’s nice to finish the year having a lot of good golf. Playing good tournaments, too. It’s been fun. I haven’t had a great Sunday yet on my last three tournaments, and so yeah, I think there’s always stuff to improve. I’m off to a great start here in Saudi, so I’m pretty happy with that.”
Promising young Saudi golfer Khalid Attieh, who made history earlier this year at the International Series Oman where he became the first Saudi amateur to make the cut in a professional tournament, carded a 67 while his compatriot Saud Al Sharif fired a 68 – a nod to the progress golf is making in Saudi.
John Catlin from the United States, who wrapped up the Asian Tour Order of Merit title last week, also returned a 68. He is in second place on the rankings and one of a wealth of players who can take that title and secure a place on next year’s LIV Golf League as the winner this week will earn 1,000 points.
Defending champion Abraham Ancer from Mexico was another to shoot 68.
The International Series will make its historic first entry into the subcontinent next year, bringing the stars of the LIV Golf League and Asian Tour to International Series India presented by DLF, the opening tournament on a groundbreaking 2025 calendar for the LIV Golf League-backed set of 10 Asian Tour events.
The high-profile event will take place at the exclusive DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurugram, on the outskirts of Delhi from 30 January to 02 February. It will offer total prizemoney of US$2 million.
It is the first of 10 events on a carefully curated schedule that offers a pathway onto the LIV Golf League for the end-of-season rankings champion.
In a special launch event on the sidelines of the season-ending PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers, India’s Anirban Lahiri confirmed he will compete in the 2025 curtain raiser, accompanied by other LIV Golf League stablemates.
Anirban Lahiri. Picture by Angel Martinez/Getty Images.
Aligning with an overarching LIV Golf League schedule, next year’s event is scheduled just before the season-opening LIV Golf Riyadh in Saudi Arabia from 6-8 February, bringing some of the biggest names to the iconic and challenging Gary Player-designed course.
DLF’s joint managing director and chief business officer Aakash Ohri said: “DLF consistently represents the best-in-class across property development and real estate in India, and this groundbreaking partnership with LIV Golf and The International Series fits our outlook, bringing a best-in-class sporting event to India and showcasing our offering in and around DLF Golf and Country Club.
“We are confident the course will offer the world’s best a stern test, and we are looking forward to welcoming India’s golf fans – and sports fans from all over the world – to experience Gurugram and India.”
Rahul Singh, Head of The International Series, said: “It is no secret that India is a key market in world golf, and partnering with DLF to bring this tournament to the subcontinent is a landmark for The International Series.
“It is further compelling evidence of the strength of The International Series as we enter our fourth season, and we look forward to making further exciting announcements in due course that will bring our brand of golf to a number of key territories around the world.”
Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner & CEO of Asian Tour, said: “The International Series events are blue chip events on our calendar which are hugely popular with our players, and bringing the tour to India, and the unique DLF Golf and Country Club next year is a major milestone which will offer something new and different for the players to enjoy.”
International Series India presented by DLF is the first tournament to be announced as part of a new-look schedule for The International Series in 2025 that will also include further new destinations and returns to established markets. The remaining events on the calendar will be announced imminently.
Abraham Ancer defends his PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers title this week, nearly two years after his victory, and he goes into the tournament with renewed confidence after admitting he has been learning to stop putting too much pressure on himself.
Ancer was hugely impressive when he claimed this event, wire-to-wire, in February of 2023. He finished two shots clear of Cameron Young of the United States and was full of confidence facing the new season. However, things did not go according to plan.
“Right after the victory, I think I was extremely excited for the year,” said the Mexican, during a press conference today at Riyadh Golf Club – where the event is being played for the first time.
“I guess the victory gave me a lot of confidence, but maybe I raised my expectations quite a bit. Obviously, competition is extremely fierce, and I didn’t really quite have the season I would have hoped after the win.”
To the surprise of Ancer and his many fans, he did not win again in 2023 – although on the LIV Golf League he helped his Fireballs GC team triumph in Tucson and Jeddah.
