LIV Golf Watch: The week of Oct. 13-19

LIVGolf.com’s newest feature, LIV Golf Watch: The Week Ahead, tracks the participation of LIV Golf players in tournaments around the world during the offseason, as well as provide a roundup of notes regarding the league’s players and teams. This week, five LIV Golf players will be playing in action, with two playing the DP World India Championship on the DP World Tour, one playing the SJM Macau Open, one playing the Western Australia Open and one playing in the Japan Open Golf Championship.

DP WORLD INDIA CHAMPIONSHIP

The DP World India Championship will be played at the Lodhi Course at Delhi Golf Club and boasts the largest prize fund ever offered for a DP World Tour event in India. The event will be the fourth tournament to be held in India on the DP World Tour since the first visit in 2008.

The Lodhi Course at Delhi Golf Club is a par 72 measuring 6,912 yards. It’s known for its classic, tree‐lined fairways, Mughal (Lodhi era) monuments around the property and a blend of old‐world charm with modern upgrades from the 2019 redesign by Gary Player. Delhi Golf Club previously hosted the Hero Indian Open 30 times from 1964 to 2016.

The LIV Golf contingent will be joined by superstars from the European Ryder Cup team including Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland and Shane Lowry.

ANIRBAN LAHIRI. The Crushers GC veteran has performed exceptionally at Delhi Golf Club. Anirban Lahiri has won four times at the course. His first victory was the 2008 PGTI Players Championship, defeating Ashok Kumar by two strokes. He then claimed the 2011 Panasonic Open on the Asian Tour, beating Pablo Larrazábal in a playoff. In 2012, he won the SAIL-SBI Open on the Asian Tour by three strokes over Scott Hend. His final win at the venue was the 2015 Hero Indian Open, a co-sanctioned Asian and European Tour event, where he defeated S.S.P. Chawrasia in a playoff. Competing at Delhi Golf Club, a historic venue in his home country, carries special weight for Lahiri.

SJM MACAU OPEN

The SJM Macau Open is an Asian Tour event that will be played at Macau Golf and Country Club. The course opened in 1993. and offers scenic views of the South China Sea. It has hosted the Macau Open since 1998.

LEE WESTWOOD. Lee Westwood is making his first worldwide start since the end of the 2025 LIV Golf season. The Majesticks GC co-captain has won 15 times in Asia over the course of his career, including the Macau Open in 1999. Westwood’s son, Samuel, will also be playing in the tournament.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA OPEN

The 101st WA Open Golf Championship is a PGA Tour of Australasia event that will take place at Mount Lawley Golf Club in Western Australia. This is the 11th time the WA Open has been staged at Mount Lawley.

MARC LEISHMAN. Marc Leishman will be making his debut at the tournament and has expressed excitement about the opportunity to play close to home.

“We get a pretty tidy off season actually now playing on LIV Golf, so It’s a great opportunity to get back to Australia, to play in [the WA Open] and hopefully win that event,” he said in an interview with Golf WA in September. “I’m loving my golf at the moment, so want to play as much as I can while still managing myself and spending time with the family. While I’m enjoying my golf, I want to play, so I’m really excited to get back to Mount Lawley and I’ve heard that the redo is pretty impressive.

“It’s been over 20 years since I’ve played Mount Lawley, but I’ve got great memories there. I remember the course being in unbelievably good condition.”

JAPAN OPEN GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

The Japan Open Golf Championship will be played at Nikko Country Club in Tochigi, Japan. It is Japan's national open golf championship, one of the oldest and most prestigious professional golf tournaments in the country, founded in 1927.

JINICHIRO KOZUMA. Since the LIV Golf season ended, Jinichiro Kozuma has played twice, missing the cut in both starts. This week, he’ll look to bounce back at the Japan Open where he finished T17 last year.

PLAYER NEWS

The Hong Kong Open, which is set to begin Oct. 30th at Hong Kong Golf Club, is the seventh event of the season on The International Series. In addition to ranking points available for those aiming to win a coveted spot on next year’s LIV Golf roster at the end of the season, the winner of the event will also get a place at the 2026 Masters and 154th Open Championship. 29 LIV Golf players, not including reserves, have committed to the event. Those players include: Talor Gooch, Harold Varner III, Graeme McDowell , Kevin Na, Adrian Meronk, Dean Burmester, Richard Bland, Thomas Pieters, Jinichiro Kozuma, Matt Jones, Josele Ballester, Jason Kokrak, Sam Horsfield, Danny Lee, Patrick Reed, Tom McKibbin, David Puig, Bubba Watson, Martin Kaymer, Paul Casey, Mito Pereira, Chieh-Po Lee, Caleb Surratt, Peter Uihlein, Ben Campbell, Louis Oosthuizen , Charl Schwartzel, Anirban Lahiri and Anthony Kim (relegated).

Sergio Garcia and Golfyr worked in collaboration for nearly a year on The Maker Tour, a putter the Fireballs GC captain put in play last week at the Open de España presented by Madrid. He gained 0.47 strokes per round with the new putter.

Garcia finished 39th at the Open de España and cast doubt over his DP World Tour future after the final round. The 45-year-old rejoined the DP World Tour last year after resigning his membership in May 2023 to make the European Ryder Cup team. Despite finishing in the top-10 in the LIV Golf standings, that didn’t happen. While speaking (in Spanish) in Madrid, Garcia implied he wouldn’t try to maintain his membership for future seasons.

While speaking at the Open de España presented by Madrid, Jon Rahm reflected on the difficulties of Ryder Cup week. “That week in New York was mentally the toughest week of my career, but at the same time, it was the most fun I've had,’ Rahm said. ‘What happened there during those three days was something inhospitable. At times I couldn't believe it.’”

Rahm finished T9 at the Open de España and after his round he told the Spanish media outlet Ten Golf that he will not play again until LIV Golf Riyadh. “It’s been a long year,” he said, “I’ve never had three months off, but I’m looking forward to it. Other athletes have it, and we’ll see. I’m lucky to be able to go home now, have a preseason, be a father, be with my family, and well, if I see that it’s too much, then maybe I won’t do it next year, but I’m looking forward to it.” 2025 will mark Rahm’s first full season without an individual win since he turned professional in 2016.

Rahm and fellow Spaniard, David Puig, dominated off the tee in Madrid. Puig ranked 1st in SG: Off the Tee at the Open De Espana (+1.65 per round). Jon Rahm ranked 2nd (+1.61 per round).

Legion XIII’s young star, Tom McKibbin, was the third best putter in the field in Madrid, gaining 1.71 strokes on the field per round with the flat stick.

After a disappointing T55 finish in Joaquin Niemann's debut at the Open de España, the Torque GC captain posted a statement on his Instagram story. "Thank you very much to everyone who accompanied and supported me this week at the Spanish Open. Taking a lot of learning and all the good energy. There's only one way forward. Let's move forward.”