SOME of the biggest names in world golf attended a special press conference at Wynn Palace in Macau today (Tuesday) ahead of the US$2 million International Series Macau presented by Wynn, the Asian Tour-sanctioned event which is bringing together over 20 stars from the LIV Golf League and the cream of the Asian Tour. Fireballs GC captain Sergio Garcia, the 2017 Masters champion, attended the press conference at Wynn Palace, along with Majesticks GC co-captain Ian Poulter, HyFlyers GC star Andy Ogletree, and Hong Kong’s Asian Games gold medal winner Taichi Kho. The organizers also made a charitable donation of US$25,000 to the Macau Special Olympics during the press conference.
The event marks The International Series’ debut in Macau. The second in a schedule of 10 elevated tournaments on the Asian Tour this season, International Series Macau presented by Wynn takes place from 14-17 March at the Macau Golf & Country Club.
Garcia, a six-time winner in the region already in an illustrious career that yielded 36 international trophies, said: “I love playing golf in the region, and it is exciting to play Macau for the first time. Asia is a huge market for growth in the game, we saw the appetite for golf at LIV Golf Hong Kong last week, and this is fun too.
”After playing Hong Kong, it was a great opportunity to come here and experience Macau, and it is a wonderful place. The International Series and Asian Tour offer great opportunities for us to come to places like this and to play and tune up our games.”
Poulter has tasted success already in the region before, winning the Hong Kong Open back in 2010, and the Englishman, a Ryder Cup legend for Team Europe, is hoping to get back to winning ways on the Macau Golf & Country Club this weekend.
Poulter, who won the Hong Kong Open in 2010, said: “I have always enjoyed playing golf in Asia, and fortunately I’ve had a bit of success here too. Hopefully that will continue. It’s a great culture, and wonderful people, and the golf courses are fabulous – Macau Golf & Country Club looks great and I can’t wait to participate this week.
“It’s great to be here and play in front of fans in a region that obviously loves its golf. Hopefully I can play well this week and get up the leaderboard.”
Ogletree is making his first return to The International Series since joining the LIV Golf League in 2024 as Order of Merit champion. The 25-year-old, who won in Qatar and England last year, is relishing the prospect of making his return in Macau after playing in a fun nearest-the-pin challenge from the Wynn Palace rooftop last year, as part of the event announcement.
He said: “It is an unbelievable place, and an unbelievable hotel. The people were so nice and welcoming, and it was such an easy commute having played the LIV Golf event in Hong Kong. It’s great that a lot of the LIV guys are playing.
“These events on The International Series are getting better and better. It’s going to be a tour that a lot of people want to play on, because of all the different cool locations they play at. It’s an awesome series, and all the venues that I got to play were spectacular.”
Taichi is one of those aspiring young players battling it out on The International Series in search of all-important rankings points. A T2 at the Volvo China Open and T6 at the International Series Singapore last year showed how talented the Hong Kong golfer is.
The 23-year-old, who won the World City Championship in his hometown last year, said: “I’m looking forward to playing in an incredibly strong field this week. Playing in field that contains Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell and Andy Ogletree just shows how strong The International Series is, and I can’t wait to get out there.
“Obviously play well, and you get those rankings points, so it is important to go out there and play one shot at a time, stay focused and try to be the best player I can be. The course is looking great, and I think we’ll see some good scores out there.”
A cheque presentation ceremony was also held at the press conference. Mr. Rahul Singh, Head of The International Series, Mr. Lawrence Burian LIV Golf COO, and Ms. Linda Chen, President, Vice Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of Wynn Macau, Limited presented a US$25,000 cheque to the Macau Special Olympics. The donation was made to support the association’s charity initiatives and was accepted by the Macau Special Olympics National Director Mr. Siu Yu Hong along with the athlete Mr. Sin Kei Cheong.
In addition, Wynn will host an exciting “Golf Village” experience on the Wynn Palace South Lawn from March 14 to 17 to give visitors and local residents an opportunity to immerse themselves in the sport. The Golf Village will offer a variety of complimentary activities for everyone to enjoy including live broadcasts of the tournament, golf-themed games, mini golf and much more. Visitors will also be able to savor an array of delicious local specialties while enjoying the lively atmosphere outdoors.
Round one of the International Series Macau presented by Wynn gets underway on Thursday, and the tournament runs until Sunday. For more information on International Series Macau presented by Wynn please click here.
