The European Tour visits Saudi Arabia for the inaugural Saudi International powered by SBIA. Here are five things to know about the new event.
World’s Best
The World’s Number One, Two and Three ranked players will tee it up at the Saudi International powered by SBIA, as Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson take to the tee.
Also joining the elite trio is last week’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic winner, and World Number Five Bryson DeChambeau. The American comes into the Saudi International powered by SBIA following a stellar performance where he carded a tournament- record score of 24 under par, giving him a seven-stroke victory and his first European Tour title.
Overall, there are five former World Number Ones in the field with Ernie Els and Lee Westwood joining Johnson, Koepka and Rose.
Ryder Cup talent
Several stars from The 2018 Ryder Cup will add to the strong field this week. Reigning Masters Champion and European Tour member Patrick Reed will re-join his American teammates, Koepka, Johnson and DeChambeau, while five players from Team Europe’s winning side will be listed on the tee sheet.
Joining Rose are European teammates Henrik Stenson, Ian Poulter, Thorbjørn Olesen and the most prolific point-getter in Ryder Cup history, Sergio Garcia.
In addition to the nine players, European captain Thomas Bjørn and vice-captains Westwood and Robert Karlsson add to the strong field.
Royal Greens Golf and Country Club
The Saudi International powered by SBIA will be played at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club located within King Abdullah Economic City. Royal Greens is a par 70 course designed by London-based European Golf Design. The course stretches along the spectacular Red Sea coastline, and the club boasts the championship golf course, a state of the art clubhouse, a world-class practice facility as well as residential and recreational facilities.
The Saudi Golf Federation National Team use the facilities at Royal Greens, and the aim of the tournament is to help grow the game of golf in the Kingdom.
Major feel
Eight Major Champions will aim to add the inaugural Saudi International powered by SBIA to their list of career titles.
Koepka and Reed accounted for three of the four Major-wins in 2018 and both players maintain strong ties to the European Tour. Last year, Reed finished second on the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex, while Koepka first earned his place in the world of professional golf on the European Challenge Tour, where he won four times.
Els, Trevor Immelman, Garcia, Johnson, Rose and Stenson add to Koepka and Reed’s total to bring a combined 13 Major titles to Royal Greens G&CC.
Country 48
The European Tour has visited 47 countries since its inception in 1972, and Saudi Arabia will become the 48th host-country when the star-studded field begins competition on Thursday at Royal Greens.
The Saudi International powered by SBIA is one of three new events on the 2019 Race to Dubai.
This week’s event joins the ISPS Handa Vic Open and the Kenya Open in making their debut on the European Tour International Schedule.
