Macau, China: Carlos Ortiz held off the challenge of Patrick Reed to claim the International Series Macau presented by Wynn after a closely-fought battle between the LIV Golf stars at Macau Golf and Country Club.

Mexican Ortiz won the International Series Oman last year and made it win number two on The International Series and Asian Tour after closing with a six-under-par 64 to finish three ahead of American Reed on 22-under.

Reed, looking to add another title to his win at the Link Hong Kong Open last November, fired a 67, as did fellow-American Jason Kokrak, three back in third.

All three were thrilled to book their berths for The Open at Royal Portrush this summer. As part of the Open Qualifying Series, the top three in Macau, not already exempt, made it through to the final Major of 2025.

Sergio Garcia finished one stroke behind in fourth, following a 65. The Spaniard painfully missed a three-footer for birdie on the last which would have seen him tie with Kokrak and secure the third place in The Open through countback based on his higher world ranking.

Ortiz started the day sharing the lead with playing partner Reed but moved immediately in front with birdies on the first and third plus another on eight. He was two ahead at the turn before playing the pivotal par-five 12th.

There, Ortiz struck a brilliant fairway wood to five feet and made the eagle putt, which meant he remained two ahead of Reed and three in front of Kokrak, who both birdied the 12th. 

A clutch eight-footer for par on the short 14th also proved crucial for Ortiz. He then missed a five-footer for birdie on the next which would have put him three ahead, but was able to stay two clear before a birdie on 18 put more daylight between him and Reed.

“It was a good week,” said Ortiz, who plays for Torque GC on LIV Golf. “I think I did a good job of putting the ball in play. That’s important on this golf course. I drove it really well and took advantage of the par-fives and some of the short par-fours.

“Most of the trouble is from the tee, so once you put the driver in play, it opens up from there. I didn’t take full advantage of all those great drives, but I took advantage enough. I’m overjoyed to be heading to The Open.”

It’s the 10th win of Ortiz’s career, including one title apiece on the LIV Golf League and the PGA Tour. The 33-year-old moves to the top of the Asian Tour Order of Merit and The International Series rankings.

On his eagle at 12 he said: “I was trying to get it on the green and it looked good in the air. Getting it that close it’s a little bit of luck, but I hit a great shot so it’s nice to be able to capitalise on that.”

Ortiz has played in The Open once before, in 2021, while it will be the 10th time Reed has participated in the game’s eldest Major, and the fifth for Kokrak.

Reed, who led after the first and second rounds, said: “A little frustrating. I didn’t make many putts. Had the case of lip-outs for two days. So that’s unfortunate. When you do that, it’s hard to win golf tournaments.

“Put myself in position and I hit the ball plenty well enough – 16 greens today. Had a decent amount of looks, just lipping out and burning edges.

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get the win. But any time you can play bogey-free on Sundays, it’s always positive. To finish solo second, get at spot in The Open, it means a lot.”

Canada’s Richard T. Lee closed with a 65 to take fifth outright, while Poland’s Adrian Meronk and Taichi Kho from Hong Kong shared sixth after rounds of 64 and 65 respectively.

Defending champion John Catlin from the United States returned a 68 to finish in a tie for 26th.