Josele Ballester Breaks Through - Two New Players Join LIV Golf League
Josele Ballester wins the 2025 PIF Saudi International at -22, while Scott Vincent and Yosuke Asaji secure LIV Golf exemptions through the International Series Order of Merit.
Table of Contents
- McKibbin Makes a Statement
- Dominant Final Round Performance
- Masters and Open Championship Exemptions
- The International Series Race is On
- Scott Vincent's Path Back to LIV Golf
- Singapore Open: The Penultimate Event
McKibbin Makes a Statement
With a spot in the 2026 Masters and the 2026 Open Championship on the line, Tom McKibbin came out hot, and kept his foot on the gas at the Link Hong Kong Open. This will come as no surprise to those who have followed Tom's play both on LIV Golf and the DP World Tour over the last 12 months. Despite being just 22 years old, he's got everything it takes to compete at the highest level, and this was a fantastic example of that.
On Thursday he'd set the course record -10 and sit atop the leaderboard. After the second round, he'd shoot 65 and extend his lead to two shots, over fellow LIV Golf player Peter Uihlein. A second consecutive 65 on Saturday would see McKibbin's lead decrease to just one shot.
Half way through the final round is when things changed, and Tom put his foot down. He'd go on to birdie the 10th, 11th, 13th, 14th, and 16th hole. The few players in pursuit would falter, and McKibbin would claim the victory by 7 shots over Uihlein.
The previous scoring record for this event was held by José María Olazábal, Ian Poulter, and Patrick Reed at -22.
McKibbin said of his victory:
"I played some of the best golf I have probably ever played. So, yeah, to have that sort of golf and to shoot those scores around here is pretty special."
He'll be playing in his first Masters come next spring, and later on he'll play in his third Open Championship. This is the first year either of those exemptions have been awarded to the winner of the Hong Kong Open.
The International Series Race is On!
This past week LIV Golf and the Asian Tour formally announced that two of the coveted LIV Golf full season exemptions will be awarded via the International Series Rankings.
Scott Vincent is in prime position to be awarded one of those spots, and any reasonably strong finishes in the final two events should see him re-join the global circuit for the 2026 season. The former @IronHeadsGC_ member will be ecstatic to find himself back in the mix on LIV Golf.
This week's Singapore Open is the penultimate International Series event and 9 of the top 10 eligible (players already contracted to LIV Golf for the 2026 season are not eligible) are in the field. Noteworthy names fighting for these spots that are in the field this week include: Wade Ormsby (Former Ripper GC player), Ollie Schniederjans (LIV Golf Reserve, stud), and Miguel Tabuena (2nd in rankings, Phillipines winner).
While a strong performance from Scott Vincent this week can essentially secure his spot, the second spot is a much tighter race and is sure to come down to the wire.
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