Scott Vincent and Yosuke Asaji have secured their spots in the LIV Golf league following the conclusion of the Asian Tour’s International Series.
The series wrapped up in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, with LIV talent Josele Ballester clinching the Saudi International at Riyadh Golf Club. Vincent and Asaji also had reason to celebrate, finishing as the top two players in the season-long order of merit who were already members of LIV Golf.
Both will be participating in LIV’s 2026 season opener, set to take place at Riyadh Golf Club in February. Their entry comes during a period of significant change for the league, including an increase in prize money.
Vincent, a founding member of LIV and former player for the Iron Heads for three seasons before his relegation in 2024, has made a swift comeback to the league.
In 2023, the 33-year-old had his best season, securing two top-five finishes and ending up 22nd in the Individual Championship standings. Despite being ousted from the league last year after earning just 6.18 points, he made a strong comeback in the International Series.
Vincent claimed victory in Morocco in July, leading to a second-place finish in the order of merit, behind Ballester. His shared 42nd-place finish in Riyadh was enough to secure his return to LIV.
Vincent confessed to being “very nervous” ahead of Saturday’s final round, stating: “I woke up at about 4:30 a.m., which was two hours before I was hoping to. Then you start playing all the different scenarios in your head, which was not what I was hoping for.
“I wanted to come out here and just play freely and give it my best, but yeah, I was nervous. Obviously, not knowing and not trying to look at leaderboards, you don’t know how much of a cushion you have. You don’t want to be the guy who’s ahead and loses, all those things.
“Once I kind of got moving and got into my routine and putting and range work, I definitely did settle down. I just didn’t play great today, but obviously the season was enough.”
Asaji secured third place in the order of merit standings and is set to make his LIV Golf debut next season. The 32-year-old, who has spent most of his career on the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour, didn’t make the cut in Riyadh, but his victory in Singapore earlier this month guaranteed him a spot on the LIV roster.
“I was so happy with my wife and my caddie, we were together. We can get in the LIV event. I was so happy,” he expressed when he found out his promotion to LIV had been confirmed.
Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines narrowly missed out, despite a home soil victory in October. Ollie Schniederjans, a reserve player for LIV Golf, also came tantalizingly close to securing a full-time spot on LIV, but he ended up in seventh place in the rankings.
