Patrick Reed & Sergio Garcia Pursue Open Championship Spots in Macau's Asian Tour Event
Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed, and other LIV Golf players are competing in the Asian Tour's International Series Macau Event for a chance to qualify for the Open Championship at Royal Portrush. The tournament offers three qualifying spots to the top finishers not already exempt.
Garcia, who has missed the last two Opens after playing in 22 consecutive championships, expressed his enthusiasm: "This is an important week. It's my favorite major, so I would love to be back in it."
After three rounds, Reed and Carlos Ortiz share the lead at 16 under, while Jason Kokrak is tied for third at 13 under. Garcia sits six shots behind the leaders and three shots out of third place.
The R&A recently announced an exemption for the top player in the LIV Golf individual rankings who hasn't already qualified, following the LIV Dallas event in late June. Garcia currently holds third place in these rankings, behind already-qualified players Joaquin Niemann and Jon Rahm, putting him in position for this exemption.
However, with Sebastian Munoz and David Puig close behind in the standings and several events remaining before the R&A's deadline, Garcia's best chance to secure his Open Championship spot may be through a strong finish in Macau on Sunday.
Reed and Ortiz are well-positioned to claim two of the three available exemptions, leaving Garcia to battle with Kokrak, Dominic Foos, and Lucas Herbert for the final qualifying spot.