Kieran Vincent: Zimbabwean calls LIV Golf League experience “spectacular”
Kieran Vincent has only been on the LIV Golf League for just over a month, but it is clear that this new chapter of his fledgling career has already had a huge impact on him, not just because at the first event, in Mayakoba, he was part of Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII winning team.
“I mean it’s been nothing short of spectacular,” said the Zimbabwean, speaking at this week’s inaugural International Series Macau presented by Wynn.
“You dream for it to go really, really well, and I think it’s done that and more. Obviously to get paired up with such an awesome team, with Jon, Tyrrell [Hatton] and Caleb [Surratt] you can’t ask for better teammates and just the acclimatisation of now being part of the LIV Golf League it’s been awesome. I’m excited for what’s in store for us the next few events coming up.”
Vincent is playing the LIV Golf League by virtue of the fact that he successfully negotiated last year’s tension-packed LIV Golf Promotions event in Abu Dhabi – where he secured one of the three places on offer, after surviving a sudden-death play-off, to add even more drama and emotion to a lifechanging week.
Kieran Vincent. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Above all else the 26-year-old feels the greatest part of the experience so far is getting the chance to spend an extended amount of time with the best players in the world.
He explains: “It’s just kind of seeing the day-to-day life, what they get up to on a day-to-day basis is awesome. You know you always think of the life of a tour pro, awesome and glamourous, and I think that Jon and Tyrrell and even Caleb have kind of shown me that there is so much more to it than just playing on the golf course.
“I’ve learned so many things just being around them for the last four weeks now, and as I said I think the world of them. They’re such awesome guys both on the course and even off the course, they want the best for everybody. I think that’s what makes that whole LIV lifestyle so unique, it’s that you get to spend so much in-depth time with all these guys, so it’s really, really cool.”
The team element of the LIV Golf League is also something he is enjoying immensely.
“Yeah, it’s so different in so many different ways,” said Vincent, who won the International Series Vietnam last year, for his maiden victory as a professional in his first full season on the Asian Tour.
“You know that in a team event like this, where on the last day all four scores count, everyone has to do their bit to really jump up the leaderboard. And I think that’s what we did so well in Mayakoba, that all four scores were really good scores, and that we put the best scores that we could out there.”
There is no doubt that having his brother Scott playing on the LIV Golf League also provides extra inspiration, and on that front, at this stage, they are about even stevens. Legion XIII are fourth on the team rankings, while Scott’s Iron Heads GC team are joint 12th, however the latter is equal 44th individually, one place ahead of his younger brother, with everything to play for over the next eight events.
Talented Thai sensation Denwit Boriboonsub was left to rue a number of missed putts around the Macau Golf and Country Club, but still managed to stay in contention going into the final round of the International Series Macau presented by Wynn.
A wonderful eight-under round of 62 would surely have made the headlines on any other day – until American John Catlin’s stunning 59 and two other 62s from LIV Golf stars, Ripper GC’s Lucas Herbert and Smash GC’s Jason Kokrak.
Denwit picked up a birdie on his first as he started on 10, after hitting his approach to five feet, and he was motoring after three more on his front nine at 13, 15 and 18. Birdies on the first and third, as well as two more on the spin on eight and nine, ensured a blemish-free eight under round that moved him to T8.
Things might have been even better for the 20-year-old had his flat stick been as hot as his driver and irons.
Denwit Boriboonsub. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
The 20-year-old has already proved he can mix it with the big guns after beating 2016 Open champion Henrik Stenson at the Saudi Open late last year for his first ever Asian Tour title and his third title in an astonishing three-week spell where he also claimed victory in the Aramco Invitational and then the Thailand Open.
And he’s clearly not afraid of competing at the highest level in a field that includes major winners Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed and Graeme McDowell alongside a large number of LIV Golf League stars and the cream of the Asian Tour.
He said: “Today’s round, I hit my driver so good and I hit my irons so well too. But I missed a lot of putts, left a lot out there. But because of the irons that I hit so well, I hit it so close all day long – right from my second shot of the day which was close to five feet.
