Yosuke Asachi has earned the right to participate. Scott Vincent also qualified, but he will also be back.
And while Rory Kanter may return, his move could be a surprise.
All three moves are part of LIV Golf’s offseason, and there are likely more to come for the Saudi-backed league, which concluded its fourth season in August. Well, below is last week’s news.
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Yosuke Asachi earns the right to participate in LIV Golf
Asaji accomplished that by finishing second in the season-long standings in the Asian Tour-based International Series. Notably, LIV recently announced that players will be awarded between one and two LIV spots based on their ranking, a move that appears to be aimed at securing world ranking points for the league.
Who is Asaji? He is a 29-year-old professional from Japan who has competed in events on the Asian Tour, Japan Tour, and Korean PGA this year. He is ranked 237th in the world.
“I was very happy because my wife and caddy were with me,” Asaj said on Saturday at the PIF Saudi International, the season finale of the International Series.
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“I was able to participate in the LIV event. I was really happy.”
Scott Vincent Qualifies for LIV Golf
Vincent returns to LIV in first place in the International Series standings. The 33-year-old professional from Zimbabwe played in LIV from 2022 to 2024, before being relegated at the end of the 2024 season.
Vincent is currently ranked 156th in the world. He tied for 42nd place at the Saudi International.
“I woke up around 4:30, two hours before I was supposed to,” Vincent said Saturday. “Then you start replaying all the different scenarios in your head, and it wasn’t what I expected.
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“Oh, hey, I wanted to come out here and play free and do my best, but yeah, I was nervous. I obviously didn’t know the leaderboard, I didn’t want to look at it, I didn’t know how much cushion I had. I don’t want to be the guy who goes ahead and loses, and all that.”
“Once I started getting some movement and working on my routine, my putting, my range, I definitely settled in. Yeah, I just didn’t play great today, but obviously I had a good enough season.”
Will Laurie Canter return to LIV?
On Friday, Sports Business Journal’s Josh Carpenter reported that Kanter will return to LIV just one week after qualifying for next year’s PGA Tour with a top-10 season-long ranking on the DP World Tour.
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The 36-year-old British player competed in LIV events from 2022 to 2024, but only played in two matches in 2024 before also competing on the DP World Tour. In March, he used his position in the world rankings to play in the PGA Tour’s Players Championship.
And he told GOLF’s Sean Zak:
“I think anyone who plays golf wants to be a member of the PGA Tour,” Canter said. “Looking at this week’s events, which I also watched last week, I thought about where signature events are going to go. I mean, if you can engineer, play enough to where you have signature events and majors and your world rankings. What a year for a golfer to be able to play in those venues with those golfers for that amount of money. It’s incredible.”
But now it looks like he’s back at LIV.
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Have there been any other LIV-related developments recently?
Yes, there were some.
– Bunkered’s Ben Parsons recently reported that Henrik Stenson will return to the DP World Tour after competing in LIV events from 2022 until the end of this season.
– On Tuesday, Victor Perez withdrew from the PGA Tour’s RSM Classic and joined LIV.
– Two other players will join LIV after playing in a promotional event scheduled for January 8-11 in Florida.
Post LIV Golf picks up two pros. And, surprisingly, another one of golf’s first appearances may be back.
