The International Series has also provided the alternates for this season’s LIV Golf League, to cover for injury. John Catlin, this season’s rankings leader, has impressed in four straight appearances for Crushers GC, with a seventh-place finish in Nashville among the highlights, while Ben Campbell and Wade Ormsby have also played well when stepping in on different occasions. Catlin will also represented Smash GC in Greenbrier.

There’s a real desire among the cream of the Asian Tour to prove their worth and make that life-changing leap to LIV via the elevated events on The International Series, and Poulter said, “It means a lot – it is very financially rewarding for the guys to make it in and that will be hard to compete under that pressure.

“But that puts them in the right frame of mind to understand what that really means, and to go out there and try and grab hold of one of those fantastic spots.”

Referring to the crop who have graduated from the Asian Tour, he said, “Those guys themselves have really shown what is possible, and how impactful it really is to them. It is a terrific opportunity.

“At the end of the year, if their position on the rankings is good enough, they will get straight into LIV. If not, there’s obviously the season-ender event, which created amazing drama last year – especially with the way that the format worked (four rounds in three days with cuts on day one and two). It was obviously a lot of pressure for the guys to make it in or miss out.”

Poulter missed International Series England because of a foot injury, but the field was still packed with top talent. That is key to the development of the Asian Tour talent, according to the Ryder Cup legend who made seven appearances for Team Europe.

Peter Uihlein of RangeGoats GC triumphed, with the American recording an incredible seven-shot victory over compatriot and Legion XIII youngster Caleb Surratt, and former Ryder Cup Team Europe player Andy Sullivan of England who both tied for second.

Other LIV Golf League names had been in the mix with Cleeks GC’s Richard Bland, Harold Varner III of 4Aces GC and Thomas Pieters, a team-mate of Uihlein on RangeGoats GC, all threatening to tear it up on the Longcross course at different stages of the weekend. Anirban Lahiri of Crushers GC and Branden Grace of Stinger GC also finished in the top 20.

However, Thai star Sadom Kaewkanjana and newly turned Chinese pro Sampson Zheng were up to the challenge with impressive tied-fourth finishes, a shot behind Surratt and Sullivan.

Kaewkanjana’s compatriot Nitithorn Thippong, the 2022 International Series Singapore champion, also finished in the top 20 along with Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho and Jonathan Wijono of Indonesia, proving the strength in depth of the Asian Tour.