Male and Female Golfers Head to Saudi Arabia Following 'Oil Money'~

Korean Players to Compete in Next Month's Asian Tour Opener
Total Prize Money $5 Million
10 Women Participants from Aramco International

Domestic male and female golfers are flocking to Saudi Arabia, backed by 'oil money'.

Photo by PIF Saudi International official website

As of the 27th, seven male players including Kim Bi-o, Kim Young-su, Kim Min-kyu, Park Sang-hyun, Jang I-geun, Lee Tae-hee, and Ok Tae-hoon have been listed to participate in the PIF Saudi International (total prize money of 5 million dollars) held from the 2nd to the 5th of next month at the Royal Greens & Golf Club in Saudi Arabia. This tournament is the opening event of the Asian Tour this year. Since last year, with the sponsorship of the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund launching the International Series, the prize money and prestige have increased, attracting more attention from players.

The total prize money rivals that of the PGA Tour. The money leader also earns the opportunity to participate in the LIV Golf Invitational Series. Because of this, 141 Korean players crowded into the Asian Tour Qualifying School (Q-School) from the first qualifying round held this month. Forty-two players competed in the final qualifying round, and seven players including Yoon Sang-pil, Cho Min-kyu, Jung Han-mil, Kim Min-hwi, Eom Jae-woong, Lee Seung-taek, and Bae Yong-jun earned tour cards.

This year, the Asian Tour plans to hold four International Series events with total prize money ranging from 2 to 2.5 million dollars each, excluding the opening event, through April.

In the women's division, ten Korean players including Kim Hyo-joo, Jeon In-ji, Lee Jeong-eun, Kim A-rim, Lim Hee-jeong, Ji Eun-hee, Shin Ji-eun, Sung Yu-jin, Lee Jeong-min, and Lee Seung-yeon will participate in the Ladies European Tour (LET) Aramco Saudi Ladies International (total prize money of 5 million dollars) held from the 16th of next month at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in Saudi Arabia.

This tournament, which features players ranked within the top 300 in the world, is sponsored by Aramco, the Saudi Arabian national oil company. Except for women's golf major championships and the CME Group Tour, it has the largest prize money. The winner's prize is 750,000 dollars.