The 2024 Asian Tour season ended on Saturday in Saudi Arabia with the conclusion of the PIF Saudi International at Riyadh Golf Club. The event also meant the finale for the tour's International Series, a set of 10 events inside the Asian Tour schedule that offers a LIV Golf spot to the winner of the series' points list.
Joaquin Niemann wound up winning the event in a playoff over fellow LIV Golf players Cam Smith and Caleb Surratt. With the win in his second International Series event played this year, Niemann earned 1,000 International Series points, catapulting him to the top of the points list. Niemann leapfrogged fellow LIV Golf player Peter Uihlein, who had taken the top spot in the ranking after his second International Series win of the year the week prior in Qatar on the back of increased points available as part of a crescendo to conclude the season.
Since Niemann is already on LIV Golf, he didn't need a spot in the league for 2025. That meant that the LIV Golf spot on offer for 2025 went to no one.
American John Catlin had been the International Series leader before Qatar, where he locked up the broader Asian Tour Order of Merit for 2024. Catlin won consecutive Asian Tour events in April and May, including at the International Series in Macau, where he shot the first 59 in Asian Tour history (matched recently by Patrick Reed in Hong Kong). He wound up finishing T-34 at the PIF Saudi International, while Uihlein finished T-29 and a shot better.
Ben Campbell made a late run to take the top spot, as the Aussie shot weekend 64s to finish solo fourth and a shot out of the three-way playoff.
However, under LIV Golf and Asian Tour rules, only the International Series winner can be eligible for a LIV Golf spot. If that player is already on LIV Golf, then the next-eligible player -- Campbell, in this case -- doesn't get the spot. So, no one from the Asian Tour International Series is moving to LIV Golf, unlike last year when Andy Ogletree did.
“It was always going to come down to Saudi and who plays well there with two-and-a-half times the points,” said Catlin leading into the event.
"I would have liked to have had a head start, but the winner of next week’s tournament could only have 200 points (to start the week) and win the whole International Series. You show up, you give it your all, try to finish as high as you can, and see where the chips fall.”
For his part, Niemann believes the International Series is a great motivator for the Asian Tour players.
"Peter has been playing great in International Series. John Catlin had his chance to win his spot into LIV Golf," Niemann said Saturday. "I'm really happy how I played today. It was a tough day and being able to accomplish this means a lot."
He added, "It's a big prize playing in the International Series. I feel like they're all waiting, they're all fighting their way for the future, the future of the game, the future of their career, and having a spot to get into LIV Golf is here too.
"It's more than just say thank you to the platform to LIV Golf, for the International Series to have this setup and have that motivation for a lot of kids, a lot of young players that they all dream of playing on the biggest stage."
