This month marks the 200th edition of Golf Digest Middle East. It is a milestone that takes us back to 2008, when we first launched the magazine and set out to bring world-class golf coverage to the region.

There is no better way to celebrate the number one golf magazine in the Middle East than by reflecting on the local stories, major events and exclusive features with the game’s leading professionals that have shaped our journey. You can revisit some of those highlights on page 44!

It has been another busy stretch for golf in the region. Freddy Schott claimed his maiden DP World Tour title in Bahrain, while Patrick Reed continued his strong run of form with his second win of the season in Qatar.

LIV Golf opened its campaign under the lights at Riyadh Golf Club with Elvis Smylie taking centre stage, before the Ladies European Tour arrived a week later for the PIF Global Series, where Charley Hull triumphed at the PIF Saudi Ladies International.

This month, we also sat down with South Africa’s Jayden Schaper to discuss his journey to two DP World Tour titles at just 24 years of age.

Our Hot List coverage continues with a focus on the latest irons to hit the market. There are 34 models worth your attention!

Instruction remains at the heart of what we do. Bobby Clampett explains why and how to hit down on your irons, Todd Anderson breaks down the three essential tee shots every player should master, and Katie Dahl demonstrates a punch shot that can get you out of trouble when you need it most.

All this and plenty more in the March 2026 edition of Golf Digest Middle East.

The issue is again free to our loyal audience. You can scroll through the ISSUU link provided here or download it to your favourite device for later. Alternatively, pick up a copy at your favourite golf club. Whatever option you take, we hope you enjoy the read.

The post Get your FREE March 2026 edition of Golf Digest Middle East here! appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The big winner at LIV Golf’s season opener in Riyadh, under the lights in Saudi Arabia, was clearly the man who lifted two trophies and is cashing two checks for individual and team victories. Elvis Smylie, a 23-year-old who had never won a pro tournament outside of his native Australia, played brilliantly all week in his LIV debut, including shooting a final-round 64 to hold off by one shot two-time major champion Jon Rahm, who applied the heat with a 63.

Between his own victory and that of his Ripper GC team with three fellow Aussies, Smylie earned in the neighbourhood of $4.75 million.

Here’s the prize money breakdown for each golfer at the 2026 LIV Golf Riyadh

The week’s biggest loser? Well, getting solo third place and a $1.5 million check is nothing to scoff at, but American Peter Uihlein became the first “victim” of LIV’s effort to strengthen its World Ranking points position by expanding its format to 72 holes this season.

In any of the first four years of the Saudi-backed league, Uihlein would have reached a playoff against Smylie after they shot 66 and 65, respectively, in the third round to stand tied at 16 under. They would have dueled for the $4 million first prize. Instead, neither had that chance, and it was Uihlein who ended up with $2.5 million less in his pocket than Smylie.

This reaction is everything

@ElvisSmylie is a LIV Golf champion!#LIVGolfRiyadh @rippergc_ pic.twitter.com/NTnvKBUfef

— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) February 7, 2026

“Thanks for bringing that up,” Uihlein, a 36-year-old former college star at Oklahoma State, said with a smile ahead of the final round.

He added that he thought 72 holes fit him better, but it was Smylie—never a part of LIV’s 54-hole events—who didn’t show any signs of fading while playing amid the laser beams and loud music. Smylie is, after all, named for a beloved American singer who thrived amid the bright lights of Vegas.

After Smylie birdied the first hole to pull one ahead of Uihlein, the left-hander never again was tied for the lead, and he tore up Riyadh Golf Club’s benign back nine with four birdies in the first five holes en route to shooting five under on the inward nine. That was just enough to hold off the hard-charging Rahm, who poured in six birdies on the back, including four straight to finish.

Smylie, who didn’t suffer a bogey over his last 39 holes, did have something of a nervy 72nd hole. He drove left into the rough, and his approach came up at least 70 feet short in the front fringe. But Smylie hit a firm putt from there that went just past the hole, giving him a straightforward par putt for the one-shot victory over Rahm, who was LIV’s individual season champion last year despite earning no wins.

