Evergreen Australian Scott Hend is on the verge of a milestone moment in his career as he closes in on the all-time earnings top spot on the Asian Tour. Lining up for the Moutai Singapore Open this week however, the competitive veteran has a different target - glory on The International Series.
To many observers it looked as if the 52-year-old was rolling back the years at the Link Hong Kong Open last weekend. A former champion who won at Fanling in 2014, Hend was T4 and three behind leader Tom McKibbin of LIV Golf going into the final round.
McKibbin, the 22-year-old Legion XIII player from Northern Ireland, pulled clear for a seven-shot wire-to-wire victory, while Hend dropped to T6. The result still moved the 10-time Asian Tour champion up to US$5,648,103 in total Asian Tour earnings, just over US$100,000 off legendary money list leader Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand.
When asked how important the earnings are, Hend’s answer was revealing - he still prefers to concentrate on the competition week in, week out, with his rivals regardless of age.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Moutai Singapore Open, the eighth of nine events on The International Series, he said: “It doesn’t really matter - we are hopefully going to get there eventually! That's not really an exemption that I'm really looking at. I'm looking at trying to stay in the top 65 as long as I can, even though obviously I'm getting older. I prefer to be exempt through that money list category or winners categories. That's what sort of drives me.
“There is no 'use by' date on me. I still try. I've still got the same drive now as I had when I was 19 years old. Doesn't matter, I still want to try and win, and to beat the other guys.”
Hend is currently sitting 57 in the Asian Tour Order of Merit, and 58 in The International Series Rankings.
Put simply, he needs more rankings points in Singapore, after it was confirmed earlier this week that four golden tickets for LIV Golf will be up for grabs this season. Two are available to the top two on the 2025 Rankings race while another two will come via the LIV Golf Promotions event in January, where 25 of the top 40 will qualify for round one of the four-round tournament, and 10 of the top 20 will receive a bye into round two.
Hend is not ruling out being in the mix for either eventuality, although he acknowledges time is running out with just two tournaments left this season. He started off well enough with a three-under first round at the Singapore Island Country Club, five off clubhouse leader Jeunghun Wang.
He said: “Obviously, if I play well enough, I've still got the opportunity to get one of those spots. It's all about performance. There is no saying that I can't play well enough in the next year or two, to try and get a promotion up there. I'm confident anyway, I work hard at my game, and all the things I do. "
Hend got the chance to benchmark himself against the current crop of LIV Golf stars last weekend, in a field that included major champions Martin Kaymer, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Graeme McDowell and Patrick Reed, the defending champion. With all that talent on show, it was young McKibbin, the Legion XIII player, who proved unstoppable, setting a new course record of 60 on day one and never relinquishing that lead which he stretched to seven on the final day.
Hend said: “He's a great player, a really solid young player. And the funny part was, his friends were saying to me on Saturday night, ‘you've got a chance to win on Sunday’. Against McKibbin? They said ‘yes, he's never won around here before’. Come on, he shot 10 under first round, he's a golfer.”
Although he ultimately ended up T6, things could have been much better bar a combination of a cold flatstick and sickness – Hend was close to pulling out after being ‘violently ill’ on Sunday.
“I played well,” he said. “But the problem was, I think I had 30 putts, and I'm shooting five or six under. My playing partners were having 24 to 25 putts, and they're shooting four under. So I am obviously hitting it great. I am actually putting it well also, I just need to convert.
“I have just had a bit of a struggle actually trying to get the ball in the hole. I've hit all different parts of the hole. I haven't really dropped any - even in Hong Kong, when I played great.
“I have been watching the other guys hole putts from everywhere, and I'm hitting it into eight feet and missing. I was like, sooner or later, things are going to change around, right? So I'm still waiting for my good week.”
Hend clearly refuses to see age as a barrier but he did joke that it might be impacting that one key area of his game.
“I am still putting in the work, it's just that sometimes the putts don't go in. Maybe it is my eyes that are changing because I'm getting old, but the rest of the game, the mechanics and everything, it’s fine and just a case of being patient.”
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.