Abraham Ancer after winning in 2023. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
He had to wait another year before claiming individual honours once more, when he beat Australian Cam Smith and Paul Casey from England at LIV Golf Hong Kong in April.
It was just the result he was looking for and has helped him arrive here feeling that a successful defence is a real possibility.
He added: “This year ended up being a really solid year, won in Hong Kong and played a lot better than what I did the previous year. It is definitely trending in the right direction. I feel like my expectations were … I wasn’t thinking about these results. I was just playing a little bit more free golf, a little bit more like a kid, which is definitely nice.
“I think mentally when I first came to LIV, I was putting a lot of pressure on myself. The game was there, but mentally I did struggle quite a bit, to be honest. I was really trying too hard. This season I just let that go and started playing golf. I started playing how I knew how to play golf, and the wins started showing up.”
The 33-year-old won in 2023 at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in Jeddah and so will have to familiarise himself with a new layout this week.
“Played nine holes yesterday, and I’ll play 18 today in the Pro-Am. It seems like it’s a very fun golf course,” he explains.
“I talked to some of my buddies that played here in April. They said they made some changes, made it longer. It’s going to be tougher. So definitely looking forward to the challenge.”
The PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers is the season-ending event on the Asian Tour and The International Series.
Boasting prizemoney of US$5 million it is the most lucrative event of the season, with the winner earning US$1 million.
Peter Uihlein has a reputation for being a world-class putter, and it was indeed his skills on the greens that helped him claim the International Series Qatar last week.
The American was back to his trusty Scotty Cameron Tour Only FB 1.5 putter, after a week’s hiatus in Hong Kong, and performed superbly on the slick Doha Golf Club greens, rolling in 20 birdies and one eagle for the week.
He ranked second in Putts per Greens in Regulation (GIR) with 1.689, just a fraction behind South African Dean Burmester who topped the category with 1.688. He was also T11 in Putts per Round with 29.75, which American MJ Maguire led with a median of 28.
For the whole season Uihlein ranks second only to David Puig in Putts per GIR. The Spaniard leads on 1.623 while Uihlein is on 1.671.
Charl Schwartzel. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Uihlein was also in great form with his approach game hitting 84.72% of the Greens in Regulation, ranking third behind fellow American Patrick Reed and South African Louis Oosthuizen, who both led with 86.11%. Notably Uihlein tops this category for the year with 77.78%, a touch ahead of compatriot Austen Truslow with 77.44%.
Uihlein’s other major stats for the week in Doha: Driving Distance 302.63 yards (26th), Fairways Hit 48.21% (T39), Sand Saves 100% (T1) and Scrambling 54.55% (T42).
His victory, of course, also saw him move to the top of The International Series Rankings, with everything to play for at this week’s US$5 million PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers – the final event of the season.
South African Charl Schwartzel who finished runner-up, five shots behind Uihlein, also had a good week on the putting surfaces and ranked T2 in Putts per Round with 28.5 and seventh in Putts per GIR with 1.74. The 2011 Masters champion was perhaps a bit off his best Tee to Green and only managed to hit 69.44% of the GIR (T55) and 44.64% of the Fairways (T51). He did top Sand Saves with an impressive 100% record while his other major stats were: Driving Distance 293.5 yards (49th) and Scrambling 68.18% (11th).
Statistics Categories leaders at the International Series Qatar (of players making the cut):
- Putts per Round: M.J. Maguire (USA) – 28
- Putts per GIR: Dean Burmester (RSA) – 1.688
- GIR: Louis Oosthuizen (RSA), Patrick Reed (USA) – 86.11%
- Fairways Hit: Shiv Kapur (IND) – 78.57%
- Driving Distance: Thomas Pieters (BEL) – 347.75 Yards
- Most Eagles: Dean Burmester (RSA) – 3
- Most Birdies: Luis Masaveu (ESP) – 21
- Fewest Bogies or Worse: Jaco Ahlers (RSA) – 4
- Scrambling: Branden Grace (RSA) – 76.92%
The Asian Tour membership have seized the opportunity to play with many of the present day greats of the game at this week’s US$5milllion PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers.
