LIV Golf Hong Kong: record crowds wowed by thrilling finish, as city’s richest sporting event boosts global profile
- Tens of thousands flock to Hong Kong Golf Club for biggest tournament ever staged, and star Paul Casey hails ‘fantastic residents’
- Officials thrilled with turnout in Fanling, and government says it ‘bears testimony to Hong Kong as Asia’s events capital’
The biggest crowd Hong Kong Golf Club has ever seen braved cold temperatures and torrential rain to watch a thrilling finish to the richest sporting tournament the city has ever staged.
More than 12,000 people, including the likes of sports and tourism minister Kevin Yeung Yun-hung and Legislative Council president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen, plus visitors from some 30 overseas destinations, made their way to Fanling on Sunday for the final round of the LIV Golf event.
Offering US$25 million in total prize money, some US$8 million more than the Longines Hong Kong International Races last December, the tournament was granted “M” Mark status and HK$16 million in government funding.
And on a day of firsts, Abraham Ancer overcame Cameron Smith and Paul Casey in a three-way play-off to secure his maiden individual LIV title in front of a crowd that was five or six deep in some places.
Casey is no stranger to the city, having previously played in the Hong Kong Open, and said he “loved this place”, adding that while the 2023 LIV tournament in Adelaide was the benchmark, Hongkongers “should be very proud of themselves”.
“Cities are made by their residents, and they are fantastic people,” the Englishman said.
At the start of the week, officials estimated LIV’s economic impact at around HK$300 million, and the golf circuit’s army of employees, numbering in the hundreds, boosted hotel nights at the Courtyard by Marriott and the Regal Riverside Hotel in Sha Tin.
The players, meanwhile, stayed at the Ritz-Carlton in Kowloon, something highlighted by Ian Poulter, who shared a video on Instagram of a worker cleaning his windows on the outside to his 587,000 followers.
“The hosting of major international events like LIV Golf bears testimony to Hong Kong as Asia’s events capital,” the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau said in a statement.
“Not only do these events boost the local economy and bring enjoyment to residents, they also attract elites of industries and visitors from around the world to personally experience a very welcoming Hong Kong as well as her unique beauty and vibrancy.”
While LIV does not typically release attendance figures, a spokesperson said the league was thrilled with the fan turnout, and an official who has been connected with golf in Hong Kong for years said Sunday’s crowd was “the biggest they had ever seen” at a tournament in the city.
A source estimated more than 25,000 people had passed through the gates over the course of the three days, while another said corporate hospitality tickets for the Birdie Shack at the 10th green, and the Club 54 venue next to the 18th green, had sold out.
Those tickets started at HK$1,700 and rose to HK$18,000 for an all-access hospitality pass for the duration of the event.
“LIV Golf, with its truly global appeal that extends beyond the game, has really placed a spotlight on the city, in a way few events can,” Andy Kwok Wing-leung, the club’s captain, said.
“As the richest sporting occasion in Hong Kong, the direct investment as well as the indirect economic impact that results has been very significant. It is a wonderful platform to show off Hong Kong to the world.”
Golf fans’ capacity for spending money was on full display too, with LIV’s merchandise tent “experiencing its highest average spend per attendee” in its 26-tournament history, according to a LIV official.
Nightlife tycoon Allan Zeman said the tournament, which could be streamed in more than 180 jurisdictions around the world, had created a “big buzz” in the city.
“It’s a real coup for Hong Kong,” he said. “It just shows that Hong Kong is far from dead and far from over.”
Additional reporting by Connor Mycroft, Lilian Cheng
