After the LIV golden years, it’s back to the future for Hong Kong Open and Asian Tour
The International Series is no more, but the Asian Tour’s partnership with European and US counterparts is more equal than before
The Link Hong Kong Open has seen plenty of changes in the 67 years of its existence, from the founding of Ping in 1959 to the balata balls of the 1980s and the crushing distance of the modern pro, and yet it may be the past four years that have involved the most upheaval.
Not known as a sport that typically embraces the new – rapid technological advancement aside – the city’s oldest international sporting event has been at the heart of the divisions that have rippled through the game since LIV Golf first burst onto the scene in 2022.
Co-sanctioned with the European Tour pre-Covid, the Open – backed by LIV cash – briefly burned bright as part of the Asian Tour’s elevated International Series from 2023 to 2025.
This November, however, it will return to being an Asian Tour event, before an expected partnership with the DP World Tour (DPWT) resumes in 2027. In total four or five tournaments are expected to benefit from that connection.
And while there is no danger of the Open fading away, a return to simpler times mirrors the end of what Cho Minn Thant, the Asian Tour’s commissioner and CEO, called “a nice five years” with LIV.
There is no doubt the partnership and the US$300 million in Saudi Arabian money that went with it elevated the game in the region and elsewhere, but for Cho, PIF’s decision to withdraw from golf and his organisation’s renewed partnership with the DPWT and the PGA Tour represents “a bit of a market correction”.