“It’s a dream come true,” Smylie said. “I really didn’t know what to expect this week. Playing at night is obviously a whole different ballgame out here.

“I wanted to come out here and make a statement. I wanted to prove that I’m one of the best out here, and I feel like I’ve done that, and it’s only up from here.”

That Smylie would celebrate the Rippers’ team win—they beat the Joaquin Niemann-led Torque GC by only three shots—by getting a hug from his captain, past Open Championship winner Cam Smith, was truly a full-circle life moment. The two have been close since Smylie was awarded the Cam Smith Scholarship in 2019 that goes to promising young golfers in Australia. The then-teenager got to spend a week with Smith in his Florida home and learn about his approach to the professional game.

“He’s world-class at what he does,” Smylie said of Smith on Sunday. “And I feel like I have so much to learn from him, and I feel like I’m only going to get better and better.”

Remarkably, Smylie, after winning twice on PGA Tour of Australasia in 2024, captured his first top-level pro victory late in ’24 when he beat Smith by two shots in the DP World Tour’s BMW Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland, not far from where he grew up.

“I genuinely think he can be the best golfer in the world,” Smith said this week. “He’s got all the tools of the trade. He just needs to keep doing what he’s doing and knuckle down. He’s got the mentality. He showed it out there today. He’s got the grit. He’s a Queenslander, so that comes with it.”

After the Australian PGA win, Smylie posted five more top-10 finishes on the DP World Tour before signing with LIV in mid-January.

At the time, Smith called Smylie joining LIV’s team of Aussies “a huge moment, not just for Ripper GC, but for Australian golf. It represents the next wave of Australian talent coming through at a time when the sport is absolutely booming back home.”

That impact figures to be wildly celebrated soon, when LIV moves on next week to Australia for its Adelaide event that is the most embraced and best-attended tournament on the schedule.

“[The win] gives me a huge amount of confidence, going back home next week to Adelaide,” Smylie said. “It’s going to be really exciting playing in front of a home crowd.”

Smylie’s week also was significant because he becomes the first to win a LIV event that was afforded Official World Golf Ranking points. The development that was announced earlier in the week, with the OWGR board deciding to give points to the top-10 finishers and ties in each LIV tournament, was met with unhappiness for LIV and some of its players. While the five-year-old league called it a “long-overdue moment of recognition,” its leadership also said “this outcome is unprecedented” for its tight limitation on the points awarded.

Smylie, who made his LIV debut as the 134th player in the world, will earn approximately 23 points for his win—comparable to the champions of opposite-field events on the PGA Tour. It’s more points than will be accumulated by the winner of this week’s DP World Tour Qatar Masters.

Follow Golf Digest Middle East on social media

Instagram

X

Facebook

YouTube

Main Image: Francois Nel

The post Elvis loves the lights: Rising Australian star scores stunning win in LIV Golf debut appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Other than that.

The league started in Saudi Arabia and for the second consecutive year it played at night. The field is now up to 57 players, consisting of four players on each of 13 teams and five wild card additions.

Less than a month after signing with LIV Golf, Australian 23-year-old Elvis Smylie shot a closing eight-under-par 64 on Saturday to win the season-opening event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and take home the $4 million top prize from the $30 million purse. Smylie recorded a 24-under total that was one shot better than two-time major winner Jon Rahm, who put the pressure on by shooting 63.

On the strength of Smylie’s performance, his team of four Australians that also includes Cam Smith, Marc Leishman and Lucas Herbert captured the team title by three strokes over the Torque GC team led by Joaquin Niemann. Ripper splits $3 million for its victory. Quite a payday for Smylie.

