LIV Golf coming to Hong Kong in 2024, up to HK$500 million boost to local economy predicted
- Hong Kong Golf Club will host tournament from March 8 to 10, one week after LIV heads to Riyadh
- The new season also includes an event in Las Vegas on Super Bowl weekend
LIV Golf will come to Hong Kong for the first time next year and organisers have predicted it could pump as much as HK$500 million into the local economy.
The schedule for the 2024 season was released on Thursday, with the city hosting the fourth stop at Hong Kong Golf Club. Other events will take place in Mexico, Australia, Saudi Arabia, the UK, the US and Singapore.
It will be the fourth major tournament the club has staged over the course of 18 months, and with US$25 million (HK$195 million) in prize money it will be one of the richest sporting events ever held in the city.
Club captain Andy Kwok said the event, which will take place from March 8 to 10, was not just a golf tournament, but a “globally anticipated super sports championship”.
“Its debut in Hong Kong represents a milestone in the city’s efforts to attract iconic mega events,” Kwok said. “It will bring massive benefits to Hong Kong in terms of economy, international image and reputation, and golf development.”
Officials said LIV’s decision to include the city on its 14-stop schedule underscored its position as “Asia’s World City” and would bring in “bring hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of economic benefits”.
The announcement of LIV’s 2024 season brought an end to weeks of wondering when it would be made, given officials had previously suggested there would be information available in September.
Still, now it has been made public, the schedule throws up interesting questions about LIV’s continuing relationship with the PGA Tour, given several events clash over the course of the season.
Hong Kong’s event is the same week as the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, one of the North American tour’s US$20 million signature events, while the season-opener at Mayakoba in Mexico, which runs from February 2 to 4, is the same week as a PGA stop at Pebble Beach.
There are also tournaments planned for the US in the weeks before the Masters and US Open.
Adelaide is again on the schedule, but the tournament that set the bar for crowds, partying and atmosphere may well have a rival, with LIV’s second event of the season taking place in Las Vegas on Super Bowl weekend in February.
“LIV Golf is the truly global golf league that the sport and its fans deserve,” Greg Norman, LIV Golf’s commissioner and CEO, said. “We’re thrilled to announce an exciting slate of events that reflects our commitment to bringing world-class players and premier competition to new and repeat markets every year.
“Launching a new league is a massive undertaking, and we’re full steam ahead building off our incredibly successful first full season in 2023. Our goal has always been to create a worldwide league that inspires progress and attracts new fans to the sport that we love. LIV Golf is stronger than ever, and next season will accomplish that goal and more.”
After stops in Mexico and Las Vegas, LIV heads to Saudi Arabia from March 1 to 3, before arriving in Hong Kong. The week after LIV stops in the city, the Asian Tour’s International Series Macau tournament takes place, from March 14 to 17, and organisers will be hoping for a stellar field as a result.
The event from April 5 to 7, the week before the first major of the year, is at an unspecified location in the US, and LIV then heads to Adelaide on April 26 to 28 with a Singapore stop from May 3 to 5.
LIV will play in Houston from June 7 to 9 – opposite the Jack Nicklaus-hosted PGA signature event The Memorial – the week before the US Open at Pinehurst and will tee off in Nashville from June 21 to 23 at the same time as the Travelers Championship is taking place.
The league returns to Valderrama from July 12 to 14 ahead of the Open Championship at Royal Troon, with a tournament at the JCB Golf and Country Club in Staffordshire, England, from July 26 to 28.
The regular-season finale, another US event, will be contested at Greenbrier in West Virginia on August 16-18 – opposite the first weekend of the US PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup play-offs.
