Borja Virto (-5) and Luis Masaveu (-5) have successfully passed the first phase of the LIV Golf Promotions, the LIV Golf School which offers a spot in the Saudi league and ten cards for the International Series 2025. The first phase involved finishing the first round of the tournament held at the Riyadh Golf Club in Saudi Arabia within the top 20 and ties. The players from Navarre and Madrid finished in seventh place. Easily.
A total of 64 players competed in this first round, with some exempt based on their results in the International Series and Asian Tour, as well as those from LIV Golf. Out of the 64, a total of 21 players advanced to the second round. The cut was set at -4. Adri Arnaus (-1) was left out, despite being three under par with six holes to go.
The 21 who passed this first cut, including Virto and Masaveu, will compete this Friday in the second round along with the exempt players. The scores are reset. That is, everyone starts from scratch again, and the exact top 20, with a playoff in case of ties, will qualify for the final day, a 36-hole round where the winner will receive a spot in LIV Golf and the top ten will receive the International Series card.
Virto delivered a very solid round, playing well from start to finish. He started with an ‘easy’ birdie on hole 1 and made a very long birdie putt on hole 3. He managed a good bogey on hole 4, after a drive that bounced on the path and ended up in a bad spot, and from there he hit a sensational streak of good shots and good putts, four consecutive birdies that placed him five under par in nine holes. The goal today was to finish among the top 20, the position mattered little. For that reason, from there the player from Navarre played it safe. It was about preserving the result. He made one more birdie and one bogey and finished with that great score of four under. On hole 14, his last birdie, he hit the shot of the day. He almost made a hole-in-one.
Masaveu’s round was a marvel of control. He is one of the few, you can count them on one hand, who managed to deliver a bogey-free card. His rhythm of birdies and his golf were spectacular. Five birdies on holes 1, 5, 9, 12, and 17. A steamroller. He arrived as one of the top contenders to make it into that final double round and, certainly, on this first day, he reinforced his candidacy. However, we already know this is an elimination race where what you did the previous day is of no use, so there’s no choice but to play just as well tomorrow.
Arnaus’s round was in some ways a reflection of his season. He was doing well, playing very solidly, perfectly on track with three under par in twelve holes and no bogeys, but two consecutive bogeys on holes 15 and 16, especially the first on a par 5, knocked him out. A shame. The golfer from Moià will play the Challenge Tour next year, as well as some tournaments on the DP World Tour.
The 21 players who qualified for the second round are: Juenghun Wang, Max Rottluff, Taichi Kho, Kazuki Higa, Ian Snyman, Bo Hoag, José Islas, Brett Rankin, Mark Power, Borja Virto, Luis Masaveu, Stefano Mazzoli, Jungwan Lee, Gunn Charoenkul, Fred Biondi, Ross McGowan, David Horsey, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Chase Hanna, Ollie Schiederjans, and Luis Carrera. Two Mexicans and two Spaniards among the qualifiers.
These will join the exempt players who are: Ben Campbell, Steve Lewton, Suteepat Prateeptienchai, Jbe Kruger, Rattanon Wannasrichan, Michael Maguire, Lee Chieh-Po, Richard T. Lee, John Catlin, Hongtaek Kim, Daniel Gale, Jack Buchanan, Phoenix Campbell, Jeongwoo Ham, William Bruyeres, Daihan Lee, Wooyoung Cho, Brett Coletta, Dongmin Lee, Chanwoo Kim, Soomin Lee, Ryosuke Kinoshita, Matthew Griffin, Hudson Swafford, Kieran Vincent, Scott Vincent, Branden Grace, and Kalle Samooja.
In total, 49 golfers will play tomorrow, and only the top 20 will advance to the third round, which will be played over 36 holes.
Among the players eliminated in this first round are Chris Wood, Tom Lewis, Khongwatmai, Kaewkanjana, Omrsby, Boriboonsub, Paratore, Santiago de la Fuente, Pettit, Janewattananod, or Martin Trainer.
