The clear pathway onto the LIV Golf League from The International Series could not have been better emphasised than by Kieran Vincent claiming one of three golden tickets onto the 2024 roster, in a thrilling play-off which brought the curtain down on the LIV Golf Promotions event in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
The Zimbabwean had earned an exemption into round two of the unique qualifying event thanks to his high finish on the Order of Merit, finishing fourth after a successful campaign across 10 events that included a win at the International Series Vietnam in April. Vincent, who took one of 32 spots available to the Asian Tour via the Order of Merit, then finished T6 in round two to comfortably book his place in the 36-hole finale.
A quality five-under par round of 67 put Vincent second outright, behind eventual overall champion Kalle Samooja of Finland following the morning third round on the final day.
A two-under final round, left Vincent T2 behind Samooja, alongside Japan’s Jinichiro Kozuma and Laurie Canter of England, meaning a play-off between the three for those two remaining golden tickets.
And in a nerve-wracking finale, the 25-year-old had just enough in the tank to earn his spot alongside Kozuma on the second play-off hole, at the expense of the unfortunate Canter.
He said: “Obviously it has been a great year, and it keeps getting better.
“Credit to so many people, the Asian Tour, The International Series and LIV Promotions and so many others. Without that support and hard work from other people, I wouldn’t be here today. I can’t take a lot of the credit and I’m super grateful to be here.”
Kieran joins elder brother Scott, who earned his place on the LIV Golf roster by winning the Order of Merit outright in 2022. Outlining his plans for the forthcoming year, he said: “Next year is going to have its own opportunities, I hope it propels my career to a whole new level.
My goal is to try and make it the Olympic Games, we just have to try and figure out the best way. “The International Series has already set me up for the best path going forward and I’m forever grateful, so I will look forward to teeing it up there again next year.”
The final field of 20 players featured 11 players who regularly compete on The International Series, the set of 10 elevated events created by a landmark $300m deal between the Asian Tour and LIV Golf in 2022, underscoring the opportunity that it offers the cream of the Asian Tour and international players from around the world.
Indian star Gaganjeet Bhullar was one of the dark horses going into the weekend thanks to a wire-to-wire win at the BNI Indonesian Masters by TNE last month which secured eighth place in the Order of Merit, and direct entry to round two at the weekend. Bhullar just could not reproduce the form which he showed in Jakarta on the Abu Dhabi National.
He said: “Getting the opportunity to play for those three spots on LIV Golf means a lot. Unfortunately, I just struggled a bit with my form. I definitely learned a lot this week, you do live and learn from these situations.
“I played well in pretty much all The International Series events last year, I finished fifth in Scotland and the momentum was building up and it all came together in Indonesia. You need to be mentally prepared. I was patient enough, playing well and ready to take advantage of that and click at the right time.”
Englishman Steve Lewton had qualified for the first round by finishing 22nd in the Order of Merit, and the 40-year-old made the most of his opportunity by shooting a four-under 68 to finish T10 on Friday and progress from round one. Things were looking even better after scores were reset, as he carded a six-under round to finish T2 on Saturday.
But the 36-hole finale on Sunday proved a step too far, leaving Lewton to think about his prospects next year. One of his main priorities will be earning a higher spot on the Order of Merit to try and gain an exemption into round two of the qualifying event next year.
He said: “The International Series has been magnificent for us on the Asian Tour, it has opened so many doors. Each year we have travelled to more and more countries to play on really great courses against very strong fields, as a lot of the LIV boys play most of the weeks. For us it is great because you want to play against the best to get better.”
Chinese amateur Sampson Zheng impressed this weekend, and although he finished just one place off the top 10, and a place on all 10 events on the International Series next season, he is eager to take that pathway in the future and follow in the footsteps of Andy Ogletree, who won the Order of Merit to qualify for a LIV Golf spot this season.
Sampson, who is in his final year at the University of California Berkeley, said: “I performed decent over the last couple of days but it came down to putting and I couldn’t get the momentum going. But I beat a lot of good players this week and there are a lot of positives to take away.
“I think The International Series is a great series with some amazing tournaments, they have a ton of good players from LIV in the field, and a lot of quality players from the Asian Tour, so I hope to play on them as well. It’s a good bridge (for me) between amateur golf to turning professional.”
