LIV Golf Watch: McKibbin starts hot at Link Hong Kong Open

Editor's note (Thursday, Oct. 30): Tom McKibbin has been one of LIV Golf's hottest players during the offseason, contending at multiple events across the globe. On Thursday, he had his best day yet. The young Legion XIII star shot a remarkable 10-under 60 to take the lead after the first round of The International Series Link Hong Kong Open, where the winner will receive exemptions into the Masters and The Open Championship in 2026.

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McKibbin led a pack of 28 LIV Golf players competing in the event, and the League is well represented on the leaderboard. Stinger GC Captain Louis Oosthuizen and 4Aces GC's Thomas Pieters are tied for solo second after shooting 8-under 62s. Ripper GC's Matt Jones is T6 and shot 7-under 63 while Fireballs GC's Josele Ballester, RangeGoats GC's Peter Uihlein and Majesticks GC's Sam Horsfield are T11 after rounds of 6-under 64.

Also looking to make runs Friday are 4Aces GC's Patrick Reed (T22, 5-under 65), 4Aces GC's Harold Varner III (T22, 5-under 65) and Crushers GC's Anirban Lahiri (T22, 5-under 65).

Standing at T28 after rounds of 4-under 66 include Cleeks Golf Club's Adrian Meronk, Crushers GC's Charles Howell III, Crushers GC's Paul Casey, Iron Heads GCs Danny Lee, Iron Heads GC's Captain Kevin Na and Iron Heads GC's Yubin Jang.

(Photo courtesy of Asian Tour)

PREVIOUSLY REPORTED

This week, 28 LIV Golf players will be playing in the Link Hong Kong Open, the seventh event in The International Series. This historic event is Hong Kong's oldest professional sporting competition (dating back to 1959) and offers a $2 million USD purse, vital International Series Rankings points, and exemptions for the winner into the 2026 Masters Tournament and the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. It's the third consecutive year the Hong Kong Open has been part of The International Series.

The LIV Golf players in the field who are already exempt for The Masters include Charl Schwartzel and Patrick Reed (past champions), while Louis Oosthuizen is the only LIV Golf player in the field already exempt for the Open Championship.

LINK HONG KONG OPEN

The Link Hong Kong Open will be played Oct. 30-Nov. 2 at Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling on its Composite Course, a par-70, 6,700-yard layout. This venue is the only course other than Augusta National to host the same professional event annually since 1959. The tournament will have a 36-hole cut with the top 60 players and ties making it to the weekend. The defending champion is 4Aces GC star Patrick Reed, who claimed the 2024 title with a record-breaking 59 in the final round.

For the past two seasons, Hong Kong Golf Club hosted LIV Golf Hong Kong. In 2024, Abraham Ancer won the event while Fireballs GC captain Sergio Garcia emerged victorious in 2025.

JOSELE BALLESTER. The young Spaniard’s only start since the end of the LIV Golf season came at the Open de España, where he finished T55. Ballester was not yet a part of Fireballs GC when his future captain, Sergio Garcia, won LIV Golf Hong Kong.

RICHARD BLAND. Bland started hot at last week’s Internation Series Philippines presented by BingoPlus with an opening-round 66 but fell back over the weekend to finish T30. He finished T8 at LIV Golf Hong Kong in 2024.

DEAN BURMESTER. Burmester found himself in the mix heading into Sunday at The International Series Philippines but struggled on Sunday, shooting a disappointing 75. The South African has had plenty of success at Hong Kong Golf Club. He finished runner-up at LIV Golf Hong Kong in 2025 and T8 in 2024.

BEN CAMPBELL. Campbell won the 2023 Hong Kong Open and finished runner-up to Patrick Reed at last year, shooting rounds of 63-65-68-65 to finish three shots behind the 4Aces GC star.

PAUL CASEY. The Crushers GC stalwart has enjoyed a great deal of success at Hong Kong Golf Club. He lost in a three-man playoff to Abraham Ancer at LIV Golf Hong Kong in 2024 and followed up the strong performance with a 5th-place finish in 2025.

TALOR GOOCH. Gooch hasn’t contended at Hong Kong Golf Club on LIV Golf just yet but wasn’t in great form during the first two editions of the tournament. With his precise iron play and accuracy off the tee, the Smash GC star should thrive this week as he makes his off-season debut.

SAM HORSFIELD. After a LIV Golf season where Horsfield produced only one top-10 finish, the 29-year-old missed the cut in his first off-season start last week, shooting rounds of 75-71 to post a score of 2-over for the week.

CHARLES HOWELL III. Howell III finished T8 at LIV Golf Hong Kong in 2024 but wasn’t a factor in 2025, finishing 50th. When in form, Hong Kong Golf Club should suit Howell III’s accurate play style.

YUBIN JANG. After being relegated, Jang revealed he’s been dealing with a ruptured left thumb ligament that he’s decided to play through for the time being. The 23-year-old is making an effort to regain his place on LIV Golf through The International Series or Promotions Event.

MATT JONES. The Ripper GC veteran last played in the Alfred Dunhill Links where he finished T40. Jones will be looking to qualify for his first major championship since the 2022 PGA Championship.

MARTIN KAYMER. The Masters and the Open Championship are the two of the four major championships that Kaymer is not exempt for, so a win this week would get the Cleeks Golf Club captain into all four majors in 2026.

