Details remain scarce, but Thomas Detry provided a bit more insight into his tenuous journey to Hong Kong in light of the disruption in the Middle East that for a time had him wondering if he could not only play this week’s LIV Golf event but also the next tournament in Singapore.
Detry, who won the WM Phoenix Open last year on the PGA Tour and left for the LIV Golf League prior to the 2026 season, moved into contention at Hong Kong Golf Club on Friday after a second-round 63 left him a shot back of co-leaders Dean Burmester and Carlos Ortiz. Jon Rahm is another shot back in fourth place.
And it was Rahm who paved the way for Detry and several other players to get to Hong Kong in time by arranging for a private plane to pick them up in Doha after they traveled there from Dubai earlier this week. Several airports in the region were operating well below capacity after being closed for a time.
“I was sort of nervous that I wasn't properly prepared, but I managed to take a good week off the week after Adelaide and do some great work with my coach last week, and actually, I haven't touched a club since Saturday,” said Detry, a Belgian who plays on Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces team along with Anthony Kim and countryman Thomas Pieters.
“All that conflict in the Middle East actually in a way was beneficial to me because it sort of forced me to leave the clubs behind and not touch a club for a couple of days. I feel like it had a beneficial side effect on me, in a way.”
An uncertain last-minute flight
And yet there was a time when Detry wasn’t sure if he’d make it to Hong Kong.
“Being here was definitely a bonus because Tuesday morning I did not see myself being here and teeing it off on Thursday,” Detry said. “To be honest, on Tuesday morning I was even thinking next week was going to be a push, as well. That was sort of what I was thinking. But here we are, and life is all good.”
There has been little disclosed about the arrangement that saw Rahm help provide transportation for Detry and LIV players Lee Westwood, Anirban Lahiri, Sam Horsfield, Adrian Meronk, Tom McKibben and Caleb Surrat. All had headed to the United Arab Emirates following LIV’s first two events in Australia before the current three-week swing of Hong Kong, Singapore and South Africa.
Detry said he has homes in London and Dubai.
Although Rahm has so far not commented, Detry thanked him in media comments after his round on Friday.
“I've got to pay that plane back, so I'd better play well hopefully to be able to pay that back,” Detry said. “That was incredibly generous from Jon, with all the uncertainty. In hindsight, I was booked on an Emirates flight to Hong Kong on Wednesday morning, and it actually took off. So I would have been here on Wednesday night late, but obviously that was very unknown on Tuesday.
“No, that was incredible of Jon to put on that plane, and it seems like he's always there on top of the leaderboard, so you know if you're playing well you're always going to have to fight with Jon anyway.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Thomas Detry Is Making the Most of His Improbable Trip to LIV Golf Hong Kong.
