Link Hong Kong Open ‘a fantastic learning experience’ for players

Commentator Dom Boulet is known for his expertise by golf fans all over the world thanks to his deep knowledge of the game.

He will be even more on point for viewers this week commentating on the Link Hong Kong Open, having played the tournament multiple times as an amateur and professional before trading in the clubs for the mic and headphones to work behind the camera.

Boulet, a Hong Kong native, managed a fourth and sixth-placed finish as well as multiple top-20 placings in just under 20 starts as an amateur and professional, in groups featuring the late, great Payne Stewart, Peter Senior and Scott Hoch to name just a few.

This year’s tournament features Major winners Justin Rose and Patrick Reed, as well as rising star Tom Kim, a former Asian Tour Order of Merit winner, and Boulet says it is the perfect chance for regional rising stars to learn from the best while trying to beat them.

He said: “It was a fantastic experience. I remember my first one the best playing 1984 with Peter Senior, a great Australian player. Seeing the pros, how they play, at home in front of friends and family was a great experience. Now it is a bigger event in terms of set up, but it has always been a huge event with big crowds, it was always exciting to play in front of good crowds.”

Boulet was a firm fan favourite in Hong Kong, and he shared a special moment with them when holing from the bunker on 18 in front of nearly 10,000 spectators while playing the same course with Seve Ballesteros, Ernie Els and Colin Montgomerie back in the 1990s, a once-in-a-lifetime situation he described as “the biggest roar” he had ever experienced.

As a member of Hong Kong Golf Club, he knows the Composite Course here better than most and said: “You must be precise, especially the front nine as there are dog legs and it is tree lined, so you must hit some quality golf shots. I might be a little bit biased, but I know a lot of the players very well, and they genuinely enjoy this golf course. It is a ‘second shot’ golf course.”

As commentator for the Asian Tour and the LIV Golf League plus on the Asian Tour’s Board of Directors, Boulet understands the pathway that The International Series offers to players through its rankings race better than most, with the champion getting an automatic berth and 32 players offered entry into the LIV Golf Promotions event in Saudi Arabia to compete for another spot on the roster.

He joked: “I'm jealous of these guys. The opportunities and money they have now, we never had. The players appreciate it and are genuinely excited. It is a game changer; it has reignited the tour and given us a great outlook for the future.

“When I’m commentating, I can feel the tension, and see it is in the back of a player’s mind – in a position where they have got a good chance. The quality of the golf has shot up as well - you can tell from the scores and the number between the leader and the cut mark.

“You can see the quality of the field, the depth of the field The International Series is one of the factors, as these guys are working harder for bigger rewards.”

Boulet learned from players such as three-time major winner Stewart back in the day, and this latest generation is getting a similar schooling from some of the best in the game.

“Take the guys like Patrick Reed for example. The chance to see them up close and learn from them is invaluable. How often do you get the chance to learn from a Masters champion with a short game like that? It is literally a life-changing opportunity for the guys on the Asian Tour. To take a step to the next level.

“Think about Kieran Vincent last season on Legion XIII – he won his place onto the LIV Golf League, and he got the chance to play practice rounds and hang with Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton all season. Goodness me, for a young man in his early 20s, what an incredible learning experience and opportunity.”

Boulet is a graduate from the revered Northwestern University in Illinois, and he believes the US college system is starting to look at The International Series as a viable route to the big time, given the bigger prize money on offer, and its pathway to the LIV Golf League.  

He said: “I think what golfers are very good at, is they like to talk. And as big a game it is, it is also a very small industry, so players all know each other. And I’m sure the likes of Andy Ogletree, who won the rankings race last year and joined the HyFlyers GC, went back and spoke about the well-run events, the purse, the intense competition. It is a great option.”