Aside from Smylie, nine other players made their LIV Golf debuts as full-time members this week: Thomas Detry, Victor Perez, Michael La Sasso, Ben An, Minkyu Kim, Younghan Song, Yosuke Asaji, Bjorn Hellgren and Richard Lee. The Iron Heads are now called Korean Golf Club and Stinger GC is now called the Southern Guards. Ollie Schniederjans started in place of Phil Mickelson and Ben Schmidt started for Lee Westwood.

Here’s the rundown of what each player and team earned this week in Saudi Arabia.

Here’s the prize money breakdown for each golfer at the 2026 LIV Golf Riyadh

Main Image: LIV Golf

The post Here’s the prize money breakdown for each golfer at the 2026 LIV Golf Riyadh appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Mickelson is absent for the first two events of the season (Riyadh and next week’s Adelaide stop) due to a family health matter.

“The opportunity to play LIV Golf Riyadh is incredible and I always have a great time competing with the HyFlyers,” said Schniederjans. “For me playing on a team means a lot and I want to play great for myself, and also for Phil and the guys.

“For Riyadh in particular, it is a very exciting week being the season opener. Playing under the lights makes it a really cool experience. I loved it last year but was unable to play as well as I’d like. I do feel more prepared this year.”

Schniederjans has already proven he can compete with the very best on the global stage, claiming the 2025 International Series India presented by DLF with a four-stroke victory over 2024 U.S. Open champion and Crushers GC captain Bryson DeChambeau.

RELATED: Tabuena earns Riyadh call-up for Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces GC

Despite the breakthrough, he endured a testing 2025 season, showing flashes of strong form but narrowly missing out on a full-time LIV Golf card through the Rankings pathway, before another near miss at LIV Golf Promotions.

Schniederjans believes those setbacks have only fuelled his motivation heading into the new season.

“I have always been super motivated to be at my highest level and to be competitive with the best in the world,” he said. “I am not shy to say that I’m gunning for a full spot on LIV and to be an asset to the league as a top player.

“I want to be part of LIV more than anybody. I believe in the future of LIV Golf and the global game. I know I have a lot to prove, and I’m working as hard and as smart as I can to get where I want to be.”

“I’ve been working as smart as possible, simplifying what I do, and I’ve come into the season in great health and in a much more prepared and consistent place,” he said. “I’m hoping to show what I can do and keep proving it.”

Looking ahead, Schniederjans remains excited by the scale and opportunity of The International Series’ 2026 calendar, including its global destinations and major championship qualification pathways.

Follow Golf Digest Middle East on social media

Instagram

X

Facebook

YouTube

Main Image: Mike Stobe/LIV Golf

The post Familiar venue for Schniederjans as he steps in for HyFlyers GC appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The field was playing for its customary $20 million purse with Meronk taking home the $4 million first-place prize money payout. The winning team, Legion XIII, split $3 million.

There were some minor tweaks to the LIV Golf rosters in the offseason, but overall, there was not big movement or any major additions to the circuit. Jon Rahm, Joaquin Niemann, Sergio Garcia, Tyrrell Hatton and Brooks Koepka were the top five in standings from 2024 and are all back. As is Bryson DeChambeau, the current U.S. Open champion. His Crushers team won the overall team title last year, topping Rahm’s Legion XIII.

Here’s the prize money breakdown for each golfer at the 2025 LIV Golf Riyadh presented by Maaden.

Main Image: LIV Golf

The post Here’s the prize money breakdown for each golfer at the 2025 LIV Golf Riyadh presented by Maaden appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Across the space of ten days, the Kingdom drew the eyeballs of world golf once again as Golf Saudi’s Riyadh Golf Club played host to the season opening LIV Golf Riyadh, then the return of the $5million PIF Saudi Ladies International – the biggest non-Major prize-fund on the Ladies European Tour.

Becoming the first ever LIV event to be played at night, LIV Golf Riyadh welcomed many of golf’s biggest names under the floodlights in a tournament that marked another major step in Saudi’s rise as a premier golf destination, inspiring the next generation of Saudi champions and welcoming more than 100,000 fans over its two weeks.