“I think today in the round I was pretty confident with my shots and drives, but luckily today there was no wind. It was very calm and the green speeds were the same over all three days, so I learned it all from the greens on the first and the second day.”
Denwit is young and hungry, not without ambition. The Asian Tour Order of Merit is the target for this season. He explained: “This season I really want to win the Order of Merit – you get a five-year exemption and that’s the main goal for me. The International Series events are a huge opportunity on the Asian Tour for players like me.
“Playing with the likes of Jason Kokrak, Sergio Garcia, and top players like Graeme McDowell, that’s a huge opportunity for players like me.”
Compatriot Charng-Tai Sudsom is a shot further back on -12 after an eventful round that yielded five birdies and a bogey in a seven-hole burst from his third. An eagle on 15 ensured a six-under 64 that moved him up to T14, six behind Catlin after his incredible 59.
Charng-Tai said: “I’m very happy with my result. I was driving the ball well and my wedge game was very good today – five birdies and one bogey in the front nine is a really solid round. The International Series is very important for my career – it helps me focus on my goal to try and get there, and I’m trusting my process.
“I want to try to finish top 30 in the International Series Order of Merit (Rankings) and I’m just grinding and grinding, I’m enjoying it and I just want to go out and have fun.”
John Catlin set his name in stone in the history books today by becoming the first player to shoot a 59 on the Asian Tour, at the International Series Macau presented by Wynn – emphatically announcing his return to the region.
The American, a four-time winner on the Asian Tour who has spent the last four seasons playing in Europe, carded an explosive bogey-free 11-under-par 59 to take the third-round lead at Macau Golf & Country Club.
He leads the event on 18-under by two from American Jason Kokrak, who shot a 62. Lucas Herbert from Australia also returned a 62 and is a further stroke back along with joint overnight leader Jbe Kruger from South Africa, who came in with a 66.
Spaniard David Puig, who shared the lead at the start of day with Kruger, returned a 68, which, on a day of tremendously low-scoring, saw him fall back into a tie for eighth on 13-under.
John Catlin celebrates his eagle putt on the 18th green with playing partner Patrick Reed. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Catlin holed a brilliant big left-to-right breaking 20-foot eagle putt on the par-five 18th to seal the deal, after making six birdies on the front nine and three on the back.
His ecstatic reaction to holing the putt marked yet another memorable milestone for the 33-year-old Californian on the Asian Tour. He first made his name here by winning on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) in 2016 and 2017 before graduating to the main Tour where he won three times in 2018 and once in 2019.
Three victories followed in Europe soon after but having successfully passed through the Asian Tour Qualifying School in January it appears being back in the region has proved to be the correct career move.
“Yeah, I’m pretty much speechless,” said an emotional Catlin, who admitted later that he thought he would never break 60, even though all his passwords end with 59.
“It’s pretty, crazy. It hasn’t totally sunk in yet. Wow. Yeah, the emotions are hitting me for sure. Just everything I’ve been through over the last two years. To be here. It’s pretty special.”
Just prior to his remarkable three on the last he also made birdie on the challenging 239-yard par-three 17th, where he holed an eight-footer. A 10-footer to save par on the 12th also proved crucial.
Jason Kokrak. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
The American was able to benefit from calm conditions and preferred lies but that didn’t detract from shooting the first sub-60. Sixty has been shot on three occasions on the Asian Tour before while a 59 has been carded once at both the Qualifying School and on the ADT.
When asked about his dip in form since last winning in Europe in early 2021, he said: “Yeah, it’s really difficult. You know, you sacrifice a lot, you put in a lot. I definitely want to thank my coach Noah Montgomery. He’s been with me now for 10 years and he really helped me through it. I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t have him in my corner and we just kept pushing. We just kept pushing. And yeah, to be here right now is pretty special.”
Catlin secured the 19th card at Qualifying School before going on to finish equal third at the season-opening IRS Prima Malaysian Open.
