Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has so far been unable to come to agreement with the PGA Tour, as talks about an alliance have now lingered for more than two years.
But the financial backer of LIV Golf has long had a sponsorship role with the Ladies European Tour and now has expanded it to the LPGA Tour with the announcement Tuesday of a Las Vegas event to be played next spring.
The co-sanctioned event with the LET and in partnership with Golf Saudi will be called the Aramco Championship, to take place April 2–5 at Shadow Creek Golf Club in Las Vegas. It will feature a $4 million purse, which would be among the LPGA’s biggest purses outside major championships.
Although Saudi Golf has partnered with the LET for U.S. events previously, this will be the first time it will do so in the U.S. as part of the LPGA Tour. The 120-player tournament will be part of the PIF Global Series, which includes four other events on the schedule and used to be called the Aramco Series.
LPGA commissioner Craig Kessler said the event “reflects exactly where we’re headed in building the global schedule for our tour.”
Kessler added that “We often talk about routing, courses and purses—and this event checks every box: a spectacular West Coast setting, an iconic course and a purse that continues our momentum in raising the bar for our athletes,” he said. “We also recognize that partnerships like this—built on the LET’s longstanding collaboration with Golf Saudi and PIF—can help strengthen the women’s game on a global scale and elevate opportunities for our athletes.”
The LPGA will undoubtedly face criticism over the association, given Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record, especially in regards to women. But several LPGA players, including Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson, have taken part in the PIF LET events, which date back several years.
The LPGA previously staged a tournament at Shadow Creek called the T-Mobile Match Play. This new tournament will be a stroke-play event.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as LPGA to Partner With Saudi Arabia PIF for U.S. Tournament.