Finn Samooja qualifies for LIV Golf as Aussies miss out

Kalle Samooja of Finland, Zimbabwe's Kieran Vincent and Jinichiro Kozuma of Japan emerged atop the leaderboard after playing 36 holes on Sunday at the LIV Golf event, with their reward being entry into the next season's lucrative league.

But the nine Australians who had entered the qualifier all missed out, with Jed Morgan - who was relegated at the end of last season - failing to regain his card after Sunday's marathon 36-hole slog.

Samooja led the scoring on the day, shooting eight-under-par over the two rounds at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

Vincent and Kozuma each finished at seven under to qualify for a three-player playoff to determine who would get the remaining two LIV spots.

Laurie Canter, the third player to reach the playoff, was eliminated after the second hole.

Vincent birdied the hole and Kozuma finished at par, with Canter unable to keep pace once he found the water with his second shot.

Samooja, Vincent and Kozuma were among 73 players who entered the event.

"We had the best three guys from the field get their cards," Samooja, 35, said.

Combined, the three players have 18 professional wins, with 13 belonging to Samooja. The 26-year-old Vincent has one, and the 29-year-old Kozuma four.

Vincent's older brother Scott also is a LIV Golf member and the pair could be playing in the same team when the season begins on February 2 at Mayakoba, Mexico.

Players who finished in fourth through 10th place will receive a full exemption for the 2024 season of The International Series, tournaments which are supported by LIV Golf and sanctioned by the Asian Tour.

But the two Australians in Sunday's field, Morgan and Kevin Yuan, both missed out on those places too.

Yuan shot rounds of 72 and 71 to finish tied for 11th while Morgan's two 73s left him 19th of the 20 final-day hopefuls.

Australian Associated Press