Sunshine Tour standout Oliver Bekker strengthened his position at the LIV Golf Promotions event on Saturday, carding an impressive four-under-par 66 in the third round as he continued his push for one of the three LIV Golf cards on offer, and welcomed the prospect of competing on The International Series in 2026.
In addition to the LIV Golf berths, the top 10 finishers this week will earn playing opportunities on The International Series, a set of elevated events on the Asian Tour next season, a pathway Bekker described as a significant opportunity and a positive outcome for his career.
“That’s also a big opportunity,” Bekker said. “Especially now that we’re moving to Australia, we’re going to be in the same time zone, so it’s a lot closer to travel. I actually thought about it before we came, and I was like, that would also be a win for me.
“At the moment I’m playing in Australia and in South Africa, but playing the International Series events would definitely be top of my schedule.”
The eight-time Sunshine Tour winner is no stranger to the LIV Golf ecosystem, maintaining close friendships with members of Stingers GC, the South African team competing on LIV Golf and familiar faces on The International Series.
“We’re all friends,” Bekker said. “I’ve known them growing up, playing golf together. Dean lives in George, where I’m from, as well. When everybody is home, we’ve gone for a few coffees and talked about things. We stay in touch. I just got a message from Louis as well. It’s nice to get a bit of good vibes from them. I’m looking forward to hopefully playing with them again next year.”
Bekker’s composed third-round performance reflected a disciplined approach that has kept him firmly in contention heading into the final round at Promotions.
“I’ve been playing nicely this week,” he said. “I’ve got a good game plan. I came early, played a few good practice rounds and did some good work. I’m playing kind of conservative golf compared to what I normally play, but giving myself a lot of opportunities — hitting a lot of fairways, a lot of greens.”
After creating early chances, Bekker made his move on the back nine, finishing strongly to remain within reach of the promotion places.
“I got off to a good start today and had a lot of really good chances early on,” he said. “They didn’t quite go in, but I capitalized on the back nine, made a few good saves and a good putt on the last for birdie, so it was nice.”
With proven International Series champion Richard T. Lee continuing his standout run at the top of the leaderboard, Bekker acknowledged the challenge ahead while keeping his focus firmly on the available promotion spots.
“He’s obviously been playing really well,” Bekker said. “First round, played well. Second round, played well. Good again today. He’s going to be tough to catch. But luckily there are three spots, and you don’t need to win the thing, you just need to try and place top three.”
The International Series is the most prized pathway in golf. It consists of a set of elite tournaments sanctioned by the Asian Tour and offers the year-long Rankings Winner & Runner-Up promotion to the LIV Golf League.