Competing in front of the passionate home crowd, Golf Saudi ambassadors Dustin Johnson, Talor Gooch, Harold Varner III, Jason Kokrak not only showcased their skills on the green but also their commitment to developing golf in Saudi Arabia. By supporting grassroots programs, mentoring emerging talent, and promoting Saudi golf on the global stage, they are helping shape the future of the game in the country, with more than 6,000 new golfers signing up for free lessons under Golf Saudi’s Go Golf imitative over both tournament weekends – and an estimated 70,000 giving the sport a try on-ground.

Adding to the local presence, Khaled Attieh, one of Saudi’s newest professional players and a recently announced Golf Saudi ambassador, was selected as reserve for the 2025 season-opening LIV event. His participation further underscored Saudi’s growing impact on the sport, as he gained valuable experience among some of the world’s top golfers. The tournament also featured the first ever Arab referee in LIV Golf history.

Across the three-day showcase, huge crowds of fans enjoyed world-class golf, entertainment and experiences during the innovative nighttime format – where Poland’s Adrian Meronk came out on top – with many of the returning a week later for Golf Saudi’s PIF Saudi Ladies International.

In doing so, they saw Jeeno Thitikul race to a runaway victory securing her 17th professional win with a final round of 69 to finish 16-under par.

The prodigious Thai, followed her compatriot Patty Tavatanakit who picked up the winner’s cheque as part of the $5 million Saudi’s flagship women’s golf tournament in 2024.

The event marked Thitikul’s first start of the season. Afterwards she said: “It’s the best present I’ve ever received in my life!” Adding: “To be honest, I didn’t think I’d be able to win my first event of the year at all because after a long offseason without playing tournaments, you need to adjust a little bit on the course. But winning here is a huge advantage. We can take this form and carry on the good things that happened here. More than anything, I think my team will be proud because we’ve worked really hard in the offseason, always trying to get better. Having a win here means we’re moving in the right direction.”

Thitikul started the final day at Riyadh Golf Club with a three-shot lead, which she quickly extended notching up four birdies in her first 10 holes, giving her a five-shot advantage with eight to play.

The World No. 4 would give just one shot back to the field over these holes, which proved too good for closest competitors Somi Lee, whose two-under-par round of 70 would hand her solo second, and England’s Annabell Fuller who made a remarkable recovery after a three-over front-nine to finish her round one over par and leave her alone in third place.

In securing third place, Fuller has made it back-to-back top 10s after a sixth placed finish on the Ladies European Tour (LET).

RELATED: Here’s the prize money breakdown for each golfer at the 2025 LIV Golf Riyadh presented by Maaden

After her final round, the 22-year-old Fuller, who will pocket $270,000 from the PIF Saudi Ladies International from finishing solo third, said: “I was saying to my parents last week, this kind of tournament is life-changing. Golf isn’t cheap, and neither is travelling, so having the opportunity to earn at this level is huge. It really helps make a career in the game more sustainable.

“It was awesome to play next to her [Jeeno Thitikul] and watch her game, she’s so good. Even when she made a mistake, seeing how she recovered was incredible. Her short game is just next level, and she always managed to get out of tough spots so well. For me, it’s a huge confidence boost to have two strong weeks back-to-back.”

Boasting an historic $5 million prize fund PIF Saudi Ladies International matches the men’s equivalent, the PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisors (played on the Asian Tour,) and represents the highest non-Major purse on the LET, illustrating Golf Saudi and PIF’s aligned commitment to enabling and advancing women in the game.

Following her victory, Thitikul addressed the significance of this.

She said: “I think Golf Saudi and PIF have done so much to elevate women’s golf and grow the game. I really appreciate how they see the potential in women’s golf and continue investing in it. The women’s game really needs this kind of support to keep growing, especially for the next generation. Hopefully, more fans will watch, whether on TV or coming out here in person. Saudi has done a really good job organizing a big event and bringing in top players to compete, which is great for women’s golf.”

