Sergio Garcia takes it all in Fanling. He not only wins the individual competition of the LIV Golf Hong Kong, but also drags his team, the "Fireballs GC", into the team competition celebrating a double feat. In the third appointment of the Arab Super League 2025, the Spaniard won with a score of 192 (65 64 63, -18), beating the South African Dean Burmester by three shots, 2nd with 195 (-15), and the American Phil Mickelson by four, 3rd with 196 (-14). While with a "-37" the Iberian team, flanked by compatriots David Puig and Luis Masaveu, as well as the Mexican Abraham Ancer, narrowly beat the "Stingers" of the South Africans Louis Oosthuizen, Burmester, Branden Grace and Charl Schwartzel, 2nd with "-36".
ADVERTISEMENT
Sergio Garcia, results
"What has just ended is a tournament that I will hardly forget. I am very proud, not only of my performance, but of that of all my teammates", Garcia's satisfaction. For "El Nino" this is the second career title in the LIV Golf after the one won in 2024 in Valderrama, Spain, in front of his home crowd. The feat earned him 4,000,000 dollars for the individual competition, to which another 750,000 must be added for the victory in the team competition. Recordman for points scored (28.5), Garcia thus sent a strong message, in terms of the Ryder Cup, to the Englishman Luke Donald, captain of the Europe team. For Garcia this is the 35th career title at international level.
LIV Golf is a professional men's golf circuit created in 2021, the first edition of which was held in 2022.
ADVERTISEMENT
The creation of this international circuit aims to restore the image of Saudi Arabia led by Mohammed bin Salman through sport called "sportswashing" and "soft power". Funded by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) whose director is Yasir Al-Rumayyan with the former Australian golfer Greg Norman as general director of the circuit, this closed circuit which selects its players based on annual contracts presents itself as a dissident league to the PGA Tour and other circuits by poaching many players present in the world's top 100.
The season is played over fourteen events played over three days and not four days in a 54-hole format without a cut, with a team ranking. Among the players who have joined this closed league are many Grand Slam tournament winners such as Dustin Johnson, Charl Schwartzel, Henrik Stenson, Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Martin Kaymer, Bryson DeChambeau, Sergio Garca, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, Louis Oosthuizen and Jon Rahm. This brings a confrontation between the PGA Tour loyalists such as Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy and the dissident players.
