Saudi International (golf)

The Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers is an Asian Tour golf tournament held at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia.[1]

Saudi International
Tournament information
LocationKing Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia
Established2019
Course(s)Royal Greens Golf and Country Club
Par70
Length7,010 yards (6,410 m)
Organized byIMG
Tour(s)Asian Tour (from 2022)
European Tour (2019–2021)
FormatStroke play
Prize fundUS$5,000,000
Month playedFebruary
Tournament record score
Aggregate261 Dustin Johnson (2019)
To par−19 as above
Current champion
Dustin Johnson
Location Map
Royal Greens G&CC
Location in Saudi Arabia

History and controversies

Established in 2019 as a European Tour event, it was the first European Tour event to be played in Saudi Arabia, and was one of six European Tour events staged in the countries on the Arabian Peninsula.

The event has drawn criticism due to the government of Saudi Arabia's involvement in the event, based on their record of human rights within the country. This included paying large appearance fees to some of the world's top players.[2] The tournament ceased to be a European Tour event after the 2021 edition, and later that year it was announced that as a result, the PGA Tour would not allow their members to compete in future editions, with the European Tour expected to do the same.[3][4]

In September 2021, it was announced that it would become part of the Asian Tour's schedule. This involved a ten-year deal starting in 2022, with an increased prize fund of US$5,000,000.[5] In October it was announced that the event will become the flagship event of the Asian Tour.[6]

Winners
YearTour[lower-alpha 1]WinnerScoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-upWinner's
share ($)		Purse ($)
2021EUR Dustin Johnson (2)265−152 strokes Tony Finau
Justin Rose		572,7783,500,000
2020EUR Graeme McDowell268−122 strokes Dustin Johnson583,3303,500,000
2019EUR Dustin Johnson261−192 strokes Li Haotong583,3303,500,000
  1. EUR − European Tour.

References
  1. "Inaugural Saudi Arabia Golf event". PGA European Tour. 28 April 2018.
  2. Garside, Kevin (31 January 2019). "Golf is just tip of the iceberg in West's dealings with Saudi Arabia – so why the sudden outrage?". inews. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  3. Lynch, Eamon (28 July 2021). "Exclusive: PGA Tour will deny stars permission to play controversial Saudi International". Golfweek. USA Today. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  4. Leonard, Tod (28 July 2021). "Report: PGA Tour will deny players permission to play in Saudi International". Golf Digest. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  5. "Saudi International and Asian Tour confirm historic 10-year partnership". Asian Tour. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  6. "Greg Norman officially announced as head of Saudi-backed golf series". Golf Channel. 29 October 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  •  Saudi Arabia portal
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.