[Photo: Jan Kruger]
Seven of the eight LIV Golf players stranded in the Middle East have reached LIV’s Hong Kong event in time thanks to a charter jet from Jon Rahm, according to multiple reports.
RELATED: Eight LIV Golf players stranded in the Middle East amid US–Iran war
A host of the Saudi-backed circuit’s membership was practising in Dubai ahead of LIV’s Asian tour stop, yet had been unable to leave as planned due to airport closures following strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran over the weekend. Dubai – along with sites in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman – were bombed in retaliatory strikes by Iran. The social media account Flushing It first reported that Lee Westwood, Laurie Canter, Thomas Detry, Sam Horsfield, Anirban Lahiri, Tom McKibbin, Adrian Meronk and Caleb Surratt are the players in question.
“It was terrifying,” Surratt told Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine on Tuesday via text about being in the region when the bombing occurred. “But since then, it’s been OK. It was bad Sunday and Monday here with missile interceptions, but all day today was fine.”
According to the Spanish sports daily website MARCA, Rahm chartered a jet to bring them to the event. Canter was the only one not on the plane, although he’s expected to still make his tee-time this afternoon.
Westwood, Canter and Horsfield all play on the same LIV team, while McKibbin and Surratt are a part of Rahm’s side.
The US Department of State on Monday called on Americans to immediately depart more than a dozen countries in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, amid the growing conflict.
As of writing, LIV Golf has not released a statement regarding the situation.