Free-to-air live golf will return to the UK with coverage of the PIF Saudi International Powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers from February 3-6.
Freesports, a new TV channel showing free sport to millions of UK homes, will broadcast all four rounds of the Asian Tour event that has attracted the biggest names in golf.
These include US stars Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele, Tony Finau, Patrick Reed and Phil Mickelson who are all confirmed for the tournament taking place in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) near Jeddah.
They will be joined by a host of European Ryder Cup players including Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry, Ian Poulter, Tommy Fleetwood, Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia who will be on show at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club from February 3.
Other big international names making their debut in the Kingdom will be Australian duo Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith with one of the highest OWGR point totals in international golf on offer.
With no other golf currently on free-to-air TV, UK viewers will be able to enjoy 19 hours of live coverage across the weekend with highlights included.
Majed Al-Sorour, Deputy Chairman and CEO of Golf Saudi and the Saudi Golf Federation, said: “Fans across the world will witness a truly world class international field assembling in Saudi Arabia for the showcase event on the newly revamped Asian Tour. We’re still a relatively young tournament that’s continually looking at ways to innovative and grow year on year. Making it available and accessible for a potential bigger audience, in key markets like the UK through Freesports, is a fantastic opportunity for us to take the tournament to new viewers.”
The PIF Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers recently announced a 10-year partnership with the Asian Tour, which will play a key role in helping the Asian Tour to establish itself in the global game to its massive audience of golf fans. The Asian Tour’s top 30 players, alongside the best new talent coming through from the Middle East, will all be on show in Saudi Arabia for the fourth edition of the fast-growing tournament.
Other international broadcasters confirmed for the tournament will include Golf Channel (USA & Canada), ESPN China + Guangdong Golf Channel (China), StarHub (Singapore), SPO TV (Korea)
PCCW (Hong Kong), Fuji TV (Japan), Eurosport India / Golf TV (India + India Subcontinent) Saudi Sports Channel (KSA) and Dubai Sports (KSA, UAE), Canal + (France + French speaking Africa), SuperSport (Sub-Sahara Africa).
For more information about the tournament, visit www.golfsaudi.com
FreeSports in the UK is available on Sky HD Channel 422, Virgin TV HD Channel 553, Freeview Channel 64, BT/TalkTalk Channel 64 and online via the FreeSports Player. In Ireland, FreeSports is available on channel 422 on Sky.
PIF Saudi International Powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers
Live coverage on FreeSport (All Times UK GMT)
Round 1, February 3 – 08:00 – 10:00 & 11:30 -14:30
Round 2, February 4 – 08:00 – 10:00 & 11:30 -14:30
Round 3, February 5 – 08:30 – 13:00
Round 4, February 6 – 08:30 – 13:00