Golf Saudi remains committed to making the sport more accessible to all, actively working to engage young players, increase participation, and cultivate future champions. By hosting world-class tournaments and offering development programs, Saudi Arabia is positioning itself as a hub for aspiring golfers, whether professional or amateur.

RELATED: Adrian Meronk lights up LIV Golf, going wire-to-wire to win groundbreaking night event

The post Saudi Arabia continues to cement its position as a global golf destination with LIV and the PIF Saudi Ladies International held back-to-back in Riyadh appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

On Saturday, at LIV Golf’s season opener in Saudi Arabia, Meronk became the winner of the first known men’s professional golf tournament held completely under lights when he dominated LIV Golf Riyadh in wire-to-wire fashion. The 31-year-old carded rounds of 62, 66 and 71 to finish at 17 under for three rounds, with two-time major winner Jon Rahm and Sebastian Muñoz sharing second at 15 under.

“It’s super special,” Meronk, who plays on Martin Kaymer’s Cleeks GC team, said of his maiden victory on LIV since joining in 2024. “I was nervous all day. I played quite good in the beginning, then the last couple holes [were] a battle for me but I’m super happy that I crossed the line.”

Those struggles invited Rahm, Munoz, Lucas Herbert (T-4), and T-6 finishers Sergio Garcia, Tyrrell Hatton and Bryson DeChambeau back into contention on the final day. After four-time DP World Tour winner Meronk started the day with a two-shot lead, he made birdies at Nos. 1 and 8 to hold a four-shot advantage at one stage.

Then disaster struck. He made bogeys at Nos. 10 and 11 before a truly vicious, horseshoe lip-out for birdie at No.13.

“I felt in control after nine holes, but after I missed a short one on the 10th for par, that’s where kind of the nerves started,” Meronk said. “Then I made another bogey and that lip-out on 13 was just so ugly. But it happens.”

But a towering short iron from 167 yards that settled to four feet on the par-4 16th allowed the 6-foot-6 Meronk some breathing room down the last two holes.

He collected the biggest winner’s check of his career—$4 million for individual first place. In the team competition, Rahm’s Legion XIII, with includes Hatton, new LIV recruit Tom McKibbin and Caleb Surratt, won by 11 shots at 50 under. LIV changed the format for the team component so that all four players’ scores counted for every round. It was Legion XIII’s fifth team victory since joining as an expansion team last season.

Meronk’s win aside, the most compelling element of LIV Golf’s season-opening event in Riyadh—which was up against the WM Phoenix Open, one of the most talked-about tournaments in world golf—was that it was the first tournament held under lights. The field teed off just after 6 p.m. local each of the three rounds. While the Ladies European Tour for two years held the Dubai Moonlight Classic, it was only partially played under lights.

Off the tee and on the green @JonRahmOfficial

LIVE now on FS2
Stream on the LIV Golf App#LIVGolfRiyadh @LegionXIIIgc pic.twitter.com/WXcTCDyVoE

— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) February 7, 2025

LIV embraced the night carvinal atmosphere by introducing The Boulevard, a futuristic fan village with amusement rides, virtual reality golf games, e-sports activations and performers. Lasers and lights beamed from the fan area around the course and LIV’s signature music was pumping during play and could be seen and heard on the broadcast.

After the second round, ’90s boy band Backstreet Boy headlined the post-round entertainment. While the look and feel was certainly different, LIV sure leaned into its modern take on golf tournaments.

“I really enjoyed it; I think it was a great setup,” Meronk said. “The lights were bright enough. We managed to see the ball quite well, even in the desert sometimes. I think we can definitely keep doing that and maybe add one more somewhere else.”

That created interesting storylines around how LIV’s players prepared for the challenges of depth perception, shadows, and temperature changes. For Rahm, the 2021 U.S. Open champion and 2023 Masters champion, he played a par 3 course near Scottsdale. “Luckily we have Grass Clippings, a par 3 course that is lit at night, so I got a couple rounds before coming here in very cold weather,” said Rahm.

