HONG KONG (AP) — Thomas Detry was one of eight LIV Golf players stranded in the United Arab Emirates earlier this week amid Israeli and U.S. attacks on Iran. He is now tied for the lead with Jon Rahm, the player responsible for bailing them out.
“Without him, I don’t think I would be there,” Detry said after shooting a 66 at LIV Golf Hong Kong on Saturday, where he shared the lead with Rahm (65) and Harold Varner III (63). “It’s kind of interesting in a way.”
advertise
The attack affected more than a dozen neighboring countries in the Middle East, causing flights to be cancelled. Some players are based in Dubai, which has long been the center of golf in the UAE, while others are based in Dubai during LIV events in Australia and Hong Kong.
Golf.com reports that Lahm and his XIII team arranged a charter flight through the Spaniard’s partnership with a private airline. That would require driving 280 miles from Dubai to Muscat, Oman, before catching an eight-hour flight, arriving in Hong Kong at noon on Wednesday.
Other players include Lee Westwood, Sam Horsfield, Adrian Melonc, Tom McKibbin, Caleb Surratt and Anirban Lahiri. Golf.com said Laurie Canter and her family made their own transportation arrangements.
“It was incredible that Jon put him on that plane,” Detry said.
advertise
Detry said he was originally booked on an Emirates flight from Dubai, which departed as planned on Wednesday morning and arrived in Hong Kong that evening, but “the situation on Tuesday is still unknown.”
Rahm began the week by refusing to accept a European Tour deal that would have eliminated fines for playing LIV golf, saying he considered the move “just my responsibility”.
“There are certain values that were instilled in me growing up, which is if you have the ability to help people … especially in a situation like this, my main focus is basically getting them out of there and not necessarily getting to the tournament,” Rahm said.
“It looked a little dark for a moment as the environment kept changing,” he said. “But, yes, they are here. Didn’t expect them to be able to come. Surprisingly, many of them are safe, and that’s the most important thing.”
___
AP Golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
