DRAMATIC PLAYOFF FINISH DETERMINES FINAL SPOTS FOR LIV PROMOTIONS SUNDAY

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – The second round of the LIV Golf Promotions event on Saturday provided drama well after the last putt dropped in regulation play.

With exactly 20 players advancing to Sunday’s 36-hole shootout for three cards on the 2024 LIV Golf schedule, a playoff was required to determine who would be the last four men remaining in the battle after five players tied for 17th place at 3-under 69 in Saturday’s second round.

England’s Laurie Canter birdied the par-5 18th hole and Australian Kevin Yuan and American Kevin Chappell made pars to advance following the first extra hole. New Zealand’s Ben Campbell and Frenchman Joel Stalter both missed short par putts and had to head back to the 18th tee to vie for the one remaining place.

Both Campbell and Stalter found the fairway before spraying their second shots – the Kiwi into the right greenside bunker and the Frenchman into thick rough on the right of the green.

Stalter chipped to about four feet and made a nervous-looking birdie putt, but Campbell, the recent Hong Kong Open champion, missed from three feet after hitting a stunning bunker shot.

Winner of the 2020 Euram Open on the DP World Tour, Stalter had finished his round long before the last group came in.

“I waited two hours and it was really hard. I was hoping there was no playoff, but I knew it would be a close call after finishing on 3-under,” said Stalter, who now resides in Dubai.

“I just didn’t like having the four-footer (putt on the last). Especially I had that putt for birdie early on and I thought it was weird. I was really nervous and I hit it horribly. But it was tough and it has been a very long day.”

Campbell, who made a remarkable birdie on the 17th hole from the fringe above the hole, was the only player to find the fairway both with his drive and with his second shot in the first extra hole, before three-putting from 20 feet the first time.

Canter hit a massive drive on the first extra hole, leaving him with a 247-yard second shot. He was the only one on the right side of fairway, while the other four had a longer second shot from the right side. Canter his second pin high, but in the right rough and then lobbed it to two feet for birdie.

“It’s a hole that really suits me. In regulation, I bailed out in the left bunker and my caddie told me, this is a great tee shot for you, just aim at that trap and hit a fade. The wind just gusted back in, otherwise I think I would have hung on to the fairway,” said the Englishman, who played for Cleeks and Majesticks in the 2023 LIV season.

“I think the other guys must have had 270, 280 there and had to lay up. It left me with a shot at the green, so it just made life a lot easier, to be honest. I knew if I made four there, I would get through. That was my mindset.”

The 20 players will battle it out for three spots on Sunday.