All of the top 10 from the Asian Tour Order of Merit and 38 from the top 40 are competing here at Riyadh Golf Club – in the season-ending event on the Asian Tour and The International Series.
There are also 42 players from the LIV Golf League, including defending champion Abraham Ancer from Mexico and American Dustin Johnson, a two-time winner here, from a starting field of 120.
Newly minted Asian Tour Order of Merit champion John Catlin from the United States leads the field from the Tour along with the other players from the top 10: Ben Campbell from New Zealand, Canadian Richard T. Lee, Lee Chieh-po from Chinese-Taipei, Thailand’s Suteepat Prateeptienchai, M.J. Maguire from the United States, Filipino Miguel Tabuena, Sadom Kaewkanjana and Gunn Charoenkul from Thailand, and Korean Jeunghun Wang.
Abraham Ancer. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
With the Merit list title having been decided the focus is now on The International Series Rankings, which is now being led by American Peter Uihlein, after his victory in last week’s International Series Qatar.
Uihlein, also playing this week, took over at the top of the rankings from Catlin, who had led for most of the year.
Uihlein leads with 1,071.10 points by 143.64 from second-placed Catlin but with 1,000 points going to the winner and 525 to the runner-up this week it is truly wide open with all competitors this week in with a chance.
Even Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert, the lowest ranked player here on The International Series Rankins in 65th place, can technically do it as he has 73.36 points, but needs the players above him to finish out of the points.
Johnson, the winner of this event in 2019 and 2021, is joined by other past champions Graeme McDowell from Northern Ireland and American Harold Varner III – the 2020 and 2022 winners respectively.
Ben Campbell. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
All three are LIV Golf League players with many of the other stars from the league here this week, including Spain’s Sergio Garcia, Englishman Tyrell Hatton, Cam Smith from Australia, South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel plus American Patrick Reed – winner of the recent Link Hong Kong Open.
Thailand’s amateur star ‘TK’ Ratchanon Chantananuwat is also competing. He has taken time out from his freshman year at Stanford University to play in the strongest and most lucrative field on the Asian Tour in 2024.
Tournament Information
- Tournament: PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers
- Date: December 4-7, 2024
- Venue: Riyadh Golf Club
- Par/Yards: Par 71 / 7,246 yards
- Purse: US$5 Million (First place US$1 million)
- Asian Tour leg: 21st event of the 2024 season
- The International Series leg: 10th
- Edition of tournament: Sixth (Asian Tour 2022 to 2024, DP World Tour 2019 to 2021)
- Total number of players: 120
- Format: 72-hole stroke play with a cut made after two rounds for the leading 65 pros plus ties
- Social Media Hashtags: #InternationalSeries #ThisISEverything #TimeToRise
Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Field Breakdown
- Order of Merit winners: Sihwan Kim (2022), Jazz Janewattananond (2019), Shubhankar Sharma (2018), Anirban Lahiri (2015), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (2013)
- Nationalities: 28
- Top contenders: John Catlin (USA), Ben Campbell (NZL), Patrick Reed (USA), MJ Maguire (USA), Lee Chieh-po (TPE), Richard T. Lee (CAN), Peter Uihlein (USA), Anirban Lahiri (IND), David Puig (ESP), Dean Burmester (RSA), Louis Oosthuizen (RSA), Dustin Johnson (USA), Tyrrell Hatton (ENG), Cameron Smith (AUS), Sergio Garcia (ESP), Joaquin Niemann (CHI), Abraham Ancer (MEX), Talor Gooch (USA)
- Highest ranked player on OWGR: Tyrrell Hatton (ENG) #16
- Highest ranked player on 2024 Asian Tour Order of Merit: John Catlin #1
- Highest ranked player on 2024 International Series Rankings: Peter Uihlein #1
- Defending champion: Abraham Ancer (MEX)
- Number of amateurs: 2
- Number of Saudi players in the field: 5
Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Tournament Notes
- American Peter Uihlein won his second International Series title last week in Qatar, having claimed the International Series England in August. With the win in Doha he overtook John Catlin on The International Series Rankings with just this week’s event remaining. The Race is wide open as the winner this week will win 1,000 points. Uihlein is in front with 1,071.10, while Catlin has 927.46.
