Pieters and qualifier Dinwiddie lead in England
LIV Golf star Thomas Pieters continues to set the pace in the International Series England but has been joined at the top of the leaderboard by surprise-package Robert Dinwiddie.
Belgium’s Pieters, the joint-first round leader after a seven-under-par 64, returned a 69 today to share the clubhouse lead mid-way through day two on nine-under at Foxhills Club & Resort, in Surrey.
Dinwiddie, who was one of six players who made it through the 18-hole qualifier for this event, carded a 66 on Foxhills’ Longcross course.
American Caleb Surratt is one shot back after also carding a 66, with England’s Richard Bland, a stroke further behind, following a 69.
Said Pieters: “Played similar to yesterday, just didn’t make enough putts. I struggled on the greens. I am still pretty happy. I thought it was pretty tough this morning. I am in a good position.”
Robert Dinwiddie. Picture By Ian Walton/Asian Tour.
Pieters most recent victory came at the 2022 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship while he came close to a seventh DP World Tour victory earlier this season when he tied for second at the Soudal Open.
“I am playing aggressively, hitting a lot of drivers,” added the 32-year-old, who plays for RangeGoats GC on the LIV Golf League.
“I am kind of like chipping them down the fairway with my driver. Hopefully I can keep doing the same. I didn’t play golf last week; I took the week off. Sometimes it is good to refresh the mind; swing thoughts are gone. Just kind of get up there and hit it.
“I am working on a few swing things and as always working on my putting, which has been the main problem.”
He carded four birdies and two bogeys.
Englishman Dinwiddie leading the tournament is even more impressive considering he was one of three players who made it through an eight-man play-off in the qualifier.
The spirit he showed that day was evident once more today as he made seven birdies and two bogeys.
“Well, look, I’m really happy to be nine under and tied for the lead, that’s for sure,” said 41-year-old Dinwiddie.
“Putted amazingly well yesterday, didn’t hit the ball great. I hit the ball a bit better today and continued to putt pretty well from 10-15 feet. But you know, still, I haven’t really hit the ball that well, amazingly, the last couple of days.
Caleb Surratt. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“But maybe I haven’t got myself in crazy trouble, and then I have putted reasonably well which has kind of made up for it. So, I’m really happy. I’m hopeful that I can maybe hit the ball a little bit better over the next couple of days and see what happens.”
The Englishman turned professional in 2006 and is a three-time winner on the Challenge Tour, twice in 2007 and once in 2010.
He added: “What have I been up to? I’ve still been playing; I’ve still been working on my game. Not as much this year. I’ve been studying golf course design, I’ve been teaching a lot, that’s kept me pretty busy. I’ve done a little bit of work for radio and TV, work which I’ve really enjoyed.”
South African Branden Grace fired a 65 and is three behind the leaders.
India’s Jeev Milkha Singh, the oldest player in the field at 53, rolled back the years by carding a 68 and an additional shot back.
Anirban Lahiri, a seven-time winner on the Asian Tour, feels The International Series is an opportunity that players from the region must grab with both hands and use as a springboard to become better golfers and grow their profile globally. Story by Joy Chakravarty at International Series England.
The Indian ace, who is the only contracted Asian player on LIV Golf, lamented the fact that he did not have such a platform in his early years as a professional.
Asked about the presence of 14 Indian players in the field this week at the US$2 million International Series England, Lahiri said: “All the Indians, and other Asian players, have a great opportunity. The young guys on the Tour can test themselves against a great field, and more importantly, in conditions that are outside our comfort zones.
“There’s a lot of learning, a lot of adapting that has to happen on the fly really quickly. You need to know how much shorter the ball goes when it rains, or, when the cloud rolls in, and when the sun comes out. Like this week in the UK, the weather literally changes every 10 minutes, and the conditions would change as well.
Anirban Lahiri pictured at LIV Golf Andalucia. Picture by Angel Martinez/Getty Images.
