Staff WriterThere is something satisfyingly sharp about The International Series Singapore arriving with a proper sense of consequence rather than mere ceremony. This is not a polite week of handshakes and sponsor boards. It is a tournament with muscle in it, a leaderboard likely to creak under the weight of proven winners, LIV Golf names, rising talent and the small matter of places in The Open hanging in the air like a storm cloud over Sentosa.
Lucas Herbert, all easy swagger and heavy artillery, headlines the Singapore Open presented by The Business Times next week at Sentosa Golf Club, where The Serapong will once again ask blunt questions of anyone with lofty ambitions and shaky nerve. The Australian knows the place, knows the heat, and knows what a good week in Singapore can do for a career.
Herbert returns to a course that mattered early
For Herbert, this is not just another stamp on the passport. He played Singapore’s national open back in 2018 and tied for eighth, which may not sound like a brass band moment until you remember what came with it: qualification for his first Open Championship.
That mattered.
It was one of those early-career weeks that does more than add a cheque and a line on the CV. It gives a player a glimpse of the bigger rooms in the house. Herbert went on to make the cut at Carnoustie in only his second major appearance, and those are the sort of memories that tend to linger.
Now 30, and a far more established figure as part of the all-Australian Ripper GC setup on LIV Golf, Herbert returns with rather more clout and a recent title on his Asian Tour record. His victory at last year’s International Series Japan was his first win on both the Asian Tour and The International Series, and it changed the shape of his presence in this part of the game. He is no longer merely dangerous. He is expected.
He has also already secured his place in this year’s Open after finishing second at the New Zealand Open in February, which removes one layer of pressure but not the appetite. Golfers will tell you they are all just taking it one shot at a time, which is usually code for trying not to look terrified. Herbert, though, has every reason to fancy this place.
Sentosa will host one of the strongest fields of the season
That confidence will be tested immediately because this field has depth, variety and enough competitive edge to start a small fire.
Alongside Herbert, the tournament features LIV Golf players Josele Ballester and Luis Masaveu of Spain, Americans Peter Uihlein, Caleb Surratt and Michael La Sasso, plus Danny Lee of New Zealand. That is an intriguing blend of experience, pedigree and youthful ambition, and it gives the week a broader texture than a routine tour stop.
Then there is Travis Smyth, another Australian, who arrives after winning the International Series Japan earlier this month. He now leads both the Asian Tour Order of Merit and The International Series Rankings, which means his season has already shifted from promising to potent. When a player turns up with that sort of momentum, he tends to walk a little taller and hit it like he means it.
Kazuki Higa, the reigning Merit champion from Japan, is also in the field, as are former Order of Merit winners John Catlin, Andy Ogletree and Sihwan Kim from the United States. Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond, who won the Singapore Open in 2019 on his way to finishing the year as Asia’s number one, adds another layer of class and course intelligence.
And then you have Sadom Kaewkanjana, who won the Singapore Open in 2022 when it was last played at Sentosa. That sort of course memory is not a trivial thing. On a layout like The Serapong, memory can feel like cheating.
The Serapong offers no room for daydreaming
Sentosa’s Serapong course is not built for woolly thinking. It is one of the standout championship venues in Asia, and not simply because it looks splendid in photographs. It demands clarity. In tropical conditions, with grainy greens, coastal exposure and pressure arriving in waves, a player must keep his ball in the right places and his head somewhere even quieter.
That is why The International Series Singapore feels well named for what it represents. This is not just a stop on the calendar. It is one of those weeks where status, pathway and opportunity all collide.
The leading two players not already exempt will secure places in The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale in July, which sharpens every round and gives the entire field a secondary battle beyond the trophy. Open Qualifying Series events have a nasty habit of turning good tournaments into nerve-shredding examinations by Sunday afternoon. One player chases a title, another chases a major start, and a third simply tries not to drown in the moment.
Local players have a proper chance to make noise
One of the more appealing threads this week is the strong local presence. Twelve Singaporean players are in the field, led by Nicklaus Chiam and James Leow, both recent winners on the Asian Development Tour.
That matters, not as decoration, but as purpose.
One of the strongest features of The International Series has been its effort to create a meaningful pathway for regional talent. Too often, those ideas get spoken about in corporate language until your eyes glaze over. Here, at least, it looks tangible. Local players are not merely invited to wave at the crowd and admire the stars. They are given a chance to compete in a serious event with serious stakes.
Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho is also in the field, while Korea’s Jeunghun Wang returns after losing in a play-off last year. Add in nine other winners from last season on the Asian Tour — including Suteepat Prateeptienchai, Rattanon Wannasrichan, Poosit Supupramai, Ekpharit Wu, Dominic Foos, Wade Ormsby, Doyeob Mun, Ollie Schniederjans and Julien Sale — and you begin to see the full shape of it. This is a crowded room with very little spare oxygen.
What this week could mean moving forward
The Singapore Open presented by The Business Times is the fourth leg of the Asian Tour season and the second stop on The International Series, that upper tier of events designed to create a route into the LIV Golf League via the rankings.
That structure gives the week a pulse beyond the trophy ceremony. Careers are being moved around here. Reputations are being tested. Opportunities are being taken or missed.
For Herbert, it is a chance to return to a place that once nudged open a major championship door and to reinforce the idea that he is becoming one of the more significant cross-tour forces in this part of the sport. For the rest, it is Sentosa, it is pressure, and it is four days of trying to look calm while the ground shifts under your spikes.
That is usually when golf gets interesting.
