The heavy rain couldn't stop Abraham Ancer from winning the debut LIV Golf tournament at the Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling on Sunday, with the final round ending in a nail-biting sudden-death play-off.

The 33-year-old Mexican started the third round with a five-shot lead, as he entered the final day 15-under after bogey-free rounds of 63 and 62 respectively on the first two days.

Ancer scored a 2-over-par 72 on the last day after he stumbled to his first bogey at the fifth hole followed by another at the eighth, which gave Cameron Smith and Paul Casey the chance to end the shotgun tournament in a three-way tie.

Smith hit four birdies throughout his play, while Casey hit a bunker shot for a birdie at his final hole at the sixteenth to complete a 6-under round of 64.

The three battled it out in a sudden-death play-off, where Ancer ultimately came out on top with a birdie. Casey finished in second, while Smith completed the podium.

Ancer said his first LIV win was definitely a grind, with the third round hitting some rocky spots.

"I made it a lot more stressful than I envisioned it. I didn't have my best ball striking. It was the very polar opposite of the first two rounds of the tee," he said.

"But I was really happy. Mentally, I dug deep, and I had to. That round could have definitely been going south very quickly so I'm really proud of that. I'm really proud of how I felt mentally and how I fought the whole round.

Ancer takes home US$4 million in prize money from the Saudi-backed tour.

Meanwhile, Casey's final round helped his team Crushers GC to the team victory. The team led by Bryson DeChambeau also features Charles Howell III and Anirban Lahiri.

Singapore will host the next LIV Golf tournament in May, as part of the Asian swing.