Saudi International (golf)

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Saudi International
CMYK SaudiInternational Stacked-01.png
Tournament information
LocationKing Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia
Established2019
Course(s)
Par70
Length7,010 yards (6,410 m)
Organized byIMG
Tour(s)Asian Tour
European Tour
FormatStroke play
Prize fundUS$5,000,000
Month playedFebruary
Tournament record score
Aggregate261 Dustin Johnson (2019)
To par−19 as above
Current champion
United States Dustin Johnson
Location Map
Royal Greens G&CC is located in Saudi Arabia
Royal Greens G&CC
Royal Greens G&CC
Location in Saudi Arabia

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

History[]

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 involvement of Saudi Arabia's government in the event, based on their record of human rights within the country and their ventures of "sportswashing". 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] In December, the PGA Tour revealed that they would grant their members releases to play in the event in 2022; on the condition that they committed to play in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in some form in the following years.[7]

Winners[]

Year Tour[a] Winner Score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up Winner's
share ($)		 Purse ($)
2022 ASA 833,333 5,000,000
2021 EUR United States Dustin Johnson (2) 265 −15 2 strokes United States Tony Finau
England Justin Rose		 572,778 3,500,000
2020 EUR Northern Ireland Graeme McDowell 268 −12 2 strokes United States Dustin Johnson 583,330 3,500,000
2019 EUR United States Dustin Johnson 261 −19 2 strokes China Li Haotong 583,330 3,500,000
  1. ^ ASA − Asian Tour; 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.
  7. ^ "PGA Tour allows players to compete at Saudi International". Irish Times. 21 December 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021.

External links[]

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