PLAYER NOTES: LIV GOLF PROMOTIONS

RELEGATED LIV GOLFERS

These three players were relegated after finishing 45th or below in the season-long LIV Golf Individual rankings. They received first-round byes for the Promotions tournament and will compete starting in Round 2 in hopes of earning their way back into the League for 2024. (Note: Relegated player Chase Koepka is unable to participate due to injury.)

JEDIAH MORGAN, Australia
Age: 23
Played for Ripper GC
2023 LIV Golf top result: T-16th, Singapore
2023 highlight: Shot field-best 66 in final round of Bedminster to help Ripper win team title
Professional wins: 1
Key fact: Winner of the 20233 Australian PGA Championship

JAMES PIOT, USA
Age: 25
Played for HyFlyers GC
2023 LIV Golf top result: T-18th, Greenbrier
2023 highlight: Shot 66 and was solo second after opening round in DC
Professional wins: 0
Key fact: Won 2021 U.S. Amateur

SIHWAN KIM, USA
Age: 34
Played for Iron Heads GC
2023 LIV Golf top result: T-33rd, Bedminster
2023 highlight: Hit two of LIV’s longest drives of year at Jeddah (388 and 383 yards)
Professional wins: 2
Key fact: Finished 1st in Asian Tour Order of Merit in 2017

2023 INTERNATIONAL SERIES WINNERS

Wade Ormsby (Australia) – Won the International Series Thailand in March, beating Chonlatit Chuenboonngam in a playoff; finished 6th in International Series standings; former LIV Golf Invitational regular in 2022; four career pro wins. Age: 43

Kieran Vincent (Zimbabwe) – Won the International Series Vietnam in April; finished 4th in International Series standings; younger brother of current LIV Golf League member Scott Vincent; played collegiately in U.S. at Liberty University. Age: 25

Sarit Suwannarut (Thailand) – Won Volvo China Open in November; finished 13th in International Series standings; played collegiately in U.S. at Virginia Tech. Age: 25

Ben Campbell (New Zealand) – Won the Hong Kong Open with 15-foot birdie putt on final hole for his first win on the Asian Tour; finished missed six months of 2022 due to a back injury that required surgery. Age: 32

Gaganjeet Bhullar (India) – Won the BN Indonesian Masters to move into 8th place in International Standings, earning first-round bye at Promotions event; has 23 professional wins. Age: 35

AMATEURS

Ryan Griffin (Ireland) – Qualified for Promotions field as a 2023 Palmer Cup participant for the International team … Has made 16 starts this season, with one individual win and seven other top 10s … Has three wins among his 33 counting events. Age: 23

Max Kennedy (Ireland) – Qualified for Promotions field as a 2023 Palmer Cup participant for the International team … Ranked 78th in the world … Plays collegiately at University of Louisville … Led the Cardinals in stroke average during his junior season … Two-time champion in the Faldo Junior Series. Age: 21

Luis Masaveu (Spain) – 48th-ranked amateur in the world … Won his last start at the Torneo Internacional Copa Juan Carlos Tailhade … Won a Faldo Elite Series event in February … Has represented his country in several team competitions … Youngest player in Promotions field. Age: 20

Sampson-yunhe Zheng (China) – 27th-ranked amateur in the world … Plays collegiately at University of California … Has one win and six other top-10s in 16 starts in 2023 … Finished second at the recent Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship. Age: 22

NOTABLE VETERANS

Grégory Bourdy (France) – Has 10 professional wins across four different tours; has represented his country in various team competitions; competed in the 2016 Olympics.

Kevin Chappell (USA) – His lone professional win was by one stroke over Brooks Koepka in San Antonio in 2017 … Shot a 59 while making nine consecutive birdies in a tournament at Greenbrier in 2019.

Jason Dufner (USA) – Became a major winner in 2013 by claiming the PGA Championship at Oak Hill … Ranked as high as 6th in the world … Played in 2012 Ryder Cup and 2013 Presidents Cup.

Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño (Spain) … Has seven European Tour wins and ranked as high as 27th in the world.

Scott Hend (Australia) – Recently won his 16th professional title in September in Germany on the European Senior Tour … Has 10 Asian Tour victories, fourth most in history.

Alvaro Quiros (Spain) – Of his nine career wins, three have come in the Middle East … Has won events in seven different countries … Led the European Tour in driving distance for three consecutive years … Ranked as high as 21st in the world.

NEWEST PROS

Luis Carrera (Mexico) – Turned pro in the summer after stellar career at University of Central Florida; His 71.21 stroke average last season was third-highest in school history; Won the 2022 Canadian Amateur. Age: 24

Ronan Kleu (Switzerland) – Reached the championship match of the British Amateur in July, then turned pro shortly thereafter; Recently earned Challenge Tour status; Played collegiately at University of Iowa. Age: 23

FAST FACTS

• Big-hitting Chanmin Jung is nicknamed the “Korean Hulk”

• When Jaco Ahlers won the Mercuries Taiway Masters on the Asian Tour in October, it was his first victory on another tour outside of the Sunshine Tour in his native South Africa, in which he has 11 wins.

• Rising star Guntaek Koh has three tournament wins in 2023, all in his native Korea

• American Zach Bauchou is a former Oklahoma State roommate of European star Viktor Hovland. In fact, Hovland caddied for Bauchou at a U.S. Open qualifier earlier this year

• In 2018, Australian Austin Bautista walked away from golf for two years in order to volunteer with two humanitarian aid organizations around the world. “I was watching from a distance, seeing third world countries that perhaps weren’t doing so well and I wanted to help,” he said

• Atiwit Janewattananond received his nickname of “Jazz” from his father, who was fond of the musical style. The Thai star took a brief sabbatical from golf at the end of the 2016 season to join the monkhood

• Ryan Ruffels, the former junior standout in Australia, made his pro debut at age 17

• Martin Trainer was born in Marseille, France but eventually moved to Northern California. Trainer originally represented the USA but changed his nationality to France

• Canada’s Richard T. Lee made his major debut at age 16 at the 2007 U.S. Open. That made him the second-youngest player in tournament history

• Finland’s Tapio Pulkkanen is known for wearing a Trilby hat during competition