LIV Golf League veteran Ian Poulter is confident the rising stars on the Asian Tour are benefitting from the “extra pressure” they are feeling when playing for high stakes on The International Series.
The set of 10 elevated events on the Asian Tour offers a direct pathway onto the LIV Golf League and Poulter, co-captain of the Majesticks GC team, has seen first-hand the talent from all around the world emerging from this route.
Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent and American Andy Ogletree are on the IronHeads GC and HyFlyers GC teams respectively after winning The International Series Rankings race in 2022 and 2023. Vincent impressed with a top 24 Lock Zone finish in his first season, and Ogletree has shown his capabilities with a T3 in Adelaide and T6 last time out in England.
Scott’s younger brother Kieran has been on the winning team for Legion XIII four times this season after gaining his place in a nerve-jangling playoff at the LIV Golf Promotions event last season, where over 30 players from The International Series Rankings and Asian Tour were part of the 74-man field battling it out for three golden tickets.
The International Series has also provided the alternates for this season’s LIV Golf League, to cover for injury. John Catlin, this season’s rankings leader, has impressed in four straight appearances for Crushers GC, with a seventh-place finish in Nashville among the highlights, while Ben Campbell and Wade Ormsby have also played well when stepping in on different occasions.
Catlin will also represent Smash GC in Greenbrier this weekend.
There’s a real desire among the cream of the Asian Tour to prove their worth and make that life-changing leap to LIV via the elevated events on The International Series, and Poulter said: “It means a lot – it is very financially rewarding for the guys to make it in and that will be hard to compete under that pressure.
“But that puts them in the right frame of mind to understand what that really means, and to go out there and try and grab hold of one of those fantastic spots.”
Referring to the crop who have graduated from the Asian Tour, he said: “Those guys themselves have really shown what is possible, and how impactful it really is to them. It is a terrific opportunity.
“At the end of the year, if their position on the rankings is good enough, they will get straight into LIV. If not, there's obviously the season-ender event, which created amazing drama last year - especially with the way that the format worked (four rounds in three days with cuts on day one and two). It was obviously a lot of pressure for the guys to make it in or miss out.”
Poulter missed International Series England last week because of a foot injury, but the field was still packed with top talent. That is key to the development of the Asian Tour talent, according to the Ryder Cup legend who made seven appearances for Team Europe.
Peter Uihlein of RangeGoats GC triumphed, with the American recording an incredible seven-shot victory over compatriot and Legion XIII youngster Caleb Surratt, and former Ryder Cup Team Europe player Andy Sullivan of England in T2.
Other LIV Golf League names had been in the mix with Cleeks GC’s Richard Bland, Harold Varner III of 4Aces GC and Thomas Pieters, a team-mate of Uihlein on RangeGoats GC, all threatening to tear it up on the Longcross course at different stages of the weekend. Anirban Lahiri of Crushers GC and Branden Grace of Stinger GC also finished in the top 20.
However, Thai star Sadom Kaewkanjana and newly turned Chinese pro Sampson Zheng were up to the challenge with impressive T4 finishes, a shot behind Surratt and Sullivan.
Kaewkanjana’s compatriot Nitithorn Thippong, the 2022 International Series Singapore champion, also finished in the top 20 along with Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho and Jonathan Wijono of Indonesia, proving the strength in depth of the Asian Tour.
Poulter said: “This is big for the guys to be honest. We all look up to certain players through our careers. We all put ourselves in those positions where we want to test ourselves against the best players in the world. And these guys have certainly got that opportunity.
“It must be pretty special for some of the guys that are playing, to feel the extra pressure and learn to be comfortable with that, because it is a wonderful experience at the end of the day. I can remember back in my early days, the first time I played with Colin Montgomerie, or Lee Westwood or Darren Clarke or Severiano Ballesteros.
“It really gives a huge boost the night before when the tee sheet comes out and you know you are going to play with the big names. It is really impactful.
“The platform that The International Series has offered for so many guys is incredible. They are now in this position to play internationally, at some great venues, and to put themselves in a position to graduate and move up to the LIV Golf League.”