“There’s a lot to add to your repertoire, and to your experience. That’s what is going to make you a better golfer. That’s what I benefited from in my early years, playing all over the world. So, these events are fantastic. They give you that fertile soil to really grow.”
Lahiri remembers one particular round back in 2013 which proved transformational in his career – on the Sunday of the 2013 Thai Golf Championship at Amata Springs.
“I played well that week and was paired with Sergio Garcia and Henrik Stenson in the final round. It was probably the first time I was playing with two of the greatest ball-strikers of our time. And it was a masterclass for me,” reminisces Lahiri.
“Just standing five feet away from these players, I could hear sounds of their golf shots, which were as different from others as their ball flights. It was a massive learning experience for me. It showed me that there were so many different shots that I needed to add to my skills.
“The Thai Golf Championship, and a few other co-sanctioned events on the European Tour were the only opportunities we’d get to play with world-class players, but they would still be in our home conditions.
“That round at Amata Springs gave me another standard to which I needed to hold myself to. It was critical for me to start moving to the next level. It was a priceless experience and a rare one for us to get. That’s something that the young Asian Tour players are now getting through The International Series. It’s fantastic they get to compete with some of the top LIV Golf players, and they are getting to play in different conditions.”
Anirban Lahiri. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Lahiri said the first couple of years outside Asia were going to be tough for the players, but they need to keep learning and taking notes.
“Golf is a game where the slightest change in conditions asks you to hit different shots,” said the 2015 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion.
“In UK, you get fescue grass, which you do not in Asia. You don’t get winds of 20-30mph and you don’t get bone-chilling cold weather back home. Poa annua is a very different grass that we don’t get much in Asia. The desert course in Morocco is again something new for us. How you use the bounce of your wedges differs from golf course to golf course.
“We need to know our limitations, and we need to challenge those limitations. You need to make a list of shots that you don’t know. Like, I can’t hit the high draw, or the super low bullet 2-iron, or the low-spin driver, what chip to hit on what grass.
“You then need to learn those shots. That’s how you become more rounded as a professional. You’re not going to be a one-dimensional player, and that’s going to make you a better player globally.
“And you have to embrace these global opportunities. That’s the reason I have the highest regard for Hideki (Matsuyama). He could have stayed in his comfort zone playing JGTO events, which is a great Tour. But he took himself out of there, went through the hardships, kept learning and getting better and has become a global superstar of our sport.”
Belgium’s Thomas Pieters and Richard T. Lee from Canada had low expectations at the start of this week’s International Series England but that all changed today when they both shot standout seven-under-par 64s to take the first-round lead.
They are ahead of England’s Richard Bland, Chinese Taipei’s Chan Shih-chang, Korea’ s Seungtaek Lee, and Atiruj Winaicharoenchai from Thailand, who fired 66s here on the Longcross Course at Foxhills Club & Resort, in Surrey.
Pieters, who plays for RangeGoats GC on the LIV Golf League, is still searching for the kind of form that saw him triumph on six occasions on the DP World Tour, but it looks like he is not far away after setting the pace with a round made up of an eagle and five birdies, the same as Lee.
“Drove it well and putted really nicely,” said Pieters, whose best finish this year on LIV was joint fifth in Singapore.
Richard T. Lee. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“The course kind of suits me; it’s similar to the Belgium Open course where I practice. It’s tight and narrow but if you do hit a lot of drivers you can get close to loads of par fours. You make this course easy when you hit it straight.”
He was four under through five, after he made birdie on the first two holes and eagled the par-five fifth. Three birdies in the last five, including on 18, saw him catch Lee who played in the morning.
He added: “I feel good over the golf ball. I am putting nicely, but I had no expectations this week. I know the area, I am a member across the road at Queenwood, I play a lot of golf around here. So, yes I feel comfortable here.”
Lee fell down the stairs three weeks ago in Korea and has been nursing a sore shoulder since, but he shrugged that off today.
The Canadian had to pull out of International Series Morocco last month because of the injury.
“It’s the right shoulder that hurts,” said Lee, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour, with the most recent coming at the Shinhan Donghae Open in Korea in 2017.
