The situation for the eight star golfers is terrifying, as they remain stranded in the Middle East amid the ongoing tension in the Middle East. The players may miss this week’s event in Hong Kong, according to reports on GolfDigest. com. The golfers stuck in the Middle East are Lee Westwood, Laurie Canter, Thomas Detry, Sam Horsfield, Anirban Lahiri, Tom McKibbin, Adrian Meronk and Caleb Surratt.
LIV Golf stars stuck in Dubai as Middle East tensions intensify
“It was terrifying. But since then, it’s been OK. It was bad Sunday and Monday here with missile interceptions, but all day today was fine,” Surratt told Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine via text on Tuesday about being in the region when the bombing occurred.
The eight golfers including Lee Westwood, Laurie Canter, Thomas Detry, Sam Horsfield, Anirban Lahiri, Tom McKibbin, Adrian Meronk and Caleb Surratt were in Dubai practising for LIV’s Asian Tour stop when the United States and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran.
According to Golf Channel, Surratt was attempting to reach Oman in order to catch a flight to Hong Kong. As per Flushing It, other golfers were also exploring similar routes out of the Middle East to make it to Hong Kong for the LIV Golf event.
Using flight-tracking data, reports said that as of Tuesday all flights from Dubai to Hong Kong were cancelled through Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, Golf.com reported that seven of the players, all except Canter, were able to fly out of Oman on a private jet arranged by Jon Rahm, who captains the Legion XIII team. McKibbin and Surratt, both members of Rahm’s team, had been preparing in Dubai after competing in last month’s event in Australia.
ATP players also stranded in Dubai
The eight LIV players were not the only professional athletes stranded in Dubai due to the US-Israel strikes on Iran. Several ATP players, including star Daniil Medvedev, also found themselves stuck.
“No one knows when we will be able to take off. That is, it’s not clear whether [airspace closures] will last long or not. Therefore, we are just waiting to see, let’s say, what will happen in the next hours and days,” Medvedev told the outlet Bolshe! on Sunday.
The ATP said in a statement on Monday: “The health, safety and wellbeing of our players, staff and tournament personnel is our priority. … At this stage, travel arrangements remain subject to ongoing assessment in line with airline operations and official guidance. We will continue to provide appropriate support to ensure players and their teams can safely depart when conditions allow.”
