Former Masters champion Patrick Reid and US Ryder Cup star Tony Finau are among several new players to signed up to play in next month’s PIF Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers.
Part of the Asian Tour‘s schedule, the tournament, which is being held at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club from February 3-6, looks set to be the strongest in the tour’s history.
Reed will once again be returning to Saudi Arabia, playing in every tournament since the inaugural event in 2019, while Finau, who finished runner-up last year, will be looking to go one better to kickstart his 2022 season.
Previously announced players announced include defending champion Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Louis Oosthuizen, Sergio Garcia, Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood and Phil Mickelson.
Alongside four of the world’s top 10, the tournament will also see several new faces with a debut for Matthew Wolff, one of golf’s hottest young talents. Further newcomers to join the field include Australian trio Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman and Lucas Herbert. Frenchman Victor Perez will also be among those competing for a prize fund of $5 million and one of the highest OWGR point totals in international golf.
Alongside some of the star names confirmed will be the leading 30 players from the final 2020-21 Asian Tour Order of Merit ‒ which will be finalised after this month’s The Singapore International and SMBC Singapore Open. Wade Ormsby (Australia), Phachara Khongwatmai (Thailand) and Joohyung Kim (South Korea) are the current top-three ranked players.
Majed Al-Sorour, CEO and Deputy Chairman of Golf Saudi and the Saudi Golf Federation, said: “We have a truly world class international field assembling for the 2022 edition of the Saudi International. The mix of the world’s best players from across the US, Europe and Asia Pacific will make this year our most anticipated yet.
“Bringing together strong fields for our international men’s and women’s events has shown to play a vital role in driving participation and engagement in the sport in Saudi Arabia. The commitment from our long-term partners at the PIF to take the title position on the event has provided further recognition that the event has reached a level of strategic importance for Saudi Arabia, impacting our schools and grassroots programmes as well as our rapidly improving national teams as part of the long journey we’re on in Saudi Arabia.”
PIF Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers recently announced a 10-year partnership with the Asian Tour.
Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner and CEO of the Asian Tour, added: “We are under a month to go before one of the biggest events in the history of the Asian Tour. And with our season-ending double-header in Singapore approaching to confirm our top 30 players from the Order of Merit, we are all set for a hugely significant week. The tournament will give our members an incredible opportunity to play with many of the game’s global stars and allow us to further increase our fan base.”