“I have had some good treatment; been working out a little bit; been working on my game. It seems like it is trending in the right way.”
Richard Bland. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
The 33-year-old, who started his round on 10, made an eagle on the par-five 14th, where he attacked the pin with a six-iron second shot and holed a six-footer.
However, it was a par save on the seventh, a par four, that made his day.
He said: “I made a great up and down for par, holing from eight feet. That really summed up my bogey-free round today.
“It is a very tough course. You must place your shot in the perfect position with your tee shots and if you do that you can make a score. If you don’t, it is going to penalise you.
“It’s a tight course but I hit a lot of drivers to be honest. I like to hit those low cut controlled drives and it’s working pretty well. Hopefully it works out tomorrow as well.”
Bland, who has sensationally claimed two Senior Majors on the Champions Tour this season – the Senior PGA Championship and the US Senior Open – looked like he would also finish the day in the lead but made bogey on 15 and 17.
“When the wind gets up it can be difficult, which is what happened,” said the 51-year-old.
“I am happy with the way I played, it’s a good start.”
His compatriot Andy Sullivan from England is next best placed after a 67, along with Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana, Gunn Charoenkul, Nitithorn Thippong, and Pavit Tangkamolprasert, and Sweden’s Kristoffer Broberg, Robert Dinwiddie from England, and China’s Sampson Zheng.
Chan Shih-chang. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Four-time DP World Tour winner Sullivan is coming off a two-week break and was delighted to start well.
He said: “Scored well, wouldn’t say I played great. It definitely shows I have not done a lot in two weeks. I took the kids on holiday, just been pre-occupied with the kids. Been out with my mates a bit having a good time. Haven’t played much golf so today was about seeing where we are. It has definitely highlighted I am still struggling off the tee.”
American John Catlin, leader of both the Asian Tour Order of Merit and The International Series Rankings, returned a 68, while New Zealand’s Ben Campbell, winner of International Series Morocco, came in with a 69.
This week’s US$2million tournament is the ninth event of the year on the Asian Tour and the fourth stop on The International Series.
Ben Campbell is confident he can bring his sensational form into International Series England and believes the Foxhills Club & Resort’s Longcross course will ‘suit his game’ as he looks to follow up on his sudden-death play-off victory last time out in Morocco.
It is less than a month since the New Zealander’s incredible eagle-birdie finish in regulation on the Royal Golf Dar Es Salam’s Red Course in Rabat to set up a play-off with John Catlin from the United States – which he then won with a 20-foot birdie putt.
The 32-year-old will get his campaign underway at 7:00am today from the 10th in a marquee grouping with LIV Golf League’s Harold Varner III of 4Aces GC, and South Africa’s Jaco Ahlers.
Campbell said: “I have been really solid this year, and I feel like I have got to a position where I can compete week in, week out. I took a lot away from Morocco and that is important for this week, especially with it being a good golf course that I feel suits my game.
“There are plenty of options off the tee. I will have to get that putter rolling really hot this week, and also get the wedges really dialled in. I am really looking forward to it this week.”
Ben Campbell after winning the International Series Morocco. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Campbell has been on the road for 11 weeks in a row now, dividing his time between the Asian Tour and the LIV Golf League where he is gaining invaluable experience as an alternate in case of injury to any of the superstars on the roster.
Campbell got the call at the start of the season thanks to some great form on The International Series last season which included another lasts-gasp the Hong Kong Open title in November, and he admits it has reaffirmed his intent to win the rankings title that secures a card on the LIC Golf league roster for the 2025 season.
With a season end that includes six events in an eight-week stretch, starting with a double-header in Thailand in September, Campbell has a big run in planned. He said: “It has been the 11th week in a row away from home – it was good to get some practice in, and a bit of time off as well. It has been great spending time out at LIV. I have definitely learned some really valuable things and just being around the guys has been really good.
“It is amazing out there, so I definitely want to win that rankings title and have a full card out there. At the start of the year, I sat down and really targeted those events on The International Series, and with the final schedule coming out it has been good to cement a few plans in place so I can plan the timing and make the most of the opportunity.”
