As well as offering a pathway from the Asian Tour onto the LIV Golf League, The International Series is known for providing a platform where emerging talent can play and test themselves in quality fields.
All three amateur players from the regional exemption category in this week’s Moutai Singapore Open took full advantage by making it to the weekend and playing all four rounds in the penultimate elevated Asian Tour event of the season.
Singaporean teenager Brayden Lee finished level par for a six-under aggregate and 16-year-old compatriot Troy Storm was one over for the day and a respectable two under overall.
Australian Harry Takis, who qualified as the Singapore Open Amateur Championship winner, carded four birdies and a bogey for a three-under final round of 69 for an impressive 10 under total.
Lee felt he gained a lot by being in the same field as world-class players such as the LIV Golf duo Paul Casey and Talor Gooch.
The 18-year-old, who finished T50 after returning scores of 69-68-73-72, said: “It is an experience being in the same field as them. Unfortunately, I did not play well enough to be put in the same group as them. But it is nice to see them around. Now I just have to improve myself so that I get to their level and break through.
“It was a pretty grindy day out there. I mean I kept my head in the game. So that is a good sign that I am mentally in the right place. There are a lot of things that I can look forward to and improve on.”
Storm had performed heroics in the second round with three late birdies in his closing four holes to make it through to the weekend, and he was grateful for the chance to extend his experience.
After finishing T63 following rounds of 67-72-74-73, he said: “It has been a great week overall. Making the cut was a big goal and it was nice to have a good result. It would have been nice to have played better over the weekend but I learned a lot to take into my next tournaments.
“Seeing how the pros go about their routines - how they prepare for tournaments and how they carry themselves on the course, is very special. Hopefully I can take that into my own game going forward.”
Takis, who finished fourth earlier this year in the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship at the Emirates Golf Club in Dubai, was delighted with the experience as he finished T30, nine shots behind Jeunghun Wang of Korea and Yosuke Asaji from Japan, who won the two-man play-off on the first hole.
The San Diego State student, 20, carded rounds of 70-69-70-69 over the four days and said: “That was a goal this week, to win low amateur, so it is nice to take care of that, although I would have hoped for a couple more out there today. But it is what it is. Back to school tomorrow!
“It has been good. I practice with a lot of pros anyway, so I guess I am getting used to playing with better players. It was all good experience.”
The Moutai Singapore Open was the penultimate event on The International Series schedule. The set of elevated events offer a pathway from the Asian Tour onto the LIV Golf League. This season, two players from the top of the season-long rankings race will earn spots on the 2026 roster while two other golden tickets will be available at the innovative LIV Golf Promotions event in January.
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.
