Robert TheodorsonLIV Golf begins its two-part Asian swing, starting off with LIV Hong Kong at Fanling Golf Club.
LIV returns to Hong Kong for the third consecutive season, marking the event as one of LIV’s most successful tournaments throughout the years.
In 2024, Abraham Ancer won his first and only LIV tournament in HK, and last year’s champion, Sergio Garcia, looks to defend his title and give his season a much-needed jolt after a slow start to the season.
Adelaide provided one of the biggest sports comeback stories in recent history with Anthony Kim’s shocking win. Hong Kong will have a tough act to follow up but is more than capable of being up to the task.
Top 5 Projected Performers
(1) Jon Rahm
For a third consecutive week Jon Rahm is our number one projected top performer, and for good reason.
With two straight second-place finishes, Rahm is in his familiar spot, atop the individual standings after masterclass performances in Riyadh and Adelaide.
Winless since the 2023 season, Rahm’s eventual victory is more of a matter of when than if, but the winless streak must be weighing on the two-time major champion’s mind. While consistency in sports is nice, we are betting on Hong Kong to be Rahm’s “breakthrough” tournament.
(2) Peter Uihlein
Uihlein is off to his best start ever since joining LIV with back-to-back third-place finishes. Like Rahm, despite not yet recording a win, Uihlein is fourth in the individual standings thanks to his consistency through the first two tournaments.
The progress in Uihlein’s iron striking, short game, and putting is apparent. Uihlein has turned all those variables which were detriments to his game into positives.
(3) Anthony Kim
One of the greatest comebacks in sports history, Anthony Kim is easily playing the best golf of his career since retiring from the sport due to injury.
Kim’s win at Adelaide was, and will likely be, the most improbable, unlikely, out-of-nowhere win that could have possibly ever occurred in the LIV Golf league. A respectable T22 finish in Riyadh means that Adelaide was likely not just a fluke. While we’re not expecting consecutive victories, the way AK is playing suggests that he will not drop out of the Top 10.
(4) Sergio Garcia
Last year’s champion at Fanling has had a rather rough start to the season with T30 and T37 finishes, sitting one spot outside the Lock Zone.
Sergio’s last podium finish was in Miami last season, so it’s been a while since the Fireballs captain has had anything to celebrate about. Despite the slow start to 2026 and the rough end to 2025, we expect Sergio’s competitive spirit to kick start into action and make Hong Kong the location where he reestablishes himself as a force to be reckoned with and reestablishes his place as one of the league’s premier players.
(5) Sebastian Munoz
With twin T8 finishes to start the season, Munoz is picking up where he left off in 2025 when he capped off the season with an amazing victory at Indianapolis.
Munoz’s T6 finish in Hong Kong last season paired with his current form makes him an excellent projection to top the leaderboard next week.
Top Projected Team
Ripper
Winners of two straight team trophies, Ripper pulling off the trifecta is not as far-fetched as one might think. The feat occurred twice last season, first with the Fireballs (who won Hong Kong in 2025) and then with Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers.
Things change quickly and often in the LIV Golf league, but the teams we projected to be at the top are there. Any of the current top three: Ripper (1), Legion XIII (2), and Torque (3) will absolutely be a threat to win this match.
Around the League: What You Need to Know Before Hong Kong
- Wade Ormsby will fill in for HyFlyers captain Phil Mickelson who will miss his third tournament in a row. Mickelson has not played competitively this season, and was originally only expected to miss the first two tournaments of the year before making an announcement this past weekend.
- Anthony Kim has filled Patrick Reed’s spot on the 4 Aces on a permanent basis. With Kim’s signing, there remains no Wild Card player to ever record a podium finish.
- Dean Burmester and David Puig had the largest rise and fall, respectively, between two tournaments. Burmester recorded a T6 finish in Adelaide after coming in T51 in Riyadh. Likewise, Puig dropped from T4 in Riyadh to T51 in Adelaide. The rise and falls show just how unpredictable the league can be.
- Southern Guards mainstays Dean Burmester and Branden Grace both finished T20 at the South African Open Championship this past weekend. Having not finished in the Top 3, Burmester and Grace will need to enter additional tournaments if they want to find themselves playing in The Open at Royal Birkdale this summer.