Kokrak, when asked if he felt he needed to play aggressively on a day of low scoring, said: “You have to. I mean it’s a golf course where if you’re in the fairway you have to attack it. The greens are soft, you have to attack this place with no wind. If it’s windy out there it can play a little tricky, but with it being calm we knew we had to go out there and shoot something low.”
Fellow LIV Golf League player Herbert added: “John [Catlin] has won plenty of tournaments, I have won plenty of tournaments and a few other boys have played plenty as well, and we all know how to get it done. So hopefully I can get in with a sniff with nine to play, and do the best I can do and it should be a good battle out there.”
Last year’s Hong Kong Open champion Ben Campbell (63) from New Zealand, Frenchman Martin Trainer (64), a Qualifying School graduate, and Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz (65), who won the International Series Oman last month, are four behind Catlin, in a tie for fifth.
Lucas Herbert. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Thailand’s 20-year-old star Denwit Boriboonsub, winner of the season-ending events on both the Asian Tour and ADT last December, signed for a 62 and is in a group of players one shot further adrift.
This week’s US$2million event is the fourth event of the year on the Asian Tour and second on The International Series.
Australian veteran Scott Hend has put himself in contention again for a second successive tournament after a two-under round of 68 left him just four off the lead at the halfway stage of the International Series Macau presented by Wynn.
And the 50-year-old has vowed to be his usual aggressive self as he goes in search of win No.11 on the Asian Tour, two weeks after missing out in agonizing fashion to Takahiro Hataji at the 103rd New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport.
A fortnight ago, Hend rolled back the years with a vintage display and had either led or shared the lead over three days before Hataji took to the front with birdies on 12 and 15. And even though Hend caught up with birdies on 16 and 17, a missed four-footer for par handed the Japanese star outright victory at Queenstown’s Millbrook Resort.
In Macau, the 10-time Asian Tour winner and 16-time champion around the world, followed up his five-under first round 65, when he was out in the second group, with a steady round today to sit well-placed behind David Puig of Spain and Jbe Kruger of South Africa at the Macau Golf and Country Club.
Scott Hend. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Reflecting on his New Zealand experience, he said: “I am not a person to leave putts short, or a person who believes in tomorrow – I’m about the here and now. My nature is aggressive, and it comes out in my golf – up front.
“You win some, you lose some – you do not win by leaving putts short. I misjudged one (on 18) and hit a good putt coming back and it just lipped out. There is not much more I can do. Unfortunately, it cost me some money but it is not where I lost the tournament.
“I lost the tournament on the back nine, where I missed a three and a half footer on 13 for birdie, I did not birdie 12, and I did not birdie the par-five 14th. I cannot blame 18. I birdied 16 and 17 to get in position, and then I went for the win. I tried to get it done in real time and that is the way I am!”
Reflecting on his second round, Hend added: “I missed a lot of putts today and couldn’t get a grasp of the greens. On the first round, being out second in the morning, we did not have much grain to contend with.
“As it dried out a bit in the afternoon, the grains stood up and I was a quarter of a ball out from holing putts. I am playing really well, and we had wind this morning and this afternoon, and the other side of the draw had nothing! I’m well positioned for the weekend; the guys are shooting good scores and let’s see what happens. No one is going to get away with one club length preferred lie because of the condition of the fairways. It always comes down to a bit of a putting competition and not really a ball-striking thing. We will see, with the greens today, hopefully tomorrow we can get back into it.”
Spain’s David Puig and Jbe Kruger from South Africa took the halfway lead in the International Series Macau presented by Wynn today by the only way possible, shooting in the low 60s.
Puig, winner of the season-opening IRS Malaysian Open and arguably the hottest property on the Asian Tour at the moment, shot a six-under-par 64 while Kruger fired a 63.
They lead on 11-under on a day of low scoring here at Macau Golf & Country Club – the venerable venue that has hosted Asian Tour events since the late 1990s.
