Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia

Several of Liv Golf’s top players kicked off in Macau this weekend, not for the prize money, but for the golden ticket.

Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Adrian Meronk and Carlos Ortiz are among the 17 LIV golfers who play in the International Macau event of the Asian Tour, with the opportunity to compete in the open championship of Royal Pronchus. The Macau event is part of the R&A qualifying series, giving the top three undisclosed titles in the 153rd Open.

“It’s been a big week,” Garcia said in a pre-tournament press conference. “It’s a great game, it’s a really good field, and these three attractions are for open championship competition. It’s important. It’s my favorite major, so I’m happy to go back to the last few years.

“Obviously, we all love playing in the Grand Slam and being part of it and playing for ourselves. So the opportunity to qualify for these three top attractions here is huge and it just shows how the Asian Tour grew and the importance of the players we have here.

Reed added: “I feel like whenever you have the opportunity to get professional qualifications, it just gives you the extra motivation to go out and have more motivation to go out and try to make putts and play the best game. Because in the end, they are four activities we try to always play.”

Reed and Ortiz tied at the top of the Under-16 after Saturday’s third round. Jason Kokrak is third in the under-13 years old, while Garcia is the sixth place for Reed, with third in three points.

Last year, Reed competed in the Masters and PGA titles before missing out on the U.S. Open and Open Championships. Garcia played in the Masters and the U.S. Open. He has opened 22 consecutive times before missing the 2023 and 2024 iterations.

In February, the R&D case announced a waiver that would give LIV golf individual rankings top players who have not yet qualified after the Liv Dallas event in late June.

Currently, Garcia is ranked third in the LIV Golf individual rankings after winning Liv Hong Kong. Two players ahead of him – Joaquin Niemann and Jon Rahm – are already eligible for the Open at Royal Porthush, so he is currently in a good position to serve as a waiver for the main season dawn.

However, Garcia needs to play more golf to get a waiver, with Sebastian Munoz, David Puig and others following in the seats and a few remaining games before the R&A deadline.

Macau’s Sunday round and third place could change all of this for Garcia.

Reed and Ortiz were in two pole positions in three exemptions, and Garcia needed to track and pass through Kokrak, Dominic Foos and Lucas Herbert to get his ticket back to his favorite major.