LIV Golf: Hong Kong working on deal to bring event back ‘year after year’, Law says
Sports and tourism minister Rosanna Law says two sides working ‘seriously and closely’ together as record crowds watch Garcia victory
Hong Kong was working on a long-term agreement with LIV Golf to bring the “wonderful tournament back year after year”, the city’s sports and tourism minister said on Sunday.
And as record crowds packed out Hong Kong Golf Club to watch Sergio Garcia claim the individual title and lead Fireballs GC to the team crown, Rosanna Law Shuk-pui said the event was “what tourism and entertainment ought to be”.
While organisers did not immediately have exact figures on the number of spectators that passed through the gates, officials believed it to be the largest crowd to attend a tournament during the club’s 135 years in existence.
Law, the secretary for culture, sports and tourism, told a small press gathering at the Fanling course that while the details of an agreement were still being worked out, the “intention of both sides to clinch a deal is strong”.
Speaking alongside LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil after touring the course, watching Phil Mickelson play part of his final round and experiencing a packed fan village, Law praised the “fun vibe” of the event.
“We are working very closely and seriously with the organiser of LIV Golf,” Law said. “When I see all the faces of the audience around, they are very happy, enjoying themselves, obviously. And it’s something very different from a formal tournament that is so proper, so serious, but this here, you have a fun vibe, and everything is so relaxed.”