Gaganjeet Bhullar, the most successful Indian golfer on the Asian Tour with 11 titles, goes in search of his first victory of the season this week at the International Series England still on a high after his debut appearance in the Olympics last week.
The Indian did not challenge for a medal – he finished in a tie for 45th – but fulfilled a life-long dream to compete in the tournament, which meant so much for his family.
“It gives me the tag of Olympian for the rest of my life,” he said. “I think that is the most incredible thing.”
“I am from a family of sports people. My father was an international athlete, my mother was a hockey player, and my uncle also represented India in two Olympics and three Asian Games, with a gold medal, so this was something that I was really looking forward to. I just missed out on the last two Olympics, finishing third on the Indian rankings.
Gaganjeet Bhullar pictured playing in the Olympics last week. Picture by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images.
“So, playing in the Olympics was something very close to my heart. And a very special moment, a very emotional moment. My parents, my family were with me last week.”
He shot rounds of 75 69 71 70 for finish one over, which was 20 shots behind American Scottie Scheffler, who won the gold medal.
He added: “It was a great event, and I have never seen so many people at a golf event cheering for all 60 guys with 50 to 55,000 people every day. That was something special, even the organisers said they never expected so many people on the golf course.
“I wish I could have played a little better. I struggled on Thursday but other than that I thought I played well.”
The 36-year-old last won on the Asian Tour at the end of last year at the BNI Indonesian Masters presented by TNE, an International Series event, while he also claimed the Chandigarh Open in April on India’s domestic tour – where he has tasted victory 14 times.
This year he has yet to hit top gear but feels he is not far away from playing his best.
“I am playing pretty good,” he explained. “I thought I played well the first part of the year, but the scores didn’t show that. Overall, I am riding high on confidence. It’s just a matter of a few things clicking here and there. One or two rounds needed, just to get the confidence going but I am already confident.”
This will be the first time he has played Foxhills, the venue for this week’s event.
Bhullar is looking for his first Asian Tour win of the season. Pictured by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
He added: “I have played a few courses in the area. It is a beautiful course, and an old school course. It makes you think off the tee; you can’t hit too many drivers. I think four or five drivers for me off the tee. I’ll use two iron, four iron off the tee, mix and match. And your short game has to be spot on. It’s nice to play this kind of course. I wished we played more often.”
The Indian star, who played on the Asian Tour for nearly tow decades, has been paired in the opening two rounds with Australian Travis Smyth and Thailand’s David Boriboonsub for the first two days.
John Catlin says the lows he experienced in 2022 and 2023, when he endured two of the worst seasons of his career, have played a huge part in the highs he is currently enjoying on the Asian Tour and The International Series.
He has been the dominant player this year, leading both the Asian Tour Order of Merit and The International Series Rankings, and starts as hot favourite at this week’s International Series England at Foxhills, in Surrey.
In five starts this season he has triumphed twice, one of those being an International Series event in Macau; lost a play-off in Morocco, another International Series event; registered a third-place finish; and missed just one cut – an aberration considering his electric form.
It’s all a far cry from two troubled seasons in Europe when – after an incredible run when he triumphed twice in 2020 before winning again the following year – his game deserted him, and he opted to return to play in Asia, where he first made his name.
John Catlin. Pictured by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
He said: “I would say this season is the most consistent I have played in my career. I have been up there a lot. The ones I have not won I have been right up there. It is the most consistent, solid play in my career.
“I had to go through what I went through in 2022 and 2023 to become mentally strong enough to be able to go through what I am going through now to enjoy it. It is all part of the process.
“You get down on yourself a little bit but then you realise that is not going to help you and you just move forward. You learn what there is to be learned. You process through what you are not doing well, and you put in the hours on those parts of your game, and you know it’s just going to take time.”
The 33-year-old, now a six-time winner on the Asian Tour, also arrived here fresh off a brilliant performance in The Open, where he made the cut for the first time in a Major and tied for 16th.
