Which Player Is Set To Earn A LIV Golf Card Via The Asian Tour's International Series?
The International Series is a group of elevated events on the Asian Tour, with its season winner receiving a start in the LIV Golf League next season - but who is currently in pole position?
At the end of the Asian Tour's 2024 season, the International Series Rankings winner will automatically graduate over to the LIV Golf League for at least the following campaign.
Making up almost half of the Asian Tour's 21-event schedule, excluding Majors, 10 International Series tournaments - elevated competitions with higher prize purses of at least $2 million - give golfers the chance to secure one of the only routes into the lucrative 54-hole league.
Meanwhile, players who end between second and eighth in the International Series rankings earn automatic entry into the second round of this year's LIV Golf Promotions event.
Asian Tour winners - plus the next 31 eligible players in the top 40 of the rankings - will secure a place in the first round of LIV Golf Promotions, which has historically offered three more spots in LIV for the subsequent season.
This year is only the third time the exclusive card has been available to Asian Tour golfers, with a partnership between the LIV Golf League's backers, the PIF, and the Asian Tour first arriving in February 2022 prior to an International Series calendar which featured only seven tournaments.
The inaugural International Series Rankings champion was Zimbabwean, Scott Vincent, and he enjoyed two seasons on the 54-hole circuit before being relegated last month. Andy Ogletree made the jump almost 12 months later after a 10-event series and went on to finish 34th in his debut season in the LIV Golf league.
And so far in 2024, American John Catlin has put himself in pole position to follow Vincent and Ogletree over to join the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka.
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Through five International Series events, Catlin has 810.88 points and is in the region of 284 points ahead of his nearest rival, New Zealand's Ben Campbell.
Catlin only played four of the first five elevated competitions but claimed victory at the International Series Macau before losing out in a playoff at both the International Series Morocco and the Black Mountain Championship in Thailand. In Morocco, it was Campbell who bested him while MJ Maguire claimed victory more recently.
Before a 2024 champion is crowned, though, competitors face a gruelling stretch of consecutive events late in the year which culminate in the season-ending Saudi International at Riyadh Golf Club between December 4-7. That tournament features a $5 million purse and follows immediately on from the $2.5 million International Series Qatar the week before.
Below are the current top-10 in the International Series Rankings, correct after the culmination of the Black Mountain Championship.
INTERNATIONAL SERIES RANKINGS 2024
Ranking | Player | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | John Catlin | 810.88 |
2 | Ben Campbell | 526.83 |
3 | Peter Uihlein | 448.10 |
4 | Carlos Ortiz | 393.98 |
5 | Michael 'MJ' Maguire | 387.40 |
6 | Caleb Surratt | 286.00 |
7 | David Puig | 253.98 |
8 | Louis Oosthuizen | 220.00 |
9 | Chieh-po Lee | 173.04 |
10 | Andy Sullivan | 173.00 |
Jonny Leighfield is our Staff News Writer who joined Golf Monthly just in time for the 2023 Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup. He graduated from the University of Brighton with a degree in Sport Journalism in 2017 and spent almost five years as the sole sports reporter at his local newspaper. During his time with Golf Monthly, Jonny has interviewed several stars of the game, including Robert MacIntyre, Ian Poulter, and Lee Westwood. An improving golfer himself, Jonny enjoys learning as much about the game as he can and is hoping to reach his Handicap goal of 18 at some stage. He attended both the 150th and 151st Open Championships and dreams of attending The Masters one day.
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