According to sources, a Chinese player may be playing in the LIV Golf League with a wild card.
As you might have guessed.
One, two. Since the LIV Golf League will be in Hong Kong for the first time in March, it is only natural to invite a Chinese player to compete.
According to the source, Asian Games gold medallist and Hong Kong's first-ever Asian Tour champion Hui Longyi will receive the wild card to participate in the $25 million tournament.
This is a very logical arrangement. After all, Xu Longyi is a member of the Hong Kong Golf Club. The Hong Kong Golf Club has spent a lot of time and effort to make the LIV Golf League successfully land in Hong Kong, and will invest hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars.
However, such a wild card will not be possible until 2024, as the LIV Golf League is fixed at 12 teams with 48 players.
The season of LIV Golf kicks off this week in Mexico. Ahead of the start of the season, LIV Golf announced four new players. Poland's Adrian Meronk and Australia's Lucas Herbert are its signings, while Hudson Swaford and Laurie Canter will join as individual players. This means that the 54-hole tournament now has a total of 54 participants.
Adrian Meronk, who was voted European Tour Player of the Year in 2023, will be part of Martin Kemer's 'Cleeks'.
Lucas Herbert, who won his only PGA Tour event in Bermuda in the fall of 2021, will play for Cameron Smith-led Australian team Rippers.
There are now 13 teams in LIV Golf, as Jon Rahm has formed a brand new team after receiving a $500 million signing to join.
This means that 18 holes will tee off at the same time, and there will be 3 players on each hole.
But more crucial are the roles of Hudson Swarford and Laurie Carter. They don't belong to any team. The two of them can compete for the event's $20 million individual prize money, and at the same time, they can also compete for the individual championship. Hudson Swarford is guaranteed to play in all of this year's events, while Laurie Cartel is guaranteed to play in the first two races.
Five players, including Hudson Swarford, joined the fledgling LIV Golf in June 2022. However, a year ago, he had hip surgery and missed most of the games in 2023.
Englishman Laurie Cartel came on as a substitute last year, playing in 11 games and earning more than $2.2 million.
The second leg of LIV Golf is Las Vegas, February 8-10 at the Las Vegas Country Club.
The third stop, Jida, will be held from March 1 to 3 at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in Saudi Arabia. The fourth leg is Hong Kong, which will be held at the Hong Kong Golf Club from 8 to 10 March.
The news of Hsu's wild card is expected to be officially announced before the Chinese New Year, and he will occupy the vacant spot left by Laurie Cartel, and he will be treated similarly, only competing for the $20 million individual prize money.
Xu Longyi participated in the LIV Golf Promotion Tournament, but did not win a card for LIV Golf. In an interview during the Volvo China Open, it was clear that he did not reject the Saudi Arabia-backed league.
Since he is not yet a member of the European Tour and the PGA Tour, he does not have to face penalties, but if he wants to apply for the PGA Tour in the future, he will run into trouble, and the PGA Tour still minds when it comes to LIV players. Of course, by the time Xu Longyi wanted to apply for the PGA Tour, the pattern of world golf may have changed. After all, the PGA Tour has signed a framework agreement with LIV Golf, and the two sides are ready to merge.
If Xu Longyi can get a wild card, surely other Chinese players can too. At the very least, the changes made by LIV Golf will allow it to travel to some emerging markets and stimulate local interest.
Otherwise, Joan Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, win another Grand Slam title, and just like that, add a lot of popularity.
Little Wind).