- John Catlin, also from the United States, has been in great form this whole season with two wins and eight top 10s in 13 Asian Tour events and clinched the Asian Tour Order of Merit crown last week in Doha. Catlin has amassed US$1,420,800 in earnings on the Asian Tour so far this season and needs another US$31,903 to pass Jeev Milkha Singh’s single-season earnings record of US$1,452,702 when he won the Order of Merit in 2008.
- Chinese Taipei’s Lee Chieh-po has had seven top-10s in his last nine events, including a win at the International Series Thailand late last month, and is currently fifth in The International Series Rankings.
- Ben Campbell of New Zealand finished runner up in the Link Hong Kong Open two weeks ago and is currently third on the rankings.
- Richard T. Lee, fourth on the rankings, from Canada claimed the BNI Indonesian Masters last month for his first win since 2017 and his fourth top 10 in a row.
- American MJ Maguire won the Black Mountain Championship after defeating Catlin on the second play-off hole in October and followed that up with a great week at the International Series Thailand finishing T4 after a final round 61. He is currently ranked sixth on the Rankings.
- The 2015 Order of Merit champion Anirban Lahiri of India came very close to capturing his first LIV Golf League event at the legendary Real Club Valderrama in Andalucia, Spain in July. A missed short putt on the 18th in regulation play put Lahiri in a play-off with Sergio Garcia who came out on top in the end. Lahiri’s impressive resume boasts seven Asian Tour titles as well as a runner up at the 2022 Players Championship, a tied second at the 2017 Memorial Tournament on the PGA Tour. His best finish in a Major is a tied fifth at the 2015 PGA Championship.
- American Patrick Reed won the Link Hong Kong Open two weeks ago, and is making his fourth Asian Tour start of the season after playing the International Series Macau presented by Wynn earlier in the year finishing fourth. The 2018 Masters champion is a nine-time winner on the PGA Tour and has appeared on three Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup squads each. Reed should be considered one of the top shot-makers in the game, as was on display in Hong Kong when he fired a third round 11-under-par 59.
- David Puig of Spain won the season opening Malaysian Open and has finished inside the top 10 in three other Asian Tour events this year. In addition to the win in Malaysia he posted a T10 at the International Series Oman, lost a play-off to Catlin in the International Series Macau presented by Wynn and finished fifth in the Saudi Open presented by PIF. He has also been playing on the LIV Golf League this season as part of the Fireballs GC, and his best individual result was a T3 at the LIV Houston event. On the DP World Tour Puig has also had some success lately, finishing T3 at the Acciona Open de España presented by Madrid, T4 at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and T12 at Estrella Damm Andalucía Masters.
- The 2010 winner of The Open Championship Louis Oosthuizen from South Africa had a good 2024 season on the LIV Golf League, with two runners-up and five other individual top 10s to rank sixth overall. The Stinger GC captain has played in one Asian Tour event earlier this year, the International Series Oman, where he finished in solo second place. He has an impressive record in golf’s Majors, where in addition to the win in The Open he has posted six runners-up, two third place finishes and two other top 10s. Represented the International Team in the Presidents Cup in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019.
- Fellow Stinger GC and South African Dean Burmester recorded his first LIV Golf League win in Miami in April this year and posted three other top 10s finishing the year ranking ninth individually. He had his latest win playing the Vodacom Origins of Golf Final Oubaai on the Sunshine Tour two weeks ago in South Africa. In late 2023 Burmester won back-to-back events on the DP World Tour in his native country, the Joburg Open and the Investec South African Open Championship.
- Former world number one Dustin Johnson have won this tournament two times (2019 and 2021) and finished runner-up once (2020) during the years it was played on the DP World Tour. The American is a two-time Major champion having won the 2016 U.S. Open and the 2020 Masters Tournament. He also has 24 PGA Tour wins including six World Golf Championship events and six FedEx Cup playoff events. Currently captaining the 4Aces GC on LIV Golf League where he has won three individual and six team titles since the league began in 2022. In team events Johnson has appeared on five U.S Ryder Cup and four Presidents Cup squads.
