LIV Golf players set for International Series England on Asian Tour
The International Series England takes place this week on the Asian Tour and a host of LIV Golf League members and reserve players are in the field. Here's everything you need to know about the event.
Tournament Information
International Series England
Foxhills (Longcross Course)
Aug. 8-11, 2024
Purse: US$2 million (first place US$360,000)
Asian Tour leg: Ninth of 2024
International Series leg: Fourth of 2024
Par/Yards: 72/6,730
Field: 156
Format: 72-hole stroke play with a cut made after two rounds to the leading 65 pros plus ties
Social Media Hashtags: #InternationalSeries #ThisISEverything #whereitsAT
Field Breakdown
Order of Merit champions: Sihwan Kim (USA) 2022, Jazz Janewattananond (THA) 2019, Scott Hend (2016), Anirban Lahiri (IND) 2015, Kiradech Aphibarnrat (THA) 2013, Jeev Milkha Singh (2008 & 2006), Jyoti Randhawa (IND) 2002
Nationalities: 29
Past winners of tournament in the field: Scott Vincent (ZIM) 2022
Defending champion: Andy Ogletree (USA) 2023 (not playing)
Top contenders: John Catlin (USA), Ben Campbell (NZL), Minkyu Kim (KOR), Anirban Lahiri (IND), Richard Bland (ENG), Andy Sullivan (ENG)
Highest ranked player on OWGR: John Catlin (USA) #142
Highest ranked player on 2024 Asian Tour Order of Merit: John Catlin (USA) #1
Number of amateurs: 1
English players in the field: 17
Tournament Notes
There are 11 LIV Golf League regulars in the field this week: Thomas Pieters (RangeGoats GC), Peter Uihlein (RangeGoats GC), Richard Bland (Cleeks GC), Jason Kokrak (Smash GC), Branden Grace (Stingers GC), Anirban Lahiri (Crushers GC), Kalle Samooja (Cleeks GC), Kieran Vincent (Legion XIII), Caleb Surratt (Legion XIII), Scott Vincent (Iron Heads GC), Harold Varner III (4Aces GC)
American John Catlin currently leads both the Asian Tour Order of Merit and The International Series Rankings and is coming off an impressive T16 finish at the Open Championship at Royal Troon a few weeks ago. Catlin won the International Series Macau (presented by Wynn) and the Saudi Open (presented by PIF) in back-to-back events in March and April, finished runner-up in the International Series Morocco in early July after losing a playoff to Ben Campbell of New Zealand, and has had good results in LIV Golf events this summer, standing in for the injured Charles Howell III on Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC team.
Ben Campbell arrives on the crest of a wave having won the most recent International Series event, in Morocco, in dramatic fashion. He stood on the 17th tee in Morocco three shots behind the leader John Catlin, and after hitting the green on the par-four with his tee shot, drained the putt for eagle to get within one as they went into the final hole. A birdie on the last got him into a play-off with Catlin, and after another birdie on the first play-off hole, the 2023 Hong Kong Open winner from New Zealand won his second Asian Tour and International Series events.
2015 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion Anirban Lahiri of India also arrives in form. The Crushers GC member came very close to capturing his first LIV Golf League event at the legendary Real Club Valderrama in Andalucía, Spain in July. only for a missed short putt on the 18th in regulation play to leave him in a playoff with Sergio Garcia, who came out on top in the end. Lahiri’s impressive resume includes seven Asian Tour titles as well as a runner-up at the 2022 Players Championship and a T2 at the 2017 Memorial Tournament. His best finish in a major is a tie for fifth at the 2015 PGA Championship
England’s Richard Bland won his first DP World Tour event in May 2021, in his 478th start at the age of 48, becoming the oldest first-time winner on that tour. After joining the LIV Golf League in 2022, and after turning 50 in 2023, Bland won two consecutive senior majors when he claimed first the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship and then the U.S. Senior Open this year. He currently sits in 22nd place in the LIV Golf standings, playing for Cleeks GC.
Korean Minkyu Kim won his second Asian Tour title in June when he claimed the Kolon Korea Open for the second time, having also done so in 2022. The victory qualified Kim for the Open Championship at Royal Troon, where he posted a solid T31 in difficult weather conditions, his best result in a major. Kim also posted a win in the Descente Korea Matchplay in early June on the Korean Tour.