This is huge news for the world of international sports in general and professional gulf in particular: The European Tour has confirmed that it will bring its prestigious golfing event to Saudi Arabia for the first time in 2019.
The PGA European Tour is a UK organization that heads the three main professional golf tours in Europe for men golfers. These tours are the elite European Tour, the European Senior Tour and the developmental Challenge Tour. The organization’s headquarters are located in Surrey, England and while most events on the PGA European Tour's three tours are traditionally held in Europe, recent years have seen an increase in the number of tours that have been held outside Europe.
The European Tour is considered to be the second most important tour in men's golf, only behind the PGA Tour. Out of the many world-class athletes who will be welcomed to the 2019 tournament in Saudi Arabia are American professional golfers Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed, Paul Casey from the UK and Thomas Bjørn from Denmark.
Patrick Reed with his wife and daughter after winning a tournament
The schedule for the 2019 season was recently released and it confirmed the event’s dates to be 31 January–3 February. This high-profile event will take place at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City, which is located north of Jeddah.
Thomas Bjørn
The deal to take this tournament to Saudi Arabia was drawn up in March 2018 when Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud came to London to discuss the project and strike a deal with European Tour CEO Keith Pelley.
According to The Independent, after the Memorandum of Understanding was signed, Pelley said: “We are very excited to be taking the first steps toward bringing professional golf to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the first time and I must thank His Royal Majesty, Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud for his vision in making this happen.
The Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City
“I also applaud the Saudi Arabia General Sports Authority, the Saudi Arabian Golf Federation and everyone at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club for their commitment and support.
“I also hope this partnership will raise the profile of the game in the Kingdom and that we will see more Saudi players competing at the international level in the future.”
H.E. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, chairman of the Saudi Golf Federation, also added that: “The tournament will provide an important platform for us to showcase Saudi Arabia’s many assets to the world, from our golf courses and facilities to our rich cultural heritage to our business credentials and our ever developing lifestyle and entertainment offerings."
The Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City
Dustin Johnson, one of the qualified and invited professional golfers from the USA gave praise the Tour’s and said that he is, “excited to make my first trip to Saudi Arabia and support this historic new event. It sounds like some amazing things are happening there, including big plans for junior and family golf development. It’s an honor to be part of Saudi Arabia’s golf journey from the onset.”