Sweden’s Bjorn Hellgren and Mito Pereira from Chile are one shot back, after rounds of 65 and 66, respectively – in the inaugural edition of this US$2million event, which is the second stop on The International Series’ 2024 season and the fourth leg of the Asian Tour.
David Puig. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz (66), Japan rookie Yuta Sugiura (67) and Pat Perez from the United States (67) are a further stroke behind.
Overnight leader Li Haotong from China tumbled down the leaderboard with a 72. He is in a tie for 42nd on five under.
Puig, in his usual casual and relaxed approach, continued to do what he has done a lot of recently: hit big drives, hole a lot of putts and lead golf tournaments.
He made seven birdies, including on 17 and 18, and dropped one shot.
“A good day,” said the 22-year-old, who plays for Fireballs GC on the LIV Golf League.
“Kept it pretty good off the tee, which obviously helps. Pretty happy with my game and ready for the weekend.”
The Spaniard, who won the International Series Singapore last year for his maiden win as a professional, is playing his fifth event in a row and he is starting to feel the effects.
He added: “I am tired, very tired. It wasn’t the best preparation for this week. I mean, spent a couple of days just in the hotel and played nine holes on Wednesday. But again, I’m playing pretty good. I guess playing a lot in a row helps to score better and that’s pretty good. So hopefully I can keep doing the same this weekend and take the trophy home.”
Jbe Kruger. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Kruger is a two-time winner on the Asian Tour – his most recent being the Shinhan Donghae Open in 2019 – and based on today’s performance he is hungry for a third.
“I’m making putts, that’s as much as I can say,” said Kruger, who also won the Shigeo Nagashima Invitational Sega Sammy Cup on the Japan Tour last July.
“I’m not really hitting many fairways. I’m hitting the greens but I’m not getting it in the fairway and that makes life difficult for me actually. But when it’s on the green, I’m making them.
“I’ve always liked this course. You know it’s actually short, but it’s difficult with the wind. I told my wife Denise [who is caddying for him] it’s very funny not to have that much wind, because we are so used to hitting the same shots over and over. And today there was almost no breeze at the end there which was lovely.”
Hellgren, one of the biggest hitters on the Asian Tour, harnessed his power with precision to move into contention. He has been playing on the Asian Tour for the past two years and has overpowered courses with powerful and prodigious driving – which saw him ranked first in driving distance in 2022, with an average of 313.62 yards, and seventh last year.
That skillset has not yet led to a victory although one of his best performances on the Asian Tour came here on the same course at last year’s SJM Macao Open, when he tied for 11th.
“I think lines off the tee are crucial, there are some blind tee shots,” said 33-year-old Hellgren, who played on the same golf team as Brooks Koepka and Daniel Berger at Florida State University.
“I try to take advantage as much as I can with my driver. So off the tee, if you can hit some long drives with good lines, you will pick up a few shots.”
Bjorn Hellgren. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
He made an eagle, on the par-five 13th, five birdies and two bogeys.
He said: “With this new Callaway driver that I have, it’s fairly straight. I don’t try to hit it as hard as I can like I used to two years ago, you still have to hit it quite straight here. It’s tricky with the wind, we have to play what we feel. But I try to take advantage of my driving, yes.”
The Swede also has the added incentive of having his fiancee Lovisa here with him this week.
Ortiz won the International Series Oman last month by four shots from South African Louis Oosthuizen, with in-form Joaquin Niemann from Chile one shot further back, for arguably the finest performance of his career. He clearly has not lost any momentum.
He said: “Good, I’m happy. I feel like it’s a golf course, right now, that’s pretty gettable. And I’ve taken advantage not as much as I wanted to, but I’m in a good place for the weekend.
“It’s kind of a funky golf course, you have all kinds of different shots, all kinds of lies. So, it requires a lot of different shots and I think I do that well.”
Sugiura is emerging as this week’s dark horse. He is in his first season as a professional and made it through this year’s Asian Tour Qualifying School – something that surprised nobody as last year he sensationally won the Dunlop Phoenix as an amateur.