“It was nice to make my first cut in a Major,” he said.
“It was just gravy to play really good over the weekend. I would have liked to have finished under par on Sunday but was a lit bit unlucky there. I was a little bit unlucky on 18. I drove it right in the middle of the fairway in a divot again – the second time that week.
“It was awesome event, it’s so amazing. You really had to strike it, you really had to be hitting it good because the wind was so strong. If you mis-hit it a little bit you had no chance.”
The Californian has a healthy lead on both rankings – Spaniard David Puig is in second place on the Asian Tour merit list and Ben Campbell from New Zealand is one place back on The International Rankings. With the second half of the season to go, he’s targeted a top-placed finish on both, a feat which American Andy Ogletree achieved last year.
“I feel good. I feel fresh. Nice having a week off last week,” he added.
John Catlin. Pictured by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“I have recharged the batteries a bit. I have been on pretty long stretch there. Four events in a row, five of six weeks, and the four I did were not the easiest of courses.
“Morocco was difficult and Valderrama is always a challenge. The Open especially with the weather, you have got to be ready to give it your all there. JCB was tricky, you really had to place your shots.”
Difficult golf courses have done little to halt the charge for a player who looks like he is just getting going rather than ready for a breather.
Tournament Information
- Tournament: International Series England
- Venue: Foxhills (Longcross Course)
- Date: August 8-11, 2024
- Purse: US$2 million (first place US$360,000)
- Asian Tour leg: Ninth of 2024
- International Series leg: Fourth of 2024
- Par/Yards: 72/6,730
- Course record: Haider Hussain, eight-under-par 64 (2021)
- Field: 156
- Format: 72-hole stroke play with a cut made after two rounds to the leading 65 pros plus ties
- Social Media Hashtags: #InternationalSeries #ThisISEverything #whereitsAT
John Catlin is bidding for his third win of the year. Pictured by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Field Breakdown
- Order of Merit champions: Sihwan Kim (USA) 2022, Jazz Janewattananond (THA) 2019, Scott Hend (2016), Anirban Lahiri (IND) 2015, Kiradech Aphibarnrat (THA) 2013, Jeev Milkha Singh (2008 & 2006), Jyoti Randhawa (IND) 2002
- Nationalities: 29
- Past winners of tournament in the field: Scott Vincent (ZIM) 2022
- Defending champion: Andy Ogletree (USA) 2023 (not playing)
- Top contenders: John Catlin (USA), Ben Campbell (NZL), Minkyu Kim (KOR), Anirban Lahiri (IND), Richard Bland (ENG), Andy Sullivan (ENG)
- Highest ranked player on OWGR: John Catlin (USA) #142
- Highest ranked player on 2024 Asian Tour Order of Merit: John Catlin (USA) #1
- Number of amateurs: 1
- English players in the field: 17
The impressive Longcross Course is being played this week. Pictured by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Tournament Notes
- American John Catlin currently leads both the Asian Tour Order of Merit and The International Series Rankings and is coming off a super impressive T16 finish at the Open Championship at Royal Troon a few weeks ago. Catlin, the winner of the International Series Macau presented by Wynn and Saudi Open presented by PIF in back-to-back events in March and April, also finished runner up in the International Series Morocco in early July after losing a play-off to Ben Campbell of New Zealand. He has also had good results in LIV Golf events this summer standing in for the injured Charles Howell III on Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers squad.
- Ben Campbell arrives on the crest of a wave having won the most recent event, the International Series Morocco, in dramatic fashion. He stood on the 17th tee in Morocco three shots behind the leader John Catlin, and after hitting the green on the par-four with his tee shot drained the putt for eagle to get within one playing the 72nd hole. A birdie on the last got him into a play-off with Catlin, and after another birdie on the first play-off hole the 2023 Hong Kong Open winner from New Zealand was the winner of his second Asian Tour and International Series events.
Pictured by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
- 2015 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion Anirban Lahiri of India is here also in form. He 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.
