Niemann’s gripping International Series Rankings win closer than close
In the end, The International Series Rankings race went right down to the wire as in-form Joaquin Niemann from Chile claimed the honours with a play-off victory in the US$5million PIF Saudi International presented by SoftBank Investment Advisers – on a final day that had just about everything at Riyadh Golf Club.
In an afternoon of constantly changing permutations, Niemann held his nerve on the second play-off hole to claim the 1,000 points for champion, seeing off American Caleb Surratt and Cam Smith from Australia.
That result put him top of the rankings on 1,126 points, edging out fellow LIV Golf League player Peter Uihlein from the United States, who had been leading going into the final tournament of the season, by the slimmest of margins with just 13.3 points separating the pair once the dust had settled.
Niemann, captain of LIV Golf League’s Torque GC, was delighted to clinch the rankings title. The season-ending win in Saudi Arabia, with the largest prize fund on the Asian Tour, and a third place in the campaign opener in Oman proved enough to get him over the line. Niemann had finished on -21 after four rounds alongside Surratt and Smith.
Joaquin Niemann. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
The result denied an Asian Tour player a direct route to LIV Golf for the first time, after Zimbabwean Scott Vincent and Andy Ogletree from the United States played their way onto the roster in 2022 and 2023, respectively, but with another golden ticket up for grabs in the LIV Golf Promotions event next week at the same venue from December 12-14, the players at the top of the rankings still have plenty to play for.
Niemann, who won twice on LIV Golf this season and finished runner-up to Jon Rahm in the series standings, believes The International Series Rankings race is of real value to the next wave of talent waiting to push on into the big time.
He said: “What I appreciate is it is a big prize playing in The International Series. I feel like they are all waiting, they are all fighting their way for the future, the future of the game, the future of their career, and having a spot to get into LIV Golf is here too.
“I have a lot of friends back home that are trying to make it. I feel like the Asian Tour is going to be a great pathway for them to accomplish their goals.”
Uihlein had started the day in T2 with Surratt, just one behind Niemann. After winning International Series Qatar last week following his win in England earlier this season, the RangeGoats GC star was a hot favourite to do enough to claim the rankings title overall.
But after parring the front nine, he dropped four shots on the return, before carding his only birdie of the day on 18 to finish three over in T29, enough to finish second overall.
Joaquin Niemann. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
He said: “Just one of those days. It was a good year, good season. I am not disappointed at all. Just did not go my way today. Putter just abandoned me. Obviously I made my share the first three days, so I think it caught me.”
While the season finale was full of thrills for the many golf fans following on ground and on TV, it only brought heartache for Ben Campbell.
The International Series Morocco champion, sitting third going into the tournament, put together a second consecutive seven-under 64 to force his way into the reckoning, but still fell just one shot short of the three-way play-off.
That result gave the New Zealander 235 points and put him above John Catlin with 1086.55 points. It still left him 40 adrift of a place on the LIV Golf League next season, after a memorable campaign that brought five top ten finishes and the win in Rabat.
He said: “It was close. Obviously disappointing. It always comes down to a few of those putts at the end of the year or those shots. It is what it is, and you can’t do much about it. Golf’s a pretty cruel game sometimes, sometimes it comes off and sometimes it doesn’t. The difference between a great round and a good round can be millimetres.”
“The first round I played really well, then had a bad finish second round. You look back at that. Today I felt like I played really well. The putter went cold in the middle of the round and then I holed a couple coming in, so it was close, wasn’t far away. It always comes down to a few of those putts at the end of the year or those shots. It Is what it is, and you cannot do much about it.”
Catlin, the Asian Tour Order of Merit champion, had led the rankings for most of the season after winning the International Series Macau presented by Wynn and narrowly losing play-offs in Morocco to Campbell and the Black Mountain Championship to MJ Maguire. But he had to settle for fourth place in the rankings after a six-under 65 took him to T34.
They will all have another opportunity to earn a place on next year’s LIV Golf League at the LIV Golf Promotions event, which starts next Thursday.
Chile’s Joaquin Niemann completed arguably the finest season of his career today after winning the US$5million PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers following a memorable play-off victory, filled with drama, against Cam Smith and Caleb Surratt.
Niemann made a brilliant birdie, off the back of an exquisite lob shot to a foot, on the second play-off hole to triumph here at Riyadh Golf Club, after both Smith and Surrat missed theirs from close range.
The victory, worth US$1 million, also saw him claim The International Series Rankings, after an incredibly close finish to the race.
All three had birdied the first hole of the play-off – played on the par four 18th – soon after Niemann and Surratt, paired in the last group, both unexpectedly bogeyed the last to fall back into a tie with Smith on 21 under.
Joaquin Niemann. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Niemann, the leader at the start of the day by one, closed with a four-under-par 67, Surratt shot a 66 while Smith, seemingly completely out of the running playing in the sixth from last group, stormed through with a 62.
It was a thrilling finish to the season-ending event on the Asian Tour and The International Series, which is also the most lucrative event of the season.
“I enjoy being in that position, but there’s times sometimes that it takes a little bit longer. It was a good day. Caleb and me, we played great,” said Niemann, who plays on the LIV Golf League for Torque GC.
“Never thought we were going to be in a play-off with Cam Smith. He was early. An hour before us when he was done. I thought we were going to stay away from the 21-under, but you never know in golf.”