Carlos Ortiz. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“I played really well today, same as yesterday,” he said.
“With the win last year, I managed to gain a lot of confidence in my golf. Currently I’m in contention for another win, so I hope I can keep my confidence up and have a good weekend.”
The 22-year-old has big plans for 2024. He wants to win the Money List title in Japan, and added: “If I have more chances to play on The International Series, I would love to play as many as I can.”
Thailand’s amateur star Ratchanon ‘TK’ Chantananuwat carded a 64 and is in a group of players tied for eighth, just three behind the leaders, along with compatriot Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who returned a 63.
Bangladesh golfing hero Siddikur Rahman is mixing it with the big guns at this week’s International Series Macau presented by Wynn – and that is all the more impressive considering his limited game time this season.
The two-time winner on the Asian Tour is on seven under at the halfway stage, just four off the lead following up his opening-day 66 with a second-round 67 at the Macau Golf and Country Club.
Starting on 10, the 39-year-old carded three straight birdies from 12 to 14 before ‘careless’ bogeys on 15 and 18 threatened to derail his round.
Two more birdies on one, his tenth, and six got him back on track, and his round could have been even better had he converted any of three birdie chances on his final three holes.
Siddikur Rahman. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Rahman, who managed a T3 at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters back in 2022 for one of his best finishes in recent times, and qualified under the career earnings category this week, said: “I have played quite well, today I had a lot of chances, but I made a few silly mistakes. My last three holes I could not capitalise on any of them from inside 70 yards, and I also made two silly bogeys.
“On 18 I topped a 240-yard shot into water for bogey, and on 15 I made bogey from the green with a three putt. I am hitting it so well with my first and second shots, but inside 80 yards, where I am normally strong, somehow, I seemed to miss in both rounds.”
Perhaps it should be no surprise that Rahman left a few shots out on the course. He has only played once this season, at the IRS Prima Malaysian Open a month ago where he managed a T31 on 13-under, 10 off winner David Puig of the Fireballs GC in the LIV Golf League.
The reasons for his lack of golf are varied – a mixture or bureaucracy and practice issues.
Rahman, who plays at Kurmitola Golf Club in Dhaka, said: “At my golf course I can play any time and practice inside the course, but my range has artificial matts and range balls, and as pro golfer you really need proper grass and real ball.
“So I didn’t get the chance to practice on the real course. I’m lacking a bit of practice. The last two weeks I didn’t do enough short game practice. I can see the impact on my long game, but I couldn’t practice that much so when I take set up, I’m not sure what to do. I’m in between. But I’m in good shape and feeling comfortable.
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a visa for Oman – as a Bangladeshi, there are often problems with visa. And because I was supposed to play Oman, I didn’t put my name down for New Zealand. So then I couldn’t get the visa for New Zealand at the last moment because it was too late. So seven under is not bad, I’m happy for both days!”
Siddikur Rahman. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Rahman, whose wife Samaun Anjum Auroni is also a golf pro, is optimistic about his game this season. He said: “Honestly, with the game I have and the way I am moving forward, I will hopefully be in a good position. The two bogeys today were from centre fairway, and the opportunities I got I could not convert, but my game is there and if I continue playing the way I am playing I will be in a good position.”
If there is a golf course that suits his renowned accuracy from the tee and strong short game it is Macau Golf and Country Club, so among the stars of LIV Golf lookout for Bangladesh’s favourite golfing son this weekend.
LIV Golf League star Harold Varner III is known for his big personality, and that attitude seems the perfect fit for the glitz and glamour of Macau. After a mixed first round, the mercurial American is eager to put on one of his better displays to match the surroundings in the International Series Macau presented by Wynn.
The bubbly 4Aces star was one over through 11, after a run of nine straight pars and one bogey at the turn. But the 33-year-old put together four birdies in the last six holes to bounce back and ease himself to a three-under 67, just four shots off leader Li Haotong of China and behind a huge chasing pack at the Macau Golf & Country Club.