For the Dubai-based players such as Meronk and McKibbin, there were plenty of options. McKibbin, who turned down one of 10 PGA Tour promotions from the DP World Tour to join LIV this season, plays at Trump International Dubai. That boasts a fully lit, Gil Hanse-designed par-3 course and an LED-lit back nine on its championship course.

“I think I prepared well for this tournament, playing a few rounds in Dubai, night golf, because you have to get used to the shadows, the lighting, the perception is a little bit different, especially around the greens and on the greens, reading the greens,” Meronk said.

“I like changes. I like new things.”

While LIV’s offseason was lean—McKibbin was the only notable signing—the league enjoyed a massive boost on the eve of LIV Golf Riyadh when the United States Golf Association announced it would become the first major championship to award a direct pathway from LIV to the U.S. Open. One player in the top of three (not already exempt) of its points standings leading up to Oakmont Country Club in June will earn a spot in the championship.

The USGA also announced that the top 10 LIV players in April will bypass local qualifying and instead earn direct spots into final 36-hole qualifying. Next year, the exemption for LIV’s leading points earners will extent to two spots. Soon after, The Telegraph in the U.K. reported the Open Championship would also offer LIV spots in the links major.

Naturally, Meronk leapt to the top of the LIV standings with 40 points for his Riyadh win.

In the past, LIV’s biggest criticism about the majors was, despite having stars on the roster such as Rahm, DeChambeau, Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka, there was no context to their league wins. Now, there is an opportunity for a non-exempt player to earn a pathway to two majors from LIV’s standings.

“It’s very important, yeah,” Meronk said. “[The U.S. Open] is going to be on my goal list for sure. I’m going to focus on that, just to keep going, keep playing good golf, and hopefully I can get a spot.”

Main Image: FAYEZ NURELDINE

The post Adrian Meronk lights up LIV Golf, going wire-to-wire to win groundbreaking night event appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

That champion was England’s Tyrrell Hatton, the European Ryder Cup star who will be the most experienced—and in-form—player when LIV Golf kicks off its 2025 season with an entire tournament under lights in Saudi Arabia. “That was my only experience, really, of night golf, and that was a while ago,” Hatton told Golf Digest ahead of the opening round of LIV Golf Riyadh on Thursday.

All three rounds at the Riyadh Golf Club will be held under lights, with the 54-player field teeing off in LIV’s shotgun starts just after 6 p.m. local.

Hatton, who plays on Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII team, noted the lights are merely one adjustment that players will be coping with at the season-opener as they play for LIV Golf’s typical $20 million purse and $4 million first-place prize money payout.

Here’s the prize money breakdown for each golfer at the 2025 LIV Golf Riyadh presented by Maaden

“It’ll be better for me to stay on English time and wake up late, because it’s three hours behind Riyadh,” Hatton added. “It’s such a late start. [You don’t want to be] too tired by the time the evening comes around because it’s going to be a late finish.”

Hatton’s fellow Englishman and Ryder Cup stalwart Ian Poulter suggested the time difference could be the biggest challenge. “We’re trying to wake up at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, really, to get ready for a 6 p.m. tee off,” Poulter, a co-captain of the Majesticks team, said.

There are, of course, significant adjustments to be made while on the course. LIV events are three rounds instead of four, but 54 is still more holes under lights than any other tournament on a major tour. The biggest hurdles, several players noted, were shadows, visualization and depth.

“Depth perception will be big,” said former Open champion Cam Smith. “A few of the shots will feel a lot different but I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

“Shadows will be a factor, and temperature will be a factor,” added Brendan Steele, a former three-time PGA Tour winner who plays on Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers team. “Usually, it gets warmer throughout a round of golf [when golf balls travel farther in warmer temperatures], but this will get colder so the ball will [fly] shorter. I’m very excited to play under lights.”

