Staff WriterLIV Golf Promotions is supposed to be a qualifier, a tidy little sorting hat for grown men with sharp irons and sharper nerves. Instead, Black Diamond Ranch served up a Sunday that felt like three different films playing at once: Canada’s Richard T. Lee in full cruise control, Sweden’s Bjorn Hellgren going full-send, and Anthony Kim proving—again—that the hardest opponent is often the calendar.
By late afternoon in Lecanto, Florida, the trio had claimed the three wild card spots available through this week’s LIV Golf Promotions. They now join International Series qualifiers Scott Vincent and Yosuke Asaji as the five wild card players who will compete in the 13 regular season tournaments during the 2026 LIV Golf League season. Their next starts on LIV Golf will be in the 2026 season opener in Riyadh on Feb. 4-7.
Black Diamond Ranch turns into a four-day audition
The beauty of this week was its bluntness. No romance, no reputation points—just rounds, scorecards, and a field that started with 78 players before two 18-hole knockout rounds narrowed it down to the 22 who reached the weekend shootout. If you wanted security, you picked the wrong profession. If you wanted clarity, this was it.
Lee and Hellgren will be making their LIV Golf debuts in Saudi Arabia. Kim, meanwhile, will be back for his third season as a wild card player. He returned from a 12-year retirement from professional golf to join LIV Golf in 2024 but was relegated after last season as he continued to shake off the rust and rebuild his game. Earning a spot for the 2026 season is a reflection of the significant progress he’s made in recent months.
“There were definitely low moments throughout those two years,” Kim said. “But I believe in myself more than anybody else believes in me, and I think that’s all that matters. I felt like I would earn my spot back if I did get relegated, which I did. I felt like if I just kept my foot on the gas and just kept grinding that great things were going to happen.”
Richard T. Lee: Canada’s first LIV qualifier, and a five-shot statement
Lee didn’t so much win this week as remove the doubt early and keep removing it. A final-round 5-under 65 left him at 11 under for the 36-hole weekend shootout, a five-shot victory over Hellgren, his nearest competitor.
And he didn’t do it with one hot day and a handshake from fortune. He did it over four straight scorecards that looked like they were printed by the same calm machine: 64, 66, 64 and 65. Over four days, he made just two bogeys—one of them arriving late Sunday when the job was already basically signed, sealed and filed.
“It’s not sunk in yet, to be honest,” said Lee, who suffered just two bogeys all week, one of those coming late on Sunday when he already had a spot wrapped up. “21 under on this course is absolutely amazing. I’m very pleased with my game right now.”
The 35-year-old becomes the first Canadian to earn a spot on LIV Golf, and there’s something fitting about the way he did it: not by flirting with the line, but by stepping over it and turning back to see who was still following.
He also knows what’s coming. LIV Golf is not a gentle step-up; it is a jump into a pool where the deep end is occupied by major champions.
“Definitely have to hit it longer to keep up with those guys and maybe get my short game a little bit sharper,” Lee said.
That’s the correct takeaway: celebrate the ticket, then get to work on surviving the ride.
Bjorn Hellgren: the Sunday 64 that forced the door open
Hellgren’s week is the sort of thing that keeps coaches awake: a player who shows up on Sunday outside the top 10 and decides the only sensible tactic is to light the place up.
After an even-par 70 on Saturday, the 35-year-old—who won the Saudi Open presented by PIF last month—needed aggression, not caution. He opened with consecutive birdies, weathered a couple of bogeys in the middle of the round, then finished with four birdies in his final six holes for a 6-under 64. It matched the course record set by Lee earlier in the week.
“Starting the day, we knew what we had to do,” Hellgren said. “We had to shoot a low one today. We had to basically go all in.”
This is why qualifiers are never dull: they do not reward “pretty good.” They reward “go make something happen.” Hellgren did exactly that—and now he gets to take that mindset to Riyadh.
