Phil Mickelson of the USA
The PIF Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers will return February 2-5 with one of its strongest fields to date. Eleven major champions will take on Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, including the American quintet of Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Bubba Watson, and Phil Mickelson with a combined 15 major titles between them.
Tickets are now available (click here) for the fifth instalment of the tournament that is the flagship event on the Asian Tour.
Two-time PIF Saudi International winner Johnson is set to return to Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, a course he has impressive control over, having never finished outside the top-eight. The American, a real fan favourite, commented: “I always look forward to returning to this event, I have fond memories here and really like the course. It suits my game very well and I love the challenge that the wind off the Red Sea can bring on the back nine.”
With 28 professional wins to his name, including two majors, Johnson has regularly spoken about the importance of growing the game in new regions. “This is the fifth consecutive year I’ve returned to Saudi Arabia and it’s been amazing to see the growth and interest in the game since 2019. You can see the interest level rising by the year in Saudi and it has been awesome to help introduce a sport I love to a new audience.”
Johnson will be joined by fellow countrymen and powerhouses Koepka and DeChambeau, while the tournament will also mark Watson’s return to competitive golf following a season-ending knee injury last May. The two-time Masters champion held the clubhouse lead in the 2022 edition, forcing Harold Varner III to hole a sensational 92-foot eagle putt to claim the victory by one.
“Last year was an incredible event, I did everything I could on the back nine to win, including the eagle on the last but Harold went one step further with that insane putt. It was cool to be able to celebrate that special moment with him and see him get that maiden victory. We went on to be teammates for the rest of the year so it’s been great to see his growth since then.” said Watson.
“I’d obviously love to go one higher in the 2023 and win the event but mainly I’m hoping for a healthy restart to competitive golf and want to get some solid rounds under my belt around a beautiful golf course. I always look forward to going back to this event.”
Bryson DeChambeau of the USA. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
The four Americans will be joined in King Abdullah Economic City by compatriot and golfing legend Phil Mickelson, marking his fourth return to the tournament. Mickelson’s highest finish came in 2020 when he finished three shots behind winner Graeme McDowell in a tie for third place.
The American stars join the previously announced defending champion Varner III and world no.3 Cameron Smith. Other household names include Englishmen Ian Poulter, Paul Casey and Lee Westwood, 2017 Masters Champion Sergio Garcia, plus Asian Tour Order of Merit winner Sihwan Kim and International Series Order of Merit winner Scott Vincent.
| · Harold Varner
· Dustin Johnson · Graeme McDowell · Cameron Smith · Cameron Young · Joaquin Niemann · Abraham Ancer · Talor Gooch · Jason Kokrak · Kevin Na · Louis Oosthuizen · Brooks Koepka · Paul Casey · Lucas Herbert · Cameron Tringale · Bryson Dechambeau · Adrian Otaegui · Patrick Reed · Marc Leishman · Scott Vincent · Richard Bland · Anirban Lahiri · Sadom Kaewkanjana · Victor Perez · Rikuya Hoshino · Matt Jones · Sam Horsfield · Sergio Garcia · Yuki Inamori · Hudson Swafford · Bernd Wiesberger · Bio Kim · Jhonattan Vegas · Ian Poulter · Bubba Watson · Matthew Wolff · Takumi Kanaya · Cameron Champ · Laurie Canter · Charl Schwartzel · Justin Harding |
· Lee Westwood · Ryosuke Kinoshita · Phachara Khongwatmai · Hennie Du Plessis · Branden Grace · Sihwan Kim · Hiroshi Iwata · Saud Abdullah Al Sherif · Othman Ibrahim Almulla · Kiradech Aphibarnrat · Flippo Celli · Ratchanon Chantananuwat · Taylor Dickson · Ding Wenyi · Louis James Dobbelaar · Oliver Fisher · Matt Killen · Tom Lewis · Stefano Mazzoli · John Pak · David Puig · Quinn Riley · Faisal Mohammed Salhab · Taiga Semikawa · Peter Uihlein · Pat Perez · Eugenio Chacarra · Carlos Ortiz · Chase Koepka · Henrik Stenson · Wade Ormsby · Charles Howell III · James Piot · Phil Mickelson · Turk Pettit · Jediah Morgan · Jinichiro Kozuma · Shergo Al Kurdi |
· Travis Smyth · Hideto Tanihara · Jazz Janewattananond · Andy Ogletree · Naraajie E. Ramadhanputra · El Mehdi Fakori · Issa Abouelela · Louis de Jager · Yeongsu Kim · Gaganjeet Bhullar · Danthai Boonma · Itthipat Buranatanyarat · Chan Shih-chang · Kosuke Hamamoto · Berry Henson · Tiriwat Kaewsiribandit · Rashid Khan · Richard T. Lee · Steve Lewton · Taehoon Ok · Paul Peterson · Ajeetesh Sandhu · Todd Sinnott · Ian Snyman · Sarit Suwannarut · Pavit Tangkamolprasert · Nitithorn Thippong · Jarin Todd · Rattanon Wannasrichan · Shubhankar Sharma · Scott Hend · Sanghyun Park · Minkyu Kim · Trevor Simsby · Suradit Yongcharoenchai · Jbe Kruger · Yikeun Chang · Miguel Carballo · Taehee Lee
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The Asian Tour’s flagship event will welcome a 118-strong field, bringing together household names as well as the stars and future stars of Asian golf. Players confirmed for the 2022 Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment advisers are as follows:
The PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers moved onto the Asian Tour circuit in 2022 as part of a new partnership. The four-day event has a $5million prize fund and will once again seek to have one of the highest Official World Golf Ranking point totals in international golf when it tees-off in February.
For more information about the PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers and future Golf Saudi events, visit www.golfsaudi.com.