- Englishman Tyrrell Hatton has won seven DP World Tour events, including one BMW PGA Championship and four Rolex Series events, and one PGA Tour event, the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational. He is also a three-time Ryder Cup player for the European side. In June 2024 he recorded his first individual win on the LIV Golf League while playing on Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII team, and the team also posted four wins this season. Hatton has also shown impressive form on the DP World Tour late this year, winning the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, for the third time, finishing runner up at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, sixth in the DP World Tour Championship and T10 in the acciona Open de España presented by Madrid.
- Defending champion Abraham Ancer of Mexico had a good season on LIV Golf League, finishing ninth in the individual standings after a win at LIV Hong Kong and three other top 10s. He was also part of Garcia’s winning Fireballs GC team at LIV Andalucia. His best Asian Tour result this year has been a T4 at the International Series England.
- Australian Cameron Smith won the Open Championship in 2022 and during this career-best season he also picked up the winning trophies at the Players Championship, Sentry Tournament of Champions, Fortinet Australian PGA Championship, a T3 at the Masters Tournament and a T4 at the PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers. On the 2024 LIV Golf League he finished seventh individually and won three events captaining the Ripper GC squad. This year he has also posted a runner-up, a T2 and a T3 on the PGA Tour of Australasia as well as a T6 at the Masters Tournament.
- Sergio Garcia of Spain has won 36 tournaments as a professional notably the 2017 Masters and the 2008 Players Championship. In addition to his Masters win Garcia has recorded an impressive 22 other top 10s in Major championships, including two second place finishes and two T2s. He has represented Europe in the Ryder Cup 10 times, on the winning side on six occasions, and he holds the Ryder Cup record for Most Overall Matches Won with 25, Most Overall Points Won with 28.5 and Most Wins in Foursome Matches with 12. His highest ever rank on the OWGR was second, which he reached in late 2008. Captaining the Fireballs GC team on the LIV Golf League Garcia won his first individual title in July this year at LIV Andalucia, and he also finished second twice at Mayakoba and Miami and T2 at Chicago. His squad also won the team event at Andalucia.
- Chilean Joaquin Niemann was the number one ranked golfer in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for 44 weeks, from May 2017 to April 2018 when he turned pro. He has recorded two wins on the PGA Tour, the 2019 A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier and the 2022 Genesis Invitational, and he also won the 2023 ISPS Handa Australian Open on the DP World Tour. Since joining LIV Golf League captaining the all Latin American Torque GC team he has won two individual titles at this year’s Mayakoba and Jeddah events, and in 2023 his squad also posted four team wins at Orlando, D.C., Andalucia and Greenbrier.
- Talor Gooch of the U.S. was the of the LIV Golf League in 2023 after three wins in Adelaide, Singapore and Andalucia, plus a runner-up in Jeddah while playing on the Range Goats GC team. Playing for Smash GC this season he posted five top 10s and two team victories. Prior to joining LIV in 2022 Gooch recorded his lone PGA Tour win at the 2021 RSM Classic.
- In total there are 42 LIV Golf League players in the field this week.
Peter Uihlein proved simply too strong at the US$2.5 million International Series Qatar today, marching to a five-shot victory at Doha Golf Club.
The American, the leader since day two, shot a final round three-under-par 69 to finish on 16-under, for his second victory on The International Series this year. The result also saw him move to number one on The International Series Rankings.
South African Charl Schwartzel came home in second place after a 68, while his close friend and compatriot Louis Oosthuizen tied for third two shots back with Filipino Miguel Tabuena.
Oosthuizen fired a 71 and Tabuena a 70 – in the penultimate event of the season on the Asian Tour and The International Series.
American John Catlin tied for 19th after a 71 to wrap up the Asian Tour Order of Merit title with one event remaining, next week’s US$5million PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Advisers. He is now second on The International Series Rankings having led for most of the year.