Varner got the season underway with a dead-last finish at El Camaleon Golf Course for LIV Golf Mayakoba at the start of the season. And he is hoping to keep ‘trending’ in the right direction after a T15 last time out at LIV Golf Hong Kong last weekend.
Harold Varner III. Picture by Graham Uden/Asian Tour.
He said: “That was good considering I was one over just after the turn – I really got to get going a little faster, I would say. That’s golf though. I played pretty well in Hong Kong so I have got to keep up that momentum. I’m really loving my golf right now, I’ve been working on doing good things and I have to trust that process and keep going.”
Varner clearly likes the international brief of the Asian Tour. Aside from last week’s T15 at Fanling, he carded a sublime 62 and two consecutive 66s last year on his way to a top-10 finish in the Hong Kong Open.
He also won the Australian PGA Championship in December 2016 and the PIF Saudi International in February 2022 with a monster eagle putt on the last.
He can’t quite put his finger on the good form, however he has credited The International Series for ‘keeping him sharp’.
He said: “I think it is awesome. It gives great opportunities, but you have got to play well. A lot of LIV guys are coming over and it is good for me – it keeps me from being lazy! It keeps me sharp, I just have to do my thing and keep travelling – another country knocked off.”
Reflecting on his goals he added: “I have to do my thing and keep travelling, that’s another country knocked off! If I play like I did on the back nine, I can do really well. Play well and keep doing the good things, make a lot of money,” he laughed. “I finished dead last in my first tournament this season but I’m trending and I have got to keep going.”
Li Haotong, once the great hope of Chinese golf, continued to show he is on the road to recovery today after taking the first-round lead in the inaugural International Series Macau presented by Wynn.
Li shot a confidence-building seven-under-par 63 at Macau Golf and Country Club, with LIV Golf League stars Mito Pereira of Chile and Pat Perez from the United States plus Japan sensation Yuta Sugiura next best placed following 64s.
Li had a shocking 2023, missing nearly every cut. However, the 28-year-old has shown a marked improvement this year, including a top-10 finish in the Dubai Desert Classic – the event he won in 2018. He made eight birdies and dropped just one shot today.
“Played really solid, gave myself a lot of birdie chances,” said Li, who has won seven times as a professional, including his national Open in 2016.
Mito Pereira. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“I wasn’t that comfortable with some of the tee shots, but it was a solid day. This is my fourth or fifth time here. This time around the experience is a little bit better and hopefully I can keep playing like this and see how we go.
“I was just hoping to play steady today. No way did I think I would shoot seven under.”
Pereira, who made seven birdies and one bogey, is playing his fourth straight event. Despite admitting to fatigue, his game appears to be as sharp as ever.
“To be honest, I am really tired,” said the 28-year-old, who plays for Torque GC on the LIV Golf League.
“I am ready to go home but it’s the last push. I am trying to give it my best.”
He tied for fourth in the International Series Oman last month before playing LIV Golf events in Jeddah and Hong Kong.
Pat Perez. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
He added: “Pretty solid today, tee to green. Made some good putts, some clutch putts, to keep the momentum going. Really happy with how I played overall.”
4Aces GC star Perez made seven birdies and one bogey, just like Pereira, although five of his birdies came on a brilliant bogey-free back nine.
The 48-year-old says he is reaping the rewards from extensive practice.
He said: “To be honest, I have been working really hard on my game and it’s showing.
“It was nice today, I hit it really good, the wind was blowing. There are some tight tee shots out there, I played great. I just screwed up one hole.
“I have been playing good all week, the course kind of fits my eye. I was excited to play. You need to keep your driver in play here.
“It’s cool being here, it’s mini-Vegas, and I love Vegas.”
Sugiura, perhaps inspired by his compatriot Takahiro Hataji’s memorable win at the New Zealand Open at the beginning of the month, looked set to share the lead with Li but he dropped a shot on his final hole – his only bogey of the day.
He is yet another exciting young golfer to emerge from the Land of the Rising Sun. He won the Dunlop Pheonix as an amateur last year and is in his first year as a professional, and could well be one to watch out for this week. He made it through this year’s Asian Tour Qualifying School.
