Richard T. Lee (centre) of Canada, US’s Anthony Kim (left) and Sweden’s Bjorn Hellgren celebrate their LIV Golf 2026 wild card status at the Promotions tournament played in Lecanto, Florida, on Sunday. Image courtesy LIV Golf.
By Rahul Banerji
Canada’s Richard T. Lee topped LIV Golf Promotions in Florida to win a wild card to the 2026 league along with Sweden’s Bjorn Hellgren and Anthony Kim of the US.
All three celebrated on Sunday at the Black Diamond Ranch in Lecanto, Florida, after earning the three spots available through the Promotions tournament.
They join International Series qualifiers Scott Vincent and Yosuke Asaji as the five wild cards who will compete in the 13 tournaments of the 2026 season.
The first event of LIV Golf 2026 will be played in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from February 4 to 7, the league said.
On the home front, the PGTI’s qualifying process will be played this year at the Kensville Golf and Country Club near Ahmedabad after a long run in Jamshedpur.
Q School schedule
The first three rounds (pre-qualifying) of Q School will be held on January 17/18 (PQ1), Jan. 20/21 (PQ2) and Jan. 23/24 (PQ3) with the four-round Final Stage from January 27 to 30 on the long Kensville course.
While Lee and Hellgren will make their LIV Golf debuts in Saudi Arabia, Kim will be back for his third season as a wild card.
He came out of a 12-year retirement to join LIV Golf in 2024 but was relegated after last season as he continues to rebuild his game.
Earning a spot for 2026 underlines the progress he has made since returning to the game.
“There were definitely low moments throughout those two years,” Kim said. “But I believe in myself more than anybody else believes in me, and I think that’s all that matters.
“I felt like I would earn my spot back if I did get relegated. I felt like if I just kept my foot on the gas and just kept grinding that great things were going to happen.”
Lee capped an impressive effort with a final-round 5 under 65, leaving him at 11 under for the 36-hole weekend shootout for a five-shot victory over Hellgren.
Solid run
The 35-year-old is the first Canadian to earn a spot on LIV Golf, and he did it with rounds of 64, 66, 64 and 65 including the first two knockout rounds that saw a field of 78 come down to the final 22.
“It’s not sunk in yet, to be honest,” said Lee, who had just two bogeys all week, one of those coming late on Sunday when he already had a spot wrapped up.
“Twenty-one under on this course is absolutely amazing. I’m very pleased with my game right now.”
Hellgren shot an level par 70 on Saturday, leaving him outside the top 10 starting Sunday.
The 35-year-old, who won the Saudi Open presented by PIF last month, had to play aggressively to catch up.
He opened with consecutive birdies and overcame a couple of bogeys before finishing with four birdies in his final six holes to shoot a 6-under 64 and match the course record set by Lee earlier in the week.
Clear task
“Starting the day, we knew what we had to do,” Hellgren said. “We had to shoot a low one today. We had to basically go all in.”
Kim was in better shape after his 66 on Saturday.
After the first 10 holes on Sunday, he was even par and in a three-way tie for the third and final spot with Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond and Sarit Suwannarut.
Kim then birdied the par-4 11th with a 20-foot putt to open a gap and then had to overcome a couple of tricky lies to maintain it.
On 14, he twice played from bunkers’ edges that left him with awkward stances to eventually save par.
By the time Kim reached 18, he was three shots clear of fourth place and could afford a final bogey.
“Felt like if I made that putt, it could really swing the momentum,” Kim said of 14. “I beared down and holed it.”
Lee and Hellgren are both looking forward to the competition that LIV Golf offers including major champions Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and others.
“Definitely have to hit it longer to keep up with those guys and maybe get my short game a little bit sharper,” Lee said.
Big changes
“Obviously this is going to change our life, for my family,” Hellgren added.
“But it’s still just a tournament, and I’m sure I’ll be going to Riyadh to try to win because I like the feeling of winning.”
Kim, meanwhile, was glad just to have another season on LIV Golf. Sunday’s outcome was arguably the biggest moment in his two years since his return to the sport.
“There’s a ton of satisfaction,” Kim said at the end of his press conference.
“I’m sure I’ll understand that all that work has really shown this week, maybe later tonight when I’m drinking an iced tea.
“It means a lot to me because three years ago, doctors told me that I potentially had two weeks to live. So just to be here standing in front of you guys is a blessing.”
Also read: Crushers GC retain Lahiri, Casey for LIV Golf 2026 season
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