Saudi International (golf)
European Tour golf tournament
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Saudi International is a professional golf tournament. It was held at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia, from 2019 until 2023. The tournament moved to Riyadh Golf Club for the 2024 edition.[1] The tournament has been title sponsored by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), a Saudi government sovereign wealth fund since 2022.[2]
| |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
| Established | 2019 |
| Course | Riyadh Golf Club |
| Par | 71 |
| Length | 7,411 yards (6,777 m) |
| Organized by | IMG |
| Tour(s) | European Tour Asian Tour |
| Format | Stroke play |
| Prize fund | US$5,000,000 |
| Month played | November |
| Tournament record score | |
| Aggregate | 261 Dustin Johnson (2019) 261 Abraham Ancer (2023) |
| To par | −22 Josele Ballester (2025) |
| Current champion | |
 Josele Ballester | |
| Location map | |
  Riyadh GC Location in Saudi Arabia | |
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.[3] 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.[4]
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.[5][6] 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$5,000,000.[7] In October, it was announced that the event would become the flagship event of the Asian Tour.[8] In December, the PGA Tour revealed that they would grant their members releases to play in the event in 2022; on the condition that they committed to play in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in some form in the following years.[9]
In January 2022, it was announced that the Saudi Public Investment Fund had become the new title sponsor of the event.[2]
Winners
| Asian Tour (International Series) | 2024– | |
| Asian Tour (Flagship event) | 2022 | |
| European Tour/Asian Tour (Regular) | 2019–2021, 2023 |
| # | Year | Tour[a] | Winner | Score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up | Purse (US$) | Winner's share ($) | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIF Saudi International | ||||||||||
| 7th | 2025 | ASA | Josele Ballester | 262 | −22 | 3 strokes |  Caleb Surratt | 5,000,000 | 1,000,000 | Riyadh GC |
| 6th | 2024 | ASA |  Joaquín Niemann | 263 | −21 | Playoff |  Cameron Smith Caleb Surratt | 5,000,000 | 1,000,000 | Riyadh GC |
| 5th | 2023 | ASA |  Abraham Ancer | 261 | −19 | 2 strokes | Cameron Young | 5,000,000 | 1,000,000 | Royal Greens |
| 4th | 2022 | ASA | Harold Varner III | 267 | −13 | 1 stroke | Bubba Watson | 5,000,000 | 1,000,000 | Royal Greens |
| Saudi International | ||||||||||
| 3rd | 2021 | EUR | Dustin Johnson (2) | 265 | −15 | 2 strokes | Tony Finau Justin Rose | 3,500,000 | 572,778 | Royal Greens |
| 2nd | 2020 | EUR |  Graeme McDowell | 268 | −12 | 2 strokes | Dustin Johnson | 3,500,000 | 583,330 | Royal Greens |
| 1st | 2019 | EUR | Dustin Johnson | 261 | −19 | 2 strokes |  Li Haotong | 3,500,000 | 583,330 | Royal Greens |
See also
Notes
- ASA − Asian Tour; EUR − European Tour.