Scott Hend is in a large group of players who returned 65s.
Yuta Suguira. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
The Australian being in contention is no surprise. He won the Macau Open here twice, in 2013 and 2015, and is out to make amends for letting the New Zealand Open slip from his grasp two weeks ago. There, he three-putted the 18th to hand Hataji a one-shot victory, and frustratingly miss out on his 11th Asian Tour title.
This week’s US$2million event is the second tournament of The International Series’ 2024 season and the fourth stop on the Asian Tour.
Tournament champions were not the only winners in 2023 as once again players and venues were rewarded for their important contributions to the season through other accolades at last night’s Asian Tour Awards Night, held at the Wynn Palace in Macau.
Andy Ogletree’s dominant 2023 season saw him receive arguably the most-coveted award of them all, the stamp of approval by his peers, as he was handed the Kyi Hla Han Award for the Player of the Year on the Asian Tour.
The American (main picture) won both the Asian Tour Order of Merit (OOM) title, as well as The International Series OOM, in runaway fashion and was the overwhelming choice for the Kyi Hla Han Award – after a final count of a players’ poll was conducted.
It was the first year that the award had been named after Kyi Hla Han, the Asian Tour’s former OOM champion who later became the regional circuit’s Executive Chairman, making this all the more significant for Ogletree.
Saudi golfer Othman Almulla (left) receives the Tournament of the Year Award on behalf of the PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers from Angelo Que. Picture by Chris Wong.
Said Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner & CEO, Asian Tour: “It was a wonderful year for Andy, fittingly coming during the season when we named the prestigious Player’s Player of the Year Award after one of the Asian Tour’s most-celebrated luminaries, Kyi Hla Han.”
The Asian Tour membership also cast their vote in favour of the star-studded season-opening PIF Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers as The Tournament of the Year.
“The Tournament of the Year Award is one of the Asian Tour’s most prestigious accolades – especially as it is an emphatic vote of confidence from our members,” added Cho.
“We first staged our season-opening event at the PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers in 2022, when it received rave reviews from our players. It was the perfect start to the year, and this was very much the case in 2023.”
On The International Series – 10 elite level events that are integrated into the Asian Tour schedule and provide a pathway onto the LIV Golf League – it was the Hong Kong Open that got the nod as The International Series Tournament of the Year.
The winners of the statistics categories were also rewarded. Picture by Chris Wong.
And equally impressively it was that event’s venue, the Hong Kong Golf Club, that was the Players’ Choice Course of the Year, along with Al Mouj Golf – the popular club on the stunning Muscat coastline that hosts the International Series Oman.
With regard to the Asian Tour Rookie of the Year Award there was only ever one candidate, Taichi Kho.
Winning the World City Championship at Hong Kong Golf Club saw him become the first player from Hong Kong to win on the Asian Tour, while he also shone at the Volvo China Open, chipping in for an eagle on 18 to tie for second.
Those performances helped him end the year in ninth place on the Merit list to complete one of the finest ever rookie seasons. He also claimed the gold medal in the Asian Games, which was another first for Hong Kong,
Statistically speaking, the players who featured on the leaderboard across the season also dominated the numbers.
Spaniard David Puig had the best stoke average with 68.25; Ogletree, not surprisingly, topped Greens in Regulation on 77.02%; and Phachara Khongwatmai from Thailand had the measure of the greens with a medium of 27.85 putts per round.
A hot putter also helped Phachara make the most birdies. He recorded 293, although his compatriot Sadom Kaewkanjana matched him, to share the honours in that category.
Taichi Kho (right) is handed the Rookie of the Year Award by Dom Boulet. Picture by Chris Wong.
Korean Seungtaek Lee was the biggest hitter of the season with his average drive reaching 326.98 yards, Gaganjeet Bhullar from India hit it straightest off the tee finding 81.09% of the fairways, while it will surprise no one that the magical short game of Thailand’s Poom Saksansin allowed him to win the Scrambling section, getting up and down 67.24% of the time.
