The man at the helm of Saudi Arabia's golfing revolution has described this week's PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers as the beginning of "the next chapter" for golf in the Kingdom, after closing the book on what he described as a "transformative" 2021. As Deputy Chairman & CEO of Golf Saudi and the Saudi Golf Federation, Majed Al Sorour has been captaining the Kingdom's crusade into the game since 2018. In that short period of time, Saudi Arabia has gone from a rank outsider to a key player in the world of golf — from a golfing outlier to host of no fewer than six elite level global tournaments, with a burgeoning uptake of the sport nationwide. With the addition of a new Aramco Team Series tournament in Asia this year, that number of events will rise to seven: five Aramco Team Series events, and both the Aramco Saudi Ladies International presented by PIF and the PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers, the latter of which returns to Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, KAEC, with a superstar cast of golfers, this week. However, while the on-course action will follow an identical format to its prior three events, the 2022 PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers marks an exciting new dawn for the tournament, as it will be the first played as an Asian Tour sanctioned event. After its maiden three tournaments being part of the European Tour calendar, the PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers starts afresh as part of a ten-year agreement between Golf Saudi and the Asian Tour — a partnership that has seen the event's prizemoney increase from $3.5m to $5m, and will see the field packed with superstar players from across Europe, the Americas and the Asia Pacific. To Al Sorour, the move of the Kingdom's flagship tournament onto the Asian Tour marks yet another milestone moment for Golf Saudi and the golfing ambitions of Saudi Arabia. He said: "The 2022 PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers will be the most globally significant event we have hosted to date. The tournament itself will be the biggest prize-fund event in Asian Tour history and will feature the strongest field of any Asian Tour event ever played. "With this comes great momentum for Golf Saudi as a governing body and offers us the chance to continue to accelerate the growth of the game here within the Kingdom and worldwide. That has been our ambition from Day 1 — and will continue to be what drives us looking forward. "We have achieved incredible success to this point, with 2021 really proving to be a transformative year: from the roll-out of four brand new international events, to the official launch of our Ladies First Club, which saw more than 1,000 women and girls eagerly commit to learning golf. "However, our ambitions — in line with those of Vision 2030 — remain as bold as ever. And while 2021 was a phenomenal year of growth for grassroots golf and our support of both the men's and women's game, 2022 will be even bigger." That starts with this week's return of the PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers, which brings with it one of strongest fields in international golf, with big-name major-winners including reigning champion Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Shane Lowry, Bubba Watson and Henrik Stenson all Jeddah-bound, where they will go toe-to-toe with the best players from across the world. "It's a thrill for us to be heading into a new market through our partnership with the Asian Tour," added Al Sorour. "To be able to again further our support of global golf by backing events and players across Asia is a great feeling." As a staunch supporter of men's and women's professional golf, Golf Saudi — backed by the wider Kingdom — made its biggest commitment yet to the growth of the game with the introduction of the Aramco Team Series last year: four $1million team events played in London, Spain, New York and Jeddah as part of the Ladies European Tour. Al Sorour said: "With its unique team plus amateur format, the Aramco Team Series has brought with it a new format that has helped to truly elevate the LET calendar — and helped everyone rediscover and rethink the opportunities available within golf, at all levels. "For a series of maiden events, each Aramco Team Series tournament really did exceed even our greatest expectations. They were universally loved by all competing players, who saw each event as a unifying experience that brought them closer and helped cement greater friendships on Tour. Even on the course the format enabled all our players to feel more relaxed and enjoy the emotions that come with playing elite level team golf." He continued: "The events helped contribute to far greater global exposure for the women's game, too. With our tournament in New York, the ATS became the first ever LET event to be held Stateside, introducing a whole new wave of people to the Tour. That event alone saw us broadcast in 77 different international markets, for almost 1,200 hours. Our events in the London, Spain and Jeddah reached similar numbers. "Then there's the financial benefit that the four events brought to the LET and its players. Not a single player of the 164 who competed in the debut calendar of ATS events left empty-handed. Of the mere 35 players to play in more than one ATS event and not finish within the money-placings in their individual competitions, each took home an average of $6,100 from the team side of the tournaments. "As a further example, Hayley Davis — who finished 95th in the Race to Costa Del Sol and is ranked 519th in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings — earned $4,889 finishing no higher than 30th in any of ATS individual events. However, her 13th, 1st, 2nd and 7th placed finishes in the team events earned her $84,447.94. "That, to me, is where the ATS really helped elevate the women's game and really changed what is on offer over the course of the LET season — and is momentum and forward-thinking we are keen to continue on with. "The newly sanctioned PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers is the next part of that, so we are all excited to tee-off a new year continuing to chase our grand ambitions, expanding into new markets and territories, and growing the game for all." — SG
