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Golf Monthly
Sport
Jakob Barnes

Eight LIV Golfers Stuck In Middle East Make It Safely To Hong Kong Thanks To Private Jet

Lee Westwood at LIV Golf Andalucia.

The eight LIV Golf stars who were stranded in Dubai ahead of the upcoming event in Hong Kong are reportedly clear of the danger zone now.

The group, which includes Lee Westwood, Laurie Canter, Thomas Detry, Sam Horsfield, Anirban Lahiri, Tom McKibbin, Adrian Meronk and Caleb Surratt, were practicing in the Middle East over the past week in preparation for the latest LIV Golf event.

When the USA and Israel launched air strikes on Iran, multiple zones in the region were put on lockdown, with airport closures impacting many people in Dubai and other Middle Eastern countries.

Flushing It Golf was the first to report on the situation involving the LIV players on Tuesday afternoon, posting an update on Twitter/X.

Surratt had confirmed to the Golf Channel on Tuesday that he was indeed stranded after heading to Dubai from Australia but that he was hoping a plan was in place to resolve the matter within "the next 12 hours".

All the players had flights booked, but had thus far been unable to leave Dubai. But now, it appears the situation has been resolved.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, reports circulated that the golfers had found a way to fly to Hong Kong in time for the event.

Then, later in the day, Adrian Meronk himself confirmed via Twitter/X that he had touched down in Hong Kong, sharing a photo from the course with a bucket of balls and a club in his hand.

He posted with the caption: "Safely made it to Hong Kong, thank you everyone that helped to reach and thank you for your messages and concerns. Stay safe everyone in UAE and I hope I can home soon."

There has been no official confirmation yet on the status of the other players, and it is not clear exactly how Meronk made it to Hong Kong. But, according to GOLF.com Editor Alan Bastable, Jon Rahm may have been at the heart of the rescue mission.

Bastable also shared an update on social media, writing: "Just learned the LIV players stranded in the Middle East have arrived safely in Hong Kong on a private jet commissioned by their LIV stablemate Jon Rahm."

He added that the source who gave him that information had asked to remain anonymous but was "close to the situation."

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Meanwhile, further information came from the South China Morning Post, with a report there claiming updates had intentionally been kept to a minimum over the past 24 hours in order to protect those fleeing Dubai.

That report also states Rahm was involved in helping get the golfers out of Oman, after they managed to get a bus across the border from Dubai. A source there described “a coordinated effort between the league and the teams” to resolve the situation.

Golf Monthly has contacted LIV Golf for comment.

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