PGA Tour gives “a few” players Saudi green light

Next month’s Saudi International is shaping up to be both star-studded and very, very interesting. 

Just days after it was confirmed that Open champion Cam Smith will feature in the Asian Tour event – scheduled to take place at Royal Greens from February 2-5 – it has been confirmed that some current PGA Tour players will be joining him.

The Golf Channel is reporting that a handful of pros have requested and been granted releases to take part in the £5m tournament.

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The report didn’t reveal which players – or exactly how many of them – have been given a pass to compete in the Asian Tour’s flagship event, formerly part of the DP World Tour schedule.

The decision is particularly interesting on two fronts.

One, the Saudi International and Asian Tour are both closely aligned with the LIV Golf League, which has done a successful job of recruiting top players away from the PGA Tour in the year.

In addition to Smith, the likes of Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed and Brooks Koepka have all pledged allegiance to LIV at the expense of their PGA Tour careers.

Two, the Saudi International is scheduled to take place opposite the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, one of the most popular – and oldest – stops on the PGA Tour.

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Despite its long association with the PGA Tour, however, the Pro-Am is not one of the 17 new-for-2023 ‘Elevated’ events and is, therefore, unlikely to attract as many of the game’s biggest names as it has done previously.

The news about the PGA Tour releases comes hot on the heels of Augusta National Golf Club announcing that it will honour exemptions for LIV golfers. 

The R&A had previously made the same assurance about The Open, with the USGA and PGA of America expected to do likewise for the US Open and US PGA respectively.