He got off to the perfect start with birdies on the first three holes and appeared on course for the win before dropping a shot on 14. On the 18th he found trouble off the tee and hacked his second out of some small trees and into the fairway before missing a tricky five footer for the outright win. Surrat made bogey after pushing his tee shot into the lake on the right. It was a calamitous finish in contrast to Smith who made birdie there.
Cam Smith. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
He added: “Yeah, it’s a really good way to wrap up the season. I’m really excited for what’s coming next season on LIV and hopefully get into a few Majors.”
His success meant American Peter Uihlein and Ben Campbell from New Zealand finished second and third on The International Rankings, respectively.
It also marked his second win of the season in Saudi, as he claimed the LIV Golf Jeddah in March shortly after winning LIV Golf Mayakoba.
Said Smith: “I think it was a bonus to even get in there, to be fair, sitting down for an hour and a bit. It was fine. I did what I had to do. Obviously, a shame to miss the putt there, but it is what it is.
“I was thinking my percentage of having a top five was very slim. Yeah, it’s a weird game sometimes. It’s kind of lucky that there wasn’t any beers in the clubhouse because I would have had a few, I think. It’s a weird game sometimes, and you never really know what’s going to happen.”
Surratt, just 20-years-old, was attempting to win for the first time as a professional event.
Caleb Surratt. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
The bogey on 18th was his only dropped shot and means yet another narrow miss on the Asian Tour, following joint third and second place finishes in International Series events in Morocco and England this year.
“Yeah, it’s a tough pill to swallow,” said the American, who plays for Legion XIII on the LIV Golf League.
“I’ve been really close a few times this year in The International Series, and I really fought hard this week because I didn’t get off to a great start.
“I did all I could do. I hit six perfect golf shots in the playoff, and I didn’t really find my way this time, and hopefully one day it does.”
Campbell missed out on the play-off, and the chance of a place on next year’s LIV Golf League that comes with winning The International Series Rankings, by one shot after closing with a 64.
Englishman Tyrell Hatton, in with a 67, claimed solo fifth, one back from Campbell.
Chile’s Joaquin Niemann drained a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th to finish one stroke ahead of Americans Peter Uihlein and Caleb Surratt after the third-round of the US$5million PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers today.
Niemann has been disappointed with his failure to win over the past three weeks following some underwhelming final rounds but will have a chance to rectify that tomorrow after he fired a six-under-par 65 to lead the way on 17-under.
Uihlein, The International Series Rankings leader aiming to wrap up top spot tomorrow, returned a 66, while Surrat rumbled Riyadh Golf Club with a course-record 61.
England’s Tyrell Hatton (66), and American duo Jason Kokrak (66) and Logan McAllister (67) are a stroke further back, in the season-finale on the Asian Tour and The International Series.
Peter Uihlein. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Niemann, joint first-round leader with Uihlein and Australian Cam Smith, started with back-to-back birdies but they dried up after that; unlike Surratt, playing further ahead, who raced to the top of the leaderboard. Niemann made his only bogey of the day on nine and was out of the running before bouncing back with birdies on 12 and 13, an eagle on 15, where he chipped in, and that closing birdie.
“After that start, I thought it was going to be one of those days,” said Niemann – who tied for fifth in the Australian Open last week and was equal seventh in the DP World Tour championship the week before.
“Just like Caleb, he played great. I thought it was going to be one of those rounds, and I start hitting, I kept hitting good shots. The putts were just not going in. It was a little bit frustrating.
“I made that bogey on nine, which really kind of frustrated me a little bit more knowing that I was kind of staying behind the leader. Yeah, after that, I knew that there’s a good stretch where you can go low. I did that the first two days too.”
Caleb Surratt. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
A two-time winner this year individually on the LIV Golf League, where he plays for Torque GC, he is attempting to claim his first 72-hole title since last year’s Australian Open.
Uihlein, winner of last week’s International Series Qatar, continues to be well placed to win the rankings but will need another strong round tomorrow to fend off his nearest challengers with 1,000 points going to the winner.
Niemann, Surratt, and New Zealander Ben Campbell, who shot 64 today and is four back, are the closest to toppling him at the moment. They need to win tomorrow and hope Uihlein slips down the leaderboard to have any chance.
When asked about tomorrow, he said: “It just depends on the weather. I haven’t seen what the wind is forecasted for tomorrow, but you can go really, really low out here if there’s no wind. I’ll just do the same. Make a bunch of birdies, try to sink some putts. That’s about it.”
Surratt has finished equal third and tied second in his only two appearances on the Asian Tour, both this year, and has a chance to win tomorrow after a spectacular round today made up of an eagle and eight birdies
Ratchanon Chantanuwat. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“It was pretty stellar,” said the 20-year-old rookie, who plays for Legion XIII on the LIV Golf League.
“I played really nicely. I might have mis-spoke stellar there. Played great, made a bunch of putts. I haven’t been making very many putts the last two days, but I’ve been hitting it really solid.”
Thailand’s amateur star Ratchanon “TK” Chantananuwat, on a break from Stanford University studies, shone with a 64, moving up to 12 under, five off top spot.
Defending champion Abraham Ancer from Mexico is 10 under after a 67 while American John Catlin, who was crowned Asian Tour Order of Merit champion last week, came in with a 70 and is out of the running on six under.
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.
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