LIV Golf Watch: Six players set to compete across the globe

This week, six LIV Golf players will be in action across three tours — the Turkish Airlines Open on the DP World Tour, the GS Caltex Maekyung Open on the Asian Tour, and The Crowns on the Japan Golf Tour.

TURKISH AIRLINES OPEN 

The Turkish Airlines Open will be hosted by National Golf Club in Belek for the first time. The event carries a total prize fund of $2.75 million and serves as the fifth and final tournament of the DP World Tour's Asian Swing.

The course opened in 1994 and was designed by LIV Golf’s own David Feherty and David Jones. It plays as a par 72 measuring 7,287 yards. There is plenty of water in play, and the small Bermudagrass greens are well guarded by sand traps. 

DAVID PUIG. Puig is coming off the best week of his LIV Golf career. He produced the round of the tournament at LIV Golf Mexico City with a 9-under 62 in the third round and finished in solo second place at 15 under. Puig has now posted a T8 or better in four of his six LIV Golf starts this season. 

ELVIS SMYLIE. Since winning the LIV Golf season opener in Riyadh, Smylie has cooled off considerably. He finished T8 in Hong Kong but hasn’t cracked the top 25 in any of his past three starts. Smylie will try to find some form this week as a strong performance at LIV Golf Virginia could earn him the LIV Golf exemption into the U.S. Open. 

TOM MCKIBBIN. McKibbin had his best finish of the season his last time out at LIV Golf Mexico City, finishing T5 and helping Legion XIII claim their first victory of 2026. After struggling to find consistency throughout the early part of the schedule, the Northern Irishman gained strokes on the field in each of the major stat categories at Club de Chapultepec.

GS CALTEX MAEKYUNG OPEN 

The GS Caltex Maekyung Open is celebrating its 45th edition this week at Namseoul Country Club, south of Seoul. The tournament was established in 1982 and has generally been staged at Namseoul Country Club, which has hosted the event for the majority of its history. This week marks the Asian Tour's first visit to Korea in the 2026 season. 

DANNY LEE. It’s been a rough 2026 thus far for Lee. He’s yet to finish better than T32 across six starts this season. Lee was born in Incheon, South Korea, and returns to his homeland this week. 

MINKYU KIM. Kim became the youngest winner in Challenge Tour history in 2018 at just 17 years and 64 days old, and has since gone on to collect seven professional victories including two Kolon Korea Opens on the Asian Tour. Kim will be playing in front of a home crowd at Namseoul and is coming off his best result of the 2026 LIV Golf season in Mexico City (T22). 

THE CROWNS 

The Crowns is an event on the Japan Tour played on Nagoya Golf Club's Wagō Course in Tōgō, Aichi, Japan. Founded in 1960, it has been an event on the Japan Golf Tour schedule since the tour's inaugural season in 1973. Wago measures a modest 6,545 yards and is one of the shortest courses on any major professional tour. Accuracy and short game will be the key this week. 

YOSUKE ASAJI. This is Asaji's turf. The 32-year-old is the defending champion at the event and in addition to The Crowns, has three more victories on the JGTO in his career. After a modest start to his first LIV Golf season, Asaji returns home as one of the favorites to contend. 

PLAYER NEWS 

Tom McKibbin made the biggest move in the season-long individual points race at LIV Golf Mexico City, jumping 13 spots from 38th to 25th.

LIV Golf announced it will return to Club de Golf Chapultepec for LIV Golf Mexico City 2027. 

Smash GC has been rebranded as OKGC, with captain Talor Gooch anchoring the league's first team named after a U.S. state. 

Caleb Surratt said he has been encouraging more Legion XIII participation in The International Series, specifically mentioning conversations with teammate McKibbin about playing more events on the circuit.

Nielsen Sports South Africa data shows the landmark event at Steyn City attracted a live unique audience of 186,771 viewers, while capturing over 90% of SuperSport’s golf viewership during the tournament window, underlining its dominance among local audiences.