“Obviously this is going to change our life, for my family,” Hellgren added. “But it’s still just a tournament, and I’m sure I’ll be going to Riyadh to try to win because I like the feeling of winning.”
You can’t teach that last sentence. You either believe it, or you don’t.
Anthony Kim: a comeback measured in putts and perspective
Kim’s story is different because it has chapters most people never have to write. But even with all the context, he still had to do the golf part—under pressure, against players who had no intention of playing supporting roles.
He began Sunday in the primary chase pack after shooting a 66 on Saturday. Through 10 holes Sunday, he was even par for the day and in a three-way tie for the third and final spot with Thailand golfers Jazz Janewattananond and Sarit Suwannarut.
Then came the separator: a birdie at the par-4 11th with a 20-foot putt. Later, the par-4 14th became the kind of hole that feels like it takes an hour—two awkward lies near bunkers, two uncomfortable stances, and one par-save that mattered more than most birdies.
“Felt like if I made that putt, it could really swing the momentum,” Kim said of the 14th. “I beared down and holed it.”
By the time he reached the 18th hole, he was three shots clear of fourth place and could afford a final bogey. Not glamorous. Absolutely effective. And very much the point of LIV Golf Promotions: survive the squeeze.
Kim called Sunday’s result arguably the biggest moment in his two years since returning to the sport. Then he delivered a reminder that golf, for all its drama, is still a game—just one played by people carrying real lives.
“There’s a ton of satisfaction,” Kim said at the end of his press conference. “I’m sure I’ll understand that all that work has really shown this week, maybe later tonight when I’m drinking an iced tea. It means a lot to me because three years ago, doctors told me that I potentially had two weeks to live. So just to be here standing in front of you guys is a blessing.”
What the wild cards actually mean for LIV Golf in 2026
This is where LIV Golf Promotions stops being a Florida week and becomes a global assignment. The wild cards place Lee, Hellgren and Kim into the 13 regular season tournaments in 2026, with their first stop the season opener in Riyadh (Feb. 4-7).
The step up is not subtle. Lee and Hellgren mentioned it plainly: LIV Golf’s field includes major champions such as Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and others. Qualifying gets you into that arena. Staying relevant inside it is another job entirely.
Promotions Top 3: quick profiles
RICHARD T. LEE
35 years old | Canada
Has six professional wins, most recently at the 2025 Woori Financial Group Championship on the Korean Tour … Played predominantly on the Asian Tour and Korean Tour in recent years … Asian Tour Rookie of the Year in 2013 … Played the 2007 U.S. Open at the age of 16, the second-youngest player in tournament history … Turned professional after the tournament … Has three Asian Tour wins, including the 2024 BNI Indonesian Masters, an International Series tournament.
BJORN HELLGREN
35 years old | Sweden
Has eight professional wins, most recently in December at the Saudi Open presented by PIF … Finished sixth on the 2025 Asian Tour Order of Merit … Topped the Swedish Golf Tour Order of Merit in 2015 … Has victories on the Swedish Golf Tour and Nordic Golf League … Former teammate of Brooks Koepka at Florida State University … Turned pro in 2013 after two years in college.
ANTHONY KIM
40 years old | USA
Spent last two seasons as a wild card player on LIV Golf after returning to competitive golf following a 12-year retirement … Turned pro in 2006 and quickly established himself as one of the sport’s most exciting young talents … Has won three PGA Tour events and played a key role on the victorious 2008 U.S. Ryder Cup team … Ranked as high as sixth in the world in 2008.
FAQ
What is LIV Golf Promotions?
A qualifying week where players compete for a limited number of wild-card places in the following LIV Golf League season.
Who won the LIV Golf Promotions wild cards for 2026?
Richard T. Lee, Bjorn Hellgren and Anthony Kim.
When is the 2026 LIV Golf season opener in Riyadh?
Feb. 4–7, 2026.
How many wild-card players will compete in the 2026 LIV Golf League season?
Five: the three Promotions winners plus International Series qualifiers Scott Vincent and Yosuke Asaji.
