LIV Golf pro endures final-round disaster after penalty with Masters and Open spots at stake

Anirban Lahiri endured a Hong Kong Open nightmare after being docked a shot for inadvertently moving his ball, before carding a disastrous final-round 74 as John Catlin stormed to victory and secured his place at the 2027 Masters and The Open.

Lahiri believed he was heading into Sunday's final round in a four-way share of the lead at Hong Kong Golf Club. However, a penalty incurred during Saturday's third round left him starting one shot behind the leaders on 13-under par.

Golf reporter Joy Chakravarty first reported the incident on X, confirming that Lahiri had been penalised for inadvertently moving his ball before playing a chip on the 18th hole.

The setback proved costly for the Indian, who represents Bryson DeChambeau's Crushers GC on LIV Golf. 

Lahiri struggled throughout the final round, carding a 4-over 74 to finish at 9-under par in a tie for 17th.

He made a disastrous start with a double-bogey at the par-4 1st before recovering a shot at the par-3 5th. 

However, three bogeys in four holes from the 9th ended any hopes of a comeback as players around him continued to make birdies.

Lahiri ultimately finished 11 shots behind the winner after a frustrating end to what had promised to be a serious title challenge.

With both a Masters and Open ticket on the line for the winner of the 2026 Hong Kong Open, it was a final round to forget for Lahiri.

The 39-year-old has not competed in a major now since missing the cut at the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill. 

Catlin cruises to Hong Kong Open title

While Lahiri struggled, American John Catlin delivered a superb final round to claim the title by five shots.

The 35-year-old carded a 6-under 64 to finish on 20-under par, comfortably ahead of Hong Kong's Matthew Cheung and Finland's Kalle Samooja, who shared second on 15-under par. 

Catlin's only bogey came at the 5th before he pulled away from the field with birdies at the 6th, 10th, 11th, 13th, 14th and 17th.

He finished in style on the 18th, reaching the green in two before carefully negotiating a long downhill putt on the fast surface. 

Catlin left himself around 12 feet and holed the putt to complete a commanding victory.

"To come out and play some really, really solid golf and get the job done, it's very, very special," Catlin said.

The victory is his seventh on the Asian Tour and his sixth national open title, adding to previous wins at the Austrian, English, Irish, Saudi and Thailand Opens.

More importantly, the result secures Catlin invitations to the 2027 Masters and The Open. 

He will make his fifth appearance at The Open, while the Masters will provide his first opportunity to compete at Augusta National.

Catlin also collected $360,000 and 787.5 Asian Tour Order of Merit points, moving into fourth place in the standings with the Philippine Open remaining.

Cheung's runner-up finish was another major talking point, with the local favourite producing the best result by a Hong Kong golfer in the tournament's history.

Roared on by huge home crowds, Cheung surpassed the previous record of fourth, achieved by Dominique Boulet in 1996.

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Several LIV Golf players featured in the field, with Thomas Pieters among the strongest performers. 

The Belgian, who recently confirmed his departure from LIV Golf, finished tied sixth on 12-under par alongside Caleb Surratt of Jon Rahm's Legion XIII.

England's Lee Westwood finished tied 14th on 10-under par, while Lahiri's collapse left him tied 17th on 9-under par with the likes of South African trio Louis Oosthuizen, Branden Grace and Dean Burmester

Oosthuizen and Grace confirmed their decisions to leave LIV Golf this week. 

Westwood has been particularly vocal about LIV players' exemptions on the DP World Tour, and he's also had some interesting things to say about the PGA Tour.

Elsewhere, Michael La Sasso, who won LIV Golf's final event in August, finished on 8-under par just outside the top 20. Paul Casey finished tied 47th on 4-under, Richard Bland was tied 65th on 2-under and Anthony Kim finished 70th on 1-under.

Scroll down for the final leaderboard. 

Hong Kong Open Final Leaderboard