- Korean Minkyu Kim won his second Asian Tour title in June when he claimed the Kolon Korea Open for the second time, having also done so in 2022. The victory qualified Kim for the Open Championship at Royal Troon where he posted a creditable tied 31st in difficult weather conditions, his best result in a Major. Kim Also posted a win in the Descente Korea Matchplay in early June on the Korean Tour.
- England’s Richard Bland won his first DP World Tour event in May 2021, in his 478th start at the age of 48, becoming the oldest first-time winner on that tour. After joining LIV Golf League in 2022, and after turning 50 in 2023, Bland won two consecutive Senior Majors when he claimed the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship and the U.S. Senior Open in May and July this year. He currently sits in 22nd place in the LIV Golf Standings playing for the Cleeks GC team.
- There are 11 LIV Golf League regulars in the field this week: Thomas Pieters (BEL), Peter Uihlein (USA), Richard Bland (ENG), Jason Kokrak (USA), Branden Grace (RSA), Anirban Lahiri (IND), Kalle Samooja (FIN), Kieran Vincent (ZIM), Caleb Surratt (USA), Scott Vincent (ZIM), Harold Varner III (USA)
Evergreen Asian Tour player Steve Lewton is hoping to draw inspiration from in-form compatriot Richard Bland as he goes for glory in his home tournament, the International Series England at Foxhills Club & Resort in Surrey.
The 41-year-old will be teeing off on home soil, a rare occasion for the Englishman who first started playing on the Asian Tour after earning his card through Q-School back in 2012.
With the event being the fourth of 10 that form a pathway onto the LIV Golf League at the end of the season, Lewton has extra incentive to shine.
Bland, a member of Cleeks GC on the LIV Golf League, is also in the field. Ten years Lewton’s senior, Bland is a shining example of a player improving with age, after claiming back-to-back senior major titles this season.
Steve Lewton pictured during a practice round on Tuesday. Pictured by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
On top of that, Bland is also in a good position to secure his place in the lock zone, the top 24 on the LIV Golf League, with just two tournaments left this season.
Lewton admits he is inspired by his compatriot, saying: “Looking at Blandy, and how he’s played makes me think maybe I have got 10 really good years left as I’ve started playing better in my late 30s and early 40s. Blandy has 10 years on me, so hopefully I can continue on that upward trend and do something similar.”
Lewton may have a number of years on many of his rivals, but age and experience has given him a different perspective on the course.
A standout amateur who finished runner-up to Rory McIlroy in the 2006 European Amateur Championship at Biella Golf Club in Italy, said: “Ten years ago I would have probably said it was a disadvantage. But as I have played better later in my career, I would probably say age is an advantage to me.
“I have a lot more experience playing in different places, and maybe the best way of describing it is that I am playing because it is fun, almost trying not to ‘care’ too much.”
Lewton’s last win was back in 2014 at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters. He has not been short of good form in recent years however, with a fourth-placed finish at International Series Oman and a T5 at the Volvo China Open last season, and a T5 in the International Series Thailand in 2022, the first ever event on the series.
He is confident that there is more success around the corner, especially in the second half of the season where the series will conclude with six events in eight weeks. Lewton said “My goals this year are to win again. I feel like I have been close the last couple of years and I feel like my game has really been trending in the right direction.
Lewton has been playing some of the best golf of his career in his 40s. Pictured by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“So I am really looking forward to this back end of the season where we can get a good run of events going and try and take some form into them. My ultimate goal this year is to give myself the best opportunity to get to LIV.
“That is my ambition at the moment so I’m doing everything, turning every stone to try and get the best form and play to my full potential. I would suggest that a lot of players on the Asian Tour would dream of getting to LIV.”
Lewton’s last stand-out display was a T4 in the star-studded PIF Saudi International, where he pushed all the way in a field that included superstars including Dustin Johnson, Cam Smith, Phil Mickelson, Xander Schauffele and eventual champion Harold Varner III who is also in the field playing the iconic Longcross course at Foxhills.
