The Saudi International returns for its fifth outing at Jeddah's Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, and, as in the previous four years, some of the world’s best players are in the field.
The tournament is sponsored by the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund – the same organisation that bankrolls LIV Golf. Last year, some of the PGA Tour players in the field offered an indication as to who would sign for its bitter rival. Among those was the eventual winner of the tournament, Harold Varner III and two of LIV Golf’s highest-profile initial signings, Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson. All three are also in the field this year.
As well as 2022 victor Varner III, who holed an incredible eagle putt of 92ft to clinch the trophy, and Johnson, who won the tournament in 2019 and 2021, another player who would eventually join LIV Golf, 2020 winner Graeme McDowell, also appears.
The highest-ranked player this year is World No.3 Cameron Smith, who also joined LIV Golf last August. Other players on the Saudi-funded circuit who are appearing include Smith’s compatriot Marc Leishman, Mexican-American Abraham Ancer, and 2020 US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau. Four-time Major winner Brooks Koepka and two-time Masters winner Bubba Watson, who Varner III edged out by one shot last year, also play.
Henrik Stenson, who was stripped of the Ryder Cup captaincy when he defected to LIV Golf, also plays, as do former World No.1 Lee Westwood and Ryder Cup legend Ian Poulter, who were part of the the Greg Norman-fronted organisation’s original intake of players. The LIV associations don’t end there - another high-profile signing was 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed, and he also tees it up. Spaniard Sergio Garcia, who claimed victory at Augusta National the year before Reed, and Englishman Paul Casey, are two other big-name LIV Golf players appearing.
Recently it was reported that Cameron Young is among the PGA Tour players being lined up for this year’s Saudi International, along with Lucas Herbert and Cameron Champ, and all three are confirmed in the field.
Overall, the field features all 48 players who competed in LIV Golf's season-closing Team Championship in 2022, while there are appearances from other players who competed in its tournaments through the inaugural season. In total, almost half of the 126-man field will comprise players who competed for LIV Golf last year.
As well as the event's $5 million prize purse, an added incentive for LIV Golf players is the availability of Official World Golf Ranking points in the tournament. The winner is projected to receive 26 ranking points - a potentially valuable haul given LIV Golf’s ineligibility to offer its players points.
The final line-up for the 2023 Saudi International is to be confirmed, but below is the list of players committed to appearing so far.
Position | Prize Money |
---|---|
1st | $1,000,000 |
2nd | $525,000 |
3rd | $315,000 |
4th | $250,000 |
5th | $205,000 |
6th | $166,500 |
7th | $142,500 |
8th | $122,500 |
9th | $107,000 |
10th | $95,500 |
11th | $87,250 |
12th | $81,250 |
13th | $75,750 |
14th | $72,250 |
15th | $69,250 |
16th | $66,250 |
17th | $63,250 |
18th | $60,250 |
19th | $57,750 |
20th | $55,750 |
21st | $54,500 |
22nd | $53,000 |
23rd | $51,500 |
24th | $50,000 |
25th | $48,500 |
26th | $47,000 |
27th | $45,500 |
28th | $44,000 |
29th | $42,500 |
30th | $41,000 |
31st | $40,500 |
32nd | $39,000 |
33rd | $38,000 |
34th | $37,000 |
35th | $36,000 |
36th | $35,000 |
37th | $34,000 |
38th | $33,000 |
39th | $32,000 |
40th | $31,000 |
41st | $30,250 |
42nd | $29,250 |
43rd | $28,250 |
44th | $27,250 |
45th | $26,750 |
46th | $26,500 |
47th | $25,500 |
48th | $24,500 |
49th | $23,500 |
50th | $22,500 |
51st | $21,500 |
52nd | $20,500 |
53rd | $19,500 |
54th | $19,000 |
55th | $18,500 |
56th | $18,000 |
57th | $17,500 |
58th | $17,000 |
59th | $16,500 |
60th | $16,000 |
61st | $15,500 |
62nd | $15,000 |
63rd | $14,500 |
64th | $14,000 |
65th | $13,500 |
Harold Varner III won the 2022 tournament following an incredible finish that first saw Bubba Watson produce a birdie-eagle finish to head to the clubhouse with the lead. That left Varner III needing a similar finish to beat Watson outright. He duly birdied the 17th and followed that up with a stunning 92ft eagle putt on the final hole handed the win to Varner III for his first tournament victory in six years.
The purse for the 2023 Saudi International is identical to last year at $5m. Of that, the winner will receive $1m. Perhaps more importantly for the LIV Golf players in attendance, the tournament offers world ranking points, with a projected 26 on offer to this year's winner.
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