By Kent Gray
World No.1 Dustin Johnson and newly minted Masters champion Patrick Reed will headline Saudi Arabia’s European Tour debut in early 2019.
Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn and Paul Casey, the current world No.13 who is likely to be part of the Dane’s European team for September’s matches near Paris, have also been confirmed for the event at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club.
Saudi Golf Federation chairman, H.E. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, unveiled the big names at the official opening of the new course which hugs a spectacular stretch of Red Sea coastline in King Abdullah Economic City. Further details, including the tournament’s name and prize fund, will follow in the “coming weeks” but European Tour chief Keith Pelley promised it’s “only the start of our player announcements”.
The European Tour has locked in a date for the Royal Greens event – January 31 to February 3 – meaning it will follow the week after the 30th anniversary Omega Dubai Desert Classic from Jan. 24-27. The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship will likely kick-start the new look Desert Swing from Jan. 17-20. While not confirmed, it seems likely Johnson will once again start his season in Abu Dhabi before playing in Saudi while Reed’s schedule will be interesting after his previous appearances at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates. It wouldn’t surprise if he plays the Desert Classic to split the drawcard firepower.
Johnson was saying all the right things in a prepared statement: “I am 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 honour to be part of Saudi Arabia’s golf journey from the onset.”
Reed concurred: “It’s been a crazy few weeks since I won at Augusta and so much fun. I had not, at this stage, finalised anything in my schedule for next year but when I heard about the ambitious plans for golf in Saudi Arabia, I committed straight away.”
Fahd Al Rasheed, H.E. Yasir bin Othman Al-Rumayyan and Keith Pelley, Photo: Paul Severn.
Al-Rumayyan underlined the Saudi Golf Federation’s ambitious plans to accelerate golf development in the Kingdom via the new event.
“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.”
Pelley, currently in Saudi at the opening of Royal Greens alongside Ernie Els and Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston, hailed the course as a “spectacular venue, with world class facilities, and our players are going to absolutely love playing there.”
“We are a global Tour and this is an exciting opportunity for us to play in a new country which has a strong focus on golf as part of its vision for the future.”
