Content creator/pro golfer, Luke Kwon made the International Series Macau cut by one stroke on Friday after enjoying a dramatic and entertaining finish to his three-under round of 67.
The former Good Good Golf member, who received a late invitation to the elevated Asian Tour event, opened up at Macau Golf & Country Club with a two-over-par round of 72 on Thursday - leaving himself work to do in order to play the weekend.
After making a bogey-five on the first hole in round two, it looked as though the University of Oklahoma alumnus would be heading home early along with the likes of Anthony Kim, Luis Masaveau and Andy Ogletree, the only three LIV golfers out of 20 in the field not to make the cut.
However, Kwon - who now has over 335,000 subscribers on his eponymous YouTube channel - began his fightback via birdies on both of the front nine's par-3s (holes four and six) plus another gain at the par-4 eighth.
Making the turn at level par and knowing the cut was likely to be made at one-under, Kwon stumbled somewhat via a bogey at the par-4 10th and remained one-over for the week until the 13th.
The former PGA Tour China winner was missing fairways with regularity but relying on some excellent putting to dig him out of the hole he had created. A birdie at the par-5 13th was the first of five one-putts Kwon recorded over the final six holes.
The only time he putted more than once on a hole coming home arrived when recording a five at the par-3 14th, not helped at all by three shots from the flat stick. Kwon's mistake put him right behind the eight ball, but the content creator produced a brilliantly-entertaining finish befitting of his personality.
Having gained a shot back at 15, the second of three closing birdies over the final four holes occurred in unusual circumstances on the par-4 16th after Kwon's driving struggles had threatened to end his tournament early.
Kwon pulled his driver left off the 16th tee back down the 15th fairway, leaving himself an awkward shot in - one that he almost certainly did not practice beforehand. Despite the unusual scenario he'd found himself in, the 31-year-old proved his talent by dropping a long iron onto the green and seeing it roll up for a kick-in birdie.
After making par at the three-shot 17th, the ex-Dallas National forecaddie missed another fairway before dragging his long-range approach to the left of the green. However, Kwon managed to dab a delicate chip to four feet and roll home the birdie putt in order to reach the clubhouse at one-under for the week.
Kwon's success ends a run of consecutive missed cuts on the Asian Tour, having missed out on weekend golf at both the New Zealand Open earlier in the month and the International Series Thailand last October.
He did play all four rounds at the Black Mountain Championship the week before, though, going on to end T65th - his first pro start in two-and-a-half years. In August 2024, Kwon won the PGA Tour's inaugural Creator Classic at East Lake, days before the Tour Championship.
LIV Golf's Patrick Reed leads the way in Macau on 13-under, closely followed by peer Carlos Ortiz, Lucas Herbert (T3rd) and Sergio Garcia (T5th). Jason Kokrak and Sebastian Munoz make up the remaining LIV players inside the top-10 at the halfway mark.