Going into another big week against a field that includes Bland, Varner and other LIV Golf talent as well as rankings leader John Catlin and nearest challenger Ben Campbell, the winner last time out in Morocco, Lewton is confident he can raise his game and rise to the challenge.
“I think the biggest part of playing in a field like that is that generally you play better when you play with better players – you up your game. You concentrate on what makes you play better.
“The injection of the LIV Golf League players on The International Series makes our field better and that’s only a good thing as it helps the Asian Tour players to play better.”
Ben Campbell roared into The International Series Rankings race in emphatic style with an incredible play-off victory in Morocco last Sunday, and the New Zealander is hoping that quality time with some of the biggest names in world golf will help him claim the title and a place on the 2025 LIV Golf League roster.
The New Zealander is in Spain as an alternate for LIV Golf Andalucia this week, and the 32-year-old’s confidence will be sky high if he is required as a stand-in, after seeing off Rankings leader John Catlin from the United States in a thrilling sudden-death play-off on Sunday to claim the International Series Morocco trophy at the Royal Golf Dar Es Salam’s testing Red Course.
The tournament in Morocco was the third of 10 International Series events on the Asian Tour offering a pathway onto the LIV Golf League for the Rankings champion, and additional opportunities for others placed high enough on The International Series Rankings to get in to the LIV Golf Promotions event.
Victory lifted Campbell up to second in the standings behind Catlin, with both players leapfrogging Oman champion Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz. With seven events left, there is plenty at stake as the Asian Tour’s best chase top spot and that lucrative place on the LIV Golf League.
Victory in Morocco was Ben Campbell’s second on The International Series. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Last season, Campbell also snatched victory from 2022 Open champion Cameron Smith from Australia and Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai on the last at the 2023 Hong Kong Open, a win on The International Series that led to his invite to travel with the LIV Golf League.
This season he has travelled for all nine events as an alternate in between competing on the Asian Tour, gaining invaluable experience along the way.
So far, Campbell has filled in for Ripper GC captain Smith on the final two rounds in Miami, shooting 71-73, and replaced Legion XIII captain Jon Rahm from Spain in the final round in Houston, producing an impressive five-under final round of 67.
He said: “Hopefully next year I can get a full card out here, through either The International Series or the LIV Golf Promotions event.
“I think the good thing (about being an alternate) is it gives you motivation to get out here, once you have experienced it. I am trying to get my game into the best possible place for those events on The International Series. It is an amazing opportunity for the Asian Tour.”
Ben Campbell caught John Catlin with an eagle birdie finish in Morocco and then triumphed with a birdie in the play-off. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Campbell gained some incredible on-course experience at the weekend in Rabat. With 70 holes already played, and three shots back, he produced a sensational eagle-birdie finish on 17 and 18.
That effort drew him level with Asian Tour Order of Merit front-runner Catlin, the leader for all three rounds and a back-to-back champion at International Series Macau presented by Wynn and the Saudi Open presented by PIF earlier this season.
A play-off birdie with just his fourth putt in the last five holes played was enough to claim the spoils against Catlin, who had recently earned a place as a LIV Golf League stand-in for Charles Howell III on the Crushers GC team thanks to his incredible form in 2024.
Away from the white heat of the competition, he has enjoyed the learning process on LIV. He explained: “It is quite an interesting process to be here and to learn the set-up of some of the players. I have taken a couple of invaluable takeaways from it.
“Golf is a funny game, just seeing some of the best players in the world and what they are doing and how they are training, playing with them on practice rounds can give you little things that you can take and put into your own game.”
Campbell admits the big names have surprised him in many ways off the course. He said: “The one thing that surprised me is just how hard these guys are working. You can go to the gym at 6:30 in the morning and there are already three of four guys in there.
“When you go to dinner, you could end up at a dinner with five or six of the guys you have looked up to your whole life.
“They are telling stories, and you learn from them. You can learn more sitting at a dinner than you would watching on a range or putting green. That has been really valuable, and even hanging out with the caddies, you can ask questions, and learn a bit.”
