Seven