Poulter predicted he would lean on his caddie perhaps more than he ever has.

“There’s definitely an adjustment. Light is a huge factor with us in terms of visual reading, and gauging how far away a flag is,” he said. “I think you have to really trust your instincts and the numbers. Playing with a laser and having a great caddie, you’ll really have to rely on them. The visualization on the shots [will be a challenge]. The ball goes off into a dark sky background here. It’s strange, but do you know what? I think it’s going to work really well. It’s going to be exciting.”

Apart from Hatton’s three floodlit playoff holes in 2019, most LIV golfers have little to no experience under lights. The pro-am at the Saudi International tournament in December was played under lights so that LIV players in the Asian Tour event’s field could give the league feedback. Other than that, only a handful of players have experienced night golf. “I played a par-3 course at Sage Valley [in South Carolina] under lights but this is considerably different,” Poulter said, laughing. Steele, though, isn’t as fortunate. “I’ve never done it before, so I have to adapt as quickly as possible.”

A scenic view of the seventh hole before the start of LIV Golf Riyadh – Charles Laberge/LIV Golf

Dustin Johnson gets in some practice at the driving range before the start of the 2025 LIV Golf League season – Chris Trotman/LIV Golf

Adjusting to the lights and shadows will be a possible hurdle for players like Adrian Meronk when the tournament begins on Thursday – Jon Ferrey/LIV Golf

For LIV Golf, which is funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fun, kicking off its fourth season with the unique night-time event is an astute move sure to generate curiosity around the world, especially for Round 1 (starting Thursday 10:15 am ET). It’s also likely the first tangible change to the league in the wake of signing a multi-year broadcast deal with FOX Sports in the United States. Rather than air the broadcast on tape delay or attempt to televise the event live with a regular local afternoon start (12 noon in Riyadh is 4 a.m. on the East Coast in U.S.), moving the start window in Saudi Arabia allows for easier viewing for an American audience.

Exposure and publicity are certainly needed after a quiet off-season in which Northern Ireland’s Tom McKibbin, a DP World Tour winner who had secured a 2025 promotion to the PGA Tour, was LIV’s biggest signing. McKibbin, 22, grew up playing at the same Belfast golf course as his idol and mentor, Rory McIlroy. LIV’s five other additions included wildcard player Chieh-po Lee from Chinese Taipei, who won the LIV Golf Promotions qualifying school, as well as South Korea’s Yubin Jang (Iron Heads) Spain’s Luis Masaveu (Fireballs GC), Denmark’s Frederik Kjettrup (Cleeks GC) and New Zealand’s Ben Campbell (RangeGoats GC).

It’s a far cry from a dramatic 2024 offseason when LIV secured its biggest name since its initial launch with then Masters champ Jon Rahm, followed by Hatton. That invited a steady flow of hype and headlines last year, with Rahm winning twice on the league and Hatton once before peaking with LIV star Bryson DeChambeau claiming his second U.S. Open victory.

In 2025, a Ryder Cup year, all signs point to Hatton emerging as the league’s headline act. He hasn’t finished worse than T-10 in his past six official starts worldwide, outside of LIV. That stretch includes victories on the DP World Tour at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St. Andrews in the fall and the prestigious Hero Dubai Desert Classic last month.

Hatton’s Dubai win catapulted him to No. 8 on the Official World Golf Ranking, an impressive placement considering LIV Golf League events don’t receive for its tournaments, and briefly to No. 1 on the European Ryder Cup team standings (before McIlroy eclipsed him by winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am). From here, Hatton’s busy LIV schedule means the four major championships will be his only official tournaments to accrue crucial points for Luke Donald’s European team before the six automatic qualifiers are finalized on Aug. 24. It puts extra pressure on the majors, but Hatton said his focus would be on winning one of the four, which would likely guarantee Ryder Cup qualification anyway.

