Major Winners Kaymer & Reed Join LINK Hong Kong Open Hit Parade
Martin Kaymer and Patrick Reed are the latest Major winners to join the line-up for this year’s LINK Hong Kong Open as the 63rd staging of this historic tournament gathers some of the greats of the modern game from 21-24 November at The Hong Kong Golf Club.
Germany’s Kaymer (2010 PGA Championship, 2014 US Open) and American Reed (2018 Masters) will join the great Brit Justin Rose (2013 US Open) as players in the field who have captured one of the most prestigious tournaments in golf. Little wonder then that golfing great – and LINK Hong Kong Open Ambassador – Gary Player has labelled the tournament “Asia’s Major” in the year marking the 135thanniversary of the host venue, The Hong Kong Golf Club.
Joining that trio will be two of the most exciting young talents on the circuit in the 22-year-old South Korean phenom Tom Kim – winner already of two Asian Tour events to go with the three he has captured on the PGA Tour – and Hong Kong’s own Taichi Kho, the 23-year-old reigning Asian Tour Rookie of the Year and the first player from the city to win an Asian Tour tournament after his victory at last year’s World City Championship presented by Hong Kong Golf Club.
For Kaymer, the return to the LINK Hong Kong Open will be his second visit to The Hong Kong Golf Club this year, after he opened his account at the LIV Golf Hong Kong tournament back in March with a stunning 65.
“Every time we come to Hong Kong it’s not only the golf course that is fantastic, also, the people are friendly and very supportive. They are great golf fans. The hospitality of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong people, the Hong Kong government, is fantastic,” Kaymer said after that round.
The German has a deep connection with the city, as the 2006 edition of the tournament was his first – ever – as an international touring professional.
“I was standing on the putting green and right next to me was Miguel Angel Jiménez. Ian Poulter was there too. I was quite intimidated by it because just a few months before I was playing on the German professional tour and all of a sudden, I’m standing on the putting green next to these Ryder Cup players and these big boys,” Kaymer has recalled. “I was just trying to stay away from them and not interrupt their practice. So it was funny and a totally new experience for me back then.”
Reed is another star that cannot stay away from Hong Kong’s golf scene, becoming a regular visitor to the city over the past decade, with his best result a T3 in 2015. The American – who along with that historic Masters triumph in 2018 has finished top-10 in all four Majors – comes to town having also claimed four top-10 finishes across this past LIV Golf season.
For the second straight year, the LINK Hong Kong Open is part of The International Series, 10 events over the course of the season which offer elevated prize funds and a pathway to the LIV Golf League. In 2023, the Hong Kong Open was named The International Series Tournament of the Year and a Players’ Choice winner for Course of the Year. The leading points-scorer in The International Series Rankings receives exemption into the following season’s LIV Golf League. Held throughout the year across Asia, Europe and the Middle East, The International Series contributes US$23.5 million to the Asian Tour’s 2024 total prize fund this season.
Admission to the opening rounds on Thursday and Friday, 21-22 November, is free for the public. Daily prices for Saturday and Sunday 23and 24 November are $200 per day or $300 for a weekend pass. Tickets on sale now at KLOOK.
