LONDON: The Ladies European Tour, in what it is calling a “ground-breaking agreement”, has confirmed its association with the first-ever professional women’s golf event in Saudi Arabia, one of the most gender-segregated countries in the world.
The irony is not to be missed of course but oil money talks. And how!
Jeddah’s Royal Greens Golf & Country Club has been confirmed as the host of a fully sanctioned LET event set to take place in the ultra conservative kingdom from the 19th to the 22nd March 2020.
The tournament, which will carry a $1 million prize fund, will be staged in collaboration with Golf Saudi and the Saudi Golf Federation.
Commenting upon hosting the event for the first time and setting new precedents within the sport, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, chairman (but naturally) of the Saudi Golf Federation and Golf Saudi, said: “We are delighted to be creating history by hosting the inaugural ladies professional tournament in March. I hope the tournament will inspire many women to take up the great game of golf and awaken their interest in this wonderful sport. We warmly welcome all the players to the kingdom and wish everyone a rewarding experience in our magical country.”
Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, which is set within King Abdullah Economic City, also plays host to the European Tour’s Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers. It bears noting that in the run-up to last year’s inaugural Saudi men’s event, several players drew criticism for committing to play — and receiving appearance fees for it — in the wake of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s brutal assassination.
Reuters reports that many top golfers including former world number ones Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods, have turned down offers to compete at next year’s tournament, with the Northern Irishman citing Saudi Arabia’s human rights issues.
Amnesty International describes the Saudi regime’s human rights records as “heinous”.
Khashoggi was a Saudi Arabian dissident, author and columnist who was assassinated at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October 2018 by agents of the Saudi government after they had allegedly used Israeli spyware to hack his friend’s cell phone.
“I am incredibly excited by this announcement and it is an honour for the Tour to be part of history in bringing the first-ever professional women’s golf event to Saudi Arabia,” said LET acting CEO Alexandra Armas. “Confirmation of adding Saudi Arabia to our schedule for 2020 is an exciting prospect for everyone at the Ladies European Tour and having seen the quality of the event staging for the Saudi International, I am sure this will be a fantastic experience for our players.”
As well as confirming the tournament, Golf Saudi announced it is working with several LET stars in order to promote golf to domestic audiences and to enhance the visibility of Saudi’s golf development programme and its golf tourism offer internationally. The UK’s Carly Booth, Amy Boulden and Rachel Drummond, and Swedish pair Camilla Lennarth and Isabella Deilert will each wear the Golf Saudi logo as ambassadors of the programme.
The 2020 event will showcase Saudi Arabia’s natural assets, as well as prioritising the country’s drive to increase golf participation significantly in the years to come. The country has looked to host several sporting events in the past few years and last week played host to the heavyweight boxing title rematch where Britain’s Anthony Joshua beat Mexican-American Andy Ruiz Jr.