Campbell is next in action at International Series England, the fourth event on the Series and the ninth event on the Asian Tour which takes place from 8-11 August on the Longcross Course at Foxhills Club & Resort in Surrey. Information and tickets are available at www.internationalseries.com.
Denwit Boriboonsub’s preparations for next week’s Open Championship, where he will be making his first appearance in a Major, have been high on his list of priorities of late – including in June when he played three rounds at Royal Troon. It was another busy month, when he also secured a new sponsor. Denwit was speaking to Asian Tour contributor and former Tour player Olle Nordberg.
Hi again everyone!
Since the last diary I’ve been quite busy with tournaments and preparing for the biggest tournament in my life so far, my first Major, the Open Championship at Royal Troon next week! So, let’s start from there.
I decided to try to go over for an early practice session to Scotland in June, so we contacted the course and asked if it would be possible. I was very happy and grateful that they agreed to my request, so many thanks to Royal Troon and my manager Tom Su to help set this up!
I also was lucky enough to hire Colin Montgomerie’s old caddie Colin Cotter to help guide me around the course, since it was my first time playing a true links course with very different conditions to what I’m used to. He just led the way and helped me get to grips with links golf – explaining where to lay up or where to play aggressive.
But at The Open it’s gonna be my regular caddie Guy on the bag, of course he wants to caddy. It’s his first Major too, it’s gonna be exciting.
Denwit Boriboonsub has been a professional since 2020. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
I managed to play three rounds at Troon, and I found out that playing this course is very difficult with the wind; it was blowing like around 35 to 50 kilometers per hour. And, yeah, of course it’s links golf, so it’s very difficult. Also, the weather was cold, it was like below 10 degrees and the wind was absolutely howling.
It was my first time playing a true links course, and I totally like it. I think with that style of game you gotta be patient out there and stay focused, because the wind will just blow the ball everywhere. You have just gotta be patient and stay focused. Royal Troon being a links course that’s quite tight and narrow, it’s going to be a bit difficult for me.
I am in Scotland this week again, for five or six practice rounds, having spent a few days in London!
Anyway, after the early practice at Troon I went to play in the Kolon Korea Open, but things didn’t really go well. I didn’t hit my driver well and I didn’t have much time for rest because I came back from Scotland and landed on Sunday, and on Tuesday I went to Korea. I was a bit jet-lagged from the big time change from the UK, and I didn’t prepare for that course so well. I missed the cut. It’s the first time that I played Woo Jeong Hills and I think it might be my last time there as well.
On more bit of exciting news is that I got a new sponsor after Korea. My team have been trying to find some new sponsors, and after talking to Betagro, two or three weeks ago, they got the deal done! Betagro is Thailand’s leading comprehensive food business operator, and they sponsor some of the best Thai golfers like Thongchai Jaidee on PGA Tour Champions and Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn on the LPGA – to support Thai pros around the world. Hoping for more sponsors too!
Last week was International Series Morocco and it was my first time in Morocco, it was amazing. It was my first time in Africa, and I loved the weather there, plus the food was amazing too! Rabat was a really nice city; I can’t really describe it. It looks very historic, and our hotel, the Hotel Fairmont La Marina, was looking over the beach and the old town. It just looks like an ancient city.
I played two practice rounds at the Royal Golf Dar Es Salam Red Course: on Monday a full 18 holes and Tuesday just with a wedge and putter, while taking notes around the greens.
On that course you just got a hit straight. And yeah, it was also all about putting I think, because the greens were a bit slopey and not that fast. If I had driven the ball like I did in Malaysia at the start of the year it would have been easier, but unfortunately I drove it more like in Korea so it was difficult.
It was a tough week playing there: I couldn’t hit my driver, couldn’t putt, my long irons were not good. It just says everything. I was happy to make the cut, but yeah, I’m not really happy with the result.
Other than that, I didn’t do much in Morocco, just watched a lot of the Euros football, cheering for the Dutch!
So full steam ahead now for next week’s Open; wish me luck and follow me on IG for my updates from Troon!
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