“I’ve been fortunate to win some pretty big tournaments over the last few years,” said Hatton, whose trophy cabinet includes the PGA Tour’s Arnold Palmer Invitational and eight DP World Tour titles. He was also T-9 at Augusta last year. “[Many of them] were in world-class fields. Majors are no different. It’s just a case of hopefully getting myself into a position on a Sunday to win. That’s a career goal, to win a major.”

And so Hatton’s march towards the majors, the Ryder Cup at Bethpage, and LIV, begins—under lights.

Main Image: Charles Laberge/LIV Golf

The post Lights, shadows and staying up late: LIV golfers are excited for 2025 opener after dark, despite hurdles appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Phil Mickelson announced on Monday that he has withdrawn from the LIV Riyadh event due to a minor shoulder injury suffered in the gym recently. The six-time major champ plans to make his 2025 season debut at LIV’s event in Australia the following week.

Mickelson will be replaced in the field by Ollie Schniederjans, who won the Asian Tour’s International Series event on Sunday in India. It was the former World No. 1 amateur’s first victory in nearly nine years.

https://twitter.com/PhilMickelson/status/1886411136716734619

“While preparing for the season, I suffered a minor shoulder injury in the gym last week,” Mickelson wrote on Twitter. “I’m definitely disappointed that I will miss the season opener, but I look forward to playing in Adelaide. Ollie Schniederjans will tee it up for me this week, and I will be pulling for my teammates from home.”

This is the first LIV event Mickelson, the captain of the HyFlyers, has missed. He’s coming off a disappointing 2024 season in which he had just one top-10 finish.

LIV’s new TV partnership with Fox Sports begins this week. The 54-hole event will run Thursday through Saturday, avoiding Sunday’s Super Bowl.

Main image: Quinn Harris

RELATED: Twice As Nice – Niemann’s Saudi Double

The post Phil Mickelson WDs from LIV Golf’s season opener appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

LIV Golf will play its first event of the 2025 season under lights.

The Saudi-backed circuit will tee off next month in Riyadh at night. Though there is a novelty to the game being played after dark, the move is to cater to American television audiences at the request of LIV’s new television partner, FOX Sports. The event will begin at 6:15 p.m. local time in Saudi Arabia, meaning a start time of 10:15 a.m. in the eastern time zone.

A source familiar with FOX Sports leadership tells Golf Digest that other events may be televised under the lights, specifically international competitions. “You can’t tape delay events, not in 2025” the source said. “If it’s not live it’s a ratings killer.”

Ratings have been a major issue for professional golf the past year—PGA Tour Sunday ratings were down 19 percent in 2024—although LIV has struggled to attract an audience since its launch in 2022. While forming a partnership with CW in 2023 was initially seen as progress, reruns of syndicated shows routinely outperformed live LIV events. It’s performance on the CW was so poor that LIV began reporting their own metrics, although the self-reporting stopped as those numbers continued to spiral. In the LIV individual championship in Chicago last fall, only 89,000 people tuned through the CW to watch Jon Rahm clinch the title; for context, the Solheim Cup’s audience that weekend was seven times bigger.

FOX was in discussions with LIV during its inaugural season in 2022, and the company originally partnered with former LIV CEO Greg Norman to launch a rival league against the PGA Tour in the 1990s that ultimately failed to come to fruition. Why a new deal came to pass now has ties to Fox’s grander plans with the World Cup. Fox has held U.S. broadcasting rights for soccer’s premier event since 2015, although Netflix recently acquired domestic streaming rights for the 2027 and 2031 Women’s World Cups. Of specific pursuit, however, is the 2034 Men’s World Cup, scheduled to be held in Saudi Arabia, the financial backer of LIV Golf. Technically FIFA will reward those rights; conversely, it is widely considered in the industry that Saudi Arabia will ultimately decide who gets said rights.

Main Image: Kevin C. Cox

The post LIV Golf to televise Saudi Arabia event under lights appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.