LIV Golf League star Ian Poulter hopes he can get back to winning ways at the US$2million International Series Macau presented by Wynn, the Asian Tour-sanctioned event which is making its debut in Macau this week.
The Majesticks GC co-captain is one of over 20 stars from the LIV Golf League battling it out with the cream of the Asian Tour at the second in a schedule of 10 elevated tournaments on the Asian Tour this season, taking place from 14-17 March at the Macau Golf & Country Club.
Poulter was joined by Andy Ogletree (HyFlyers GC), Sergio Garcia (Fireballs GC) and Asian Tour rising star Taichi Kho at a special press conference at Wynn Palace today (Tuesday) in front of over 70 media today.
Poulter has tasted success already in the region before, winning the Hong Kong Open back in 2010, and the Englishman, a Ryder Cup legend for Team Europe, is hoping to get back to winning ways on the Macau Golf & Country Club this week.
Taichi Kho, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Andy Ogletree pictured with the trophy on the grounds of Wynn Palace in Macau on Tuesday March 12, 2024, ahead of the International Series Macau presented by Wynn. Picture by Graham Uden/Asian Tour
Poulter, who finished T8 at LIV Golf Hong Kong last week, is a popular figure in Asia and he said: “I don’t know if it was the crazy hairdo or the silly trousers but fans always seemed to like me playing out here and it is nice to have had a decent bit of success. Hopefully we can play well for the fans come out to watch us.”
Reflecting on his good performance last week he added: “I have done a lot of statistical work to review errors in my game, and in fact the whole team did and we have done a good job to make significant gains in certain areas.
“My putting last couple of weeks hasn’t been as good as I would like. Going into this week, I like this course. I remember in 2016 I got off to a fast start in the first round but didn’t finish it off, and hopefully I’m trending in the right direction this week.”
Ogletree is making his first return to The International Series since joining the LIV Golf League in 2024 as Order of Merit champion. The 25-year-old, who won in Qatar and England last year, is relishing the prospect of making his return in Macau after playing in a fun nearest-the-pin challenge from the Wynn Palace rooftop last year, as part of the event announcement.
He said: “I’m really enjoying LIV Golf and it wouldn’t be possible without how I prepared on The International Series. I felt it prepared me very well about different courses, and travelling the world, and scheduling my week with practice, and adjusting to conditions. This year I will be trying to use these events to stay sharp.
All four players attended a packed press conference at Wynn Palace in Macau. Picture by Graham Uden/Asian Tour.
“To sum up, my form hasn’t been very good. It’s frustrating but I’m figuring out my game and working out a few things. LIV Golf has been a bit of an adjustment for me, but I think good golf is on the way and I will just try to do my best this week.”
Garcia, a six-time winner in the region already in an illustrious career that yielded 36 international trophies, said: “I’ve been fortunate to travel around the world and play a lot of time in Asia, it is always fun to come back and feel welcome and see the people.
“I’m looking forward to it and I should get some good preparation so I can get ready for the tournament and go out and give it my best shot.
“I had a good start to the year in Mayakoba. I feel my game is fairly good, not amazing, but I’m working hard on it and on the mental side of it. It’s good to be here in Macau for the first time and I look forward to giving myself a shot.”
Kho is one of those aspiring young players battling it out on The International Series in search of all-important rankings points. A T2 at the Volvo China Open and T6 at the International Series Singapore last year showed how talented the Hong Kong golfer is.
The 23-year-old, who won the World City Championship in his hometown last year, is confident The International Series is fast tracking his game. He said: “I think The International Series has done so much good for my game. Being able to play with players with such a high standard of field is an incredible accelerator for growth.
“For me to learn from these major champions and Ryder Cup stars and multiple tournament winners, gives me insights into how I can improve my game. I felt last season I did a good job growing after each tournament, and I’m feeling strong, my game is coming together and really looking forward to this week.”
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