Peter Uihlein. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Uihlein’s one-stroke lead at the start of the day became four at the turn. He was coasting before Schwartzel, playing three groups ahead, made a late charge with birdies on 16 and 17. Uihlein holed a clutch putt for par from 12-feet on 15 to leave the gap at three, and then birdied on 16 and 18 to put the icing on the cake.
It was an impressive finish considering the wind was up again and the greens were hard and fast.
He said: “Yeah, it was a good day and yesterday was good as well, it was a very solid weekend. I think I only missed a total of five greens for the weekend around here. When the wind is blowing, that’s pretty good. Felt pretty solid, felt in control.
“The putt on 15 was nice, to get up and down there, and I got a nice break in the rough. It was funny, I tried to do a little different mindset for me this week, at least on the back nine. I kind of saw the board, and that I had like a four-shot lead, and I was basically just trying to play match play against the golf course and par was a good score. I felt like if I could beat the back nine, I was going to be in good position, so making those birdies at the end was kind of nice for my little mini goal.”
Uihlein claimed International Series England in August by the sizeable margin of seven shots for his maiden title on the Asian Tour and The International Series.
Charl Schwartzel. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
It looked like he was also going to win the International Series Thailand two months later, but he bogeyed the final hole to hand victory to Lee Chieh-po from Chinese-Taipei.
Today’s victory is redemption for that near miss and gives the Range Goats GC player a chance of winning the rankings next week, although with a wealth of points on offer the race is wide open.
“I feel like my game is trending, it’s just getting better,” he added.
“Like stuff I’ve been working on even before, all that stuff feels like it’s kind of getting easier under the gun, which was nice. But yeah, it’s 1,000 points to the winner next week so it’s obviously all still up in the air.”
Schwartzel’s round, which started with an eagle on the par-five first, was the lowest of the day.
“It was a fantastic putting round today, I made so many feet of putts,” said the 2011 Masters champion.
“It was tough again you know; the wind hasn’t stopped blowing for the last three days. And you know, the golf course has been quite penalising when you miss the fairways and it’s hard to hit the fairways with the crosswinds and stuff. So, it was always going to be a grind, and I needed a good putting round. I putted well and yeah, I was happy with my round.”
Miguel Tabuena. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
South African Dean Burmester (69), India’s Anirban Lahiri (70), Eugenio Chacarra (71) from Spain, and Thai Suteepat Prateeptienchai (72) were next best placed on eight under.
In the battle to retain playing rights for next year and finish in the top 65 on the Merit list Australian Jed Morgan was the big mover. He carded a 71 to finish joint 37th and move from 66th to 64th to ensure he is safe for the new season.
John Catlin was rewarded for a remarkable season today by securing the Asian Tour Order of Merit title here at the International Series Qatar, the penultimate event of the year.
The American sealed the deal by finishing equal 19th after signing off with a one-under-par 71 at Doha Golf Club, where victory went to his countryman Peter Uihlein.
Canadian Richard T. Lee from Canada and Ben Campbell from New Zealand began the week second and third on the Merit list respectively and needed to win to have any chance of catching Catlin but finished joint 37th and tied 13th respectively.
The result means Campbell has moved into second, with just next week’s PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Advisers remaining where Catlin will be out of reach.
Uihlein’s victory saw him knock Catlin off the top of The International Series Rankings, with Catlin now second. That race is wide open heading into next week.
John Catlin. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Catlin didn’t actually realise he’d secured the Merit title after finishing his round today.
He said: “I am kind of at a loss for words because I didn’t even know it was done. If I had a chance to think about it a bit more, I would have more words to say.
“It’s a career accomplishment to be on that Asian Tour Order of Merit list with some of the great players of the game, it’s very special.”
Catlin has now amassed 3,088.59 points from the 14 events he’s played in. Campell is second with 1,808.66.
Catlin won back-to-back earlier in the season, at the Saudi Open presented by PIF followed by the International Series Macau presented by Wynn, where he defeated Spaniard David Puig in a play-off. A 59 on day three in Macau also saw him become the first player on the Asian Tour to break 60.
