Elite golf is back at Fanling — yet the freedoms that made Hong Kong special are still missing
World-Class Golf in a Changed City
LIV Golf has confirmed that the HSBC LIV Golf Hong Kong tournament will return for its fourth edition from 18 to 21 February 2027 at the historic Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling. The announcement was made at a press conference attended by LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil, HSBC officials, and Hong Kong Golf Club leadership. The tournament continues to hold its coveted “M” Mark event status, awarded by the Major Sports Events Committee, which designates it as one of Hong Kong’s premier international sports occasions.
The Economics of Elite Sport
LIV Golf’s presence in Hong Kong is a genuine economic positive. The league reports that its 14-event global schedule has generated more than one billion dollars in economic impact for host cities worldwide. Hong Kong benefits through tourism spending, hospitality revenues, and international broadcast exposure reaching an audience the league estimates at over 900 million viewers. The 2026 edition, running from 5 to 8 March at Fanling, features a 57-player international field competing across four days with premium hospitality and live entertainment. Tickets for the 2027 edition go on sale to 2026 ticket holders from 8 March, reflecting the momentum the event has built since its 2024 debut in Hong Kong.
Golf and the Question of Engagement
Events like HSBC LIV Golf Hong Kong raise questions that the organisers rarely address publicly: what does it mean to stage a world-class international event in a city that has lost its freedoms? Hong Kong Golf Club was founded in 1889, when the city was developing its distinctive character as a place where East and West met under conditions of relative openness and rule of law. That character made Hong Kong exceptional. The elite sport, the business networks, the cultural confidence — all of it grew from a foundation of civil liberties that no longer exist in the same form.
What Hong Kongers Deserve
None of this is an argument against holding the tournament. International engagement with Hong Kong — trade, culture, sport — keeps the city visible to the world, which matters for the people who live there and for the diaspora community that advocates for their rights. But engagement without acknowledgement is not neutral. When global brands like HSBC — a British bank with deep historical roots in Hong Kong — and international sports leagues stage events in the city, they have a platform to speak about what makes Hong Kong worth investing in. The rule of law. The independent judiciary. The free press. The vibrant civil society. These are the conditions that made Hong Kong a world financial centre. They are also the conditions that are under sustained assault. The Hong Kong Free Press continues to document these realities for a global audience at significant personal risk to its journalists.
Looking Ahead
The 2027 tournament at Fanling will draw the world’s attention to Hong Kong again. That attention is an opportunity. Organisations that benefit economically from Hong Kong’s infrastructure, its tax environment, and its reputation should also be willing to say, publicly, that the city they are investing in is most valuable — most worth investing in — when its people are free. The golf will be excellent. The stakes, for the city, are much higher than a leaderboard.
Wing Sum
Arts, Culture & History Journalist, Apple Daily UK
Contact: wingsum@appledaily.uk
Wing Sum is an arts, culture, and history journalist with professional experience documenting cultural heritage, artistic expression, and historical memory within Chinese-speaking communities. She received her journalism education at a prestigious Chinese journalism school, where she specialized in cultural reporting, archival research, and ethical storytelling.
Her work at Apple Daily and other liberal Chinese magazines and newspapers includes coverage of literature, film, visual arts, and the preservation of collective memory. Wing Sum’s reporting is grounded in interviews with artists, historians, and cultural practitioners, supported by archival sources and scholarly research.
She brings newsroom experience in balancing cultural critique with factual accuracy and historical context. Editors value her careful sourcing and resistance to sensationalism when covering sensitive historical topics.
Wing Sum’s authority is reinforced by sustained publication within established media institutions and adherence to editorial standards governing accuracy and attribution. At Apple Daily UK, she contributes culturally rigorous journalism rooted in experience, research, and professional integrity.