ANTHONY KIM. Kim made a valiant effort after a rough start at the International Series Philippines, making seven birdies en route to a 3-under 69 in Round 2, but ultimately fell short of making it to the weekend.

JASON KOKRAK. Kokrak will be making his offseason debut this week and has yet to find success at Hong Kong Golf Club, finishing 51st (2024) and T42 (2025) in his two LIV Golf starts at the course.

JINICHIRO KOZUMA. Since the end of the LIV Golf season, Kozuma has made four starts on the Asian Tour and Japan Tour and has missed the cut in all four of them. He’ll look to find his form in Hong Kong.

ANIRBAN LAHIRI. Lahiri will look to bounce back from a disappointing T56 finish at the DP World India Championship, an event that means a great deal to him. He’s finished T40 and T34 in his two LIV Golf starts at Hong Kong Golf Club.

CHIEH-PO LEE. Lee has made four starts on the Asian Tour since the LIV Golf season ended and has now posted back-to-back decent finishes. He finished T11 at the Jakarta International Championship and last week finished T36 at the International Series Philippines.

DANNY LEE. Last year, Lee played in three International Series events without making a cut and the Iron Heads GC veteran is off to a similar start this year, missing the cut at the International Series Philippines.

GRAEME MCDOWELL. McDowell has been vocal about his desire to compete at major championships and will look to punch his ticket to Augusta National and Royal Birkdale for 2026. He will be making his first start since the conclusion of his season with Smash GC.

TOM MCKIBBIN. The Legion XIII rising star enters the week as the favorite to win the International Series Philippines. McKibbin has been arguably the LIV Golf star of the offseason, posting four consecutive top-20 finishes on the DP World Tour.

ADRIAN MERONK. Meronk is yet to find a rhythm since the LIV Golf season ended, missing the cut in three of four events on the DP World Tour. His best finish was a T113 at the Alfred Dunhill Links.

KEVIN NA. After a strong start last week at the International Series Philippines, Na had an abysmal weekend, shooting rounds of 76-77 to finish last among players who made the cut (66th).

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN. The Stinger GC captain is coming off a missed cut at the International Series Philippines but has finished in the top 20 in both of his LIV Golf starts at Hong Kong Golf Club.

THOMAS PIETERS. Pieters has finished T66 and T71 in his two offseason starts this year, with both taking place on the DP World Tour. The tight Hong Kong Golf Club has been a challenge for Pieters over the past two seasons as he’s finished T48 (2024) and T30 (2025) at LIV Golf Hong Kong.

DAVID PUIG. The rising Fireballs GC star would punch his first ticket to Augusta National with a win this week and should have a legitimate chance to do so. The Spaniard enters the week in good form, finishing T9 in his most recent start at the Open de España. The Hong Kong Open will serve as a fantastic opportunity for one of LIV Golf’s most promising players to earn major championship exemptions.

PATRICK REED. Reed enters the week as the defending champion of the event, winning by three strokes last season. The 4Aces GC star shot a record-breaking 59 in the third-round last year and held on to win with a final-round 66.

CHARL SCHWARTZEL. Schwartzel made his first offseason start last week at the International Series Philippines and played well, finishing T12. The South African finished T20 at LIV Golf Hong Kong last season.

CALEB SURRATT. Surratt won’t be able to utilize his driver this week, which is arguably his greatest asset, but is certainly playing well enough to contend anyway. The 21-year-old finished T7 in the Philippines last week after shooting weekend rounds of 65-67 to climb the leaderboard.

PETER UIHLEIN. Uihlein has been one of the most active LIV Golf players on the International Series over the past few seasons, making 12 overall starts on the circuit. Last week, he finished T20 in the Philippines, and he finished T6 at LIV Golf Hong Kong in 2025.

HAROLD VARNER III. Varner III has finished T15 (2024) and T18 (2025) in his two LIV Golf starts at Hong Kong Golf Club and will be making his offseason debut this week.

PLAYER NEWS

Ten of 15 LIV Golf players in the field made the cut at last week’s International Series Philippines, with two finishing inside the top 10 and seven finishing inside the top 20.

After returning to the Western Australia Open for the first time in two decades and finishing T3, Marc Leishman continued his strong form last week at the International Series Philippines and was the leading LIV Golf League representative. The Australian carded a final round 7-under 65 to finish 6th.

While speaking to Today's Golfer, Richard Bland spoke about his decision to join LIV Golf. “That was one of the overriding reasons why I came to LIV,” he said. “I had the opportunity to make the rest of my life how I wanted it to be. I think anybody at my age would have done the same. It’s very easy to take the moral high ground when that opportunity is purely hypothetical ... I want to retire from the game; I don’t want the game to retire me.”

While at the International Series Philippines, Patrick Reed spoke about not being picked for the United States Ryder Cup team for the first time since Europe won the biannual showdown, 15-13. "You're always disappointed when you don't make those teams, it means so much to me to represent my country," said Reed. "It definitely hurts and I definitely feel like I could have been a huge asset to the team, especially at a place I won before. ... That was his decision, but I feel like he tried to put out the best team he could."

On the Iron Heads GC social media channels, Jinichiro Kozuma shared some tips on how to generate spin on wedge shots.