The 34-year-old also lost in two play-offs, at International Series Morocco and the Black Mountain Championship, finished second in the Yeangder TPC, third in the Malaysian Open, and tied for fourth in the SJM Macao Open.
John Catlin. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“After the Saudi Open it felt like if I just kept playing solid someone was going to have to do something pretty special to catch me. And I was able to do it, to keep playing good golf. To have it finally done is pretty awesome,” he added.
“It is testament to the hard work me and my coach Noah are putting into it. I am just really proud of what I have done, and I am looking forward to what comes next.”
It is the first time he has claimed the Merit list, having come closest before in 2018, when he won three times and was named the Players’ Player of the Year.
Winning the Merit title is validation for the American who returned to play on the Asian Tour this year after playing in Europe for four years.
He’d lost his playing status in Asia and had to negotiate Qualifying School in January but comfortably made it through securing the 19th card.
Catlin is a six-timer winner on the Asian Tour, where he has been playing since 2015, constantly developing his game to become one of the greatest players the circuit has ever seen.
Peter Uihlein will have another crack at winning his second International Series title tomorrow after he took the third-round lead in the US$2.5 million International Series Qatar today.
The American birdied the final two holes at Doha Golf Club to make up for a fairly lacklustre day by his high standards to record a one-under-par 71 for a one-shot lead over countryman Zach Bauchou.
Bauchou returned a 70 and is three ahead of Italian Stefano Mazzoli, who aced the par-three 17th, for a 69 and Gaganjeet Bhullar from India, also in with a 69.
Just over a month ago Uihlein was on the brink of winning the International Series Thailand but surprisingly surrendered a two-shot lead on the last to finish second behind Chinese-Taipei’s Lee Chieh-po. That occurred not long after he won the International Series England – his first on both the Asian Tour and The International Series.
Zach Bauchou. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Uihlein began the day two ahead of Bauchou and that was the margin at the turn. Uihlein made birdie on the first but on another difficult windy day with firm and fast greens more birdies where hard to come by. He made bogeys on three and 14 before his fine finish.
He said: “Yeah, it was hard. I’m pleased, I mean, I hit 16 greens so my two bogeys were on the greens that I missed. So other than that it was pretty steady. I don’t feel like I was really ever out of position, and yeah it was a tough day, I mean, really tough.
“You know, it blew all day yesterday, blew all night and morning, so it was only going to get crispier. So, the greens definitely felt like they had a little bit more bite to them today, and it was tough to get close.”
He is also in the running to win The International Series Rankings with just one more event remaining, next week’s PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers. He is currently in fourth place and could overtake the leader John Catlin from the Unites States tomorrow with a win.
Bauchou also finished well with birdies on 13, 16 and 18.
“No doubt it was a tough day,” said the American, who has been playing on the Korn Ferry Tour.
“It was hard to get the ball close to the hole. There are only a couple of birdie-able holes out here with the par fives and 16 a driveable par-four but the rest of the course is hard to get it close.
Stefano Mazzoli. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“Need to just try and grind and make pars on those holes and when you get on a par five you try and make a birdie. I will just try and play the best I can and try and play pretty aggressive tomorrow. I will hit driver on almost every hole out here.
Surprisingly, Mazzoli’s ace on 17 was the first of his career. He used a wedge and his ball went straight into the cup without touching the surface.
“It went straight in and we never saw it again,” said the Italian, who is in the running to win this year’s Asian Tour Rookie of the Year Award.
“Usually, you know it can bounce out and come back, but it was straight in and never moved out of the way. After a tough battle on the course today with the wind, I mean, I couldn’t ask for a better finish than this. I was already pleased with a birdie on 16 and, I mean, I never had a hole-in-one, so I wasn’t expecting that, for sure and then obviously I got a birdie also on 18.”
South African Louis Oosthuizen and Suteepat Prateeptienchai from Thailand are tied for fifth on eight under following rounds of 71 and 70 respectively.
Gaganjeet Bhullar. Picture By Ian Walton/Asian Tour.
Catlin shot a 70 and is three under and is gradually moving closer to winning the Asian Tour Order of Merit title with none of his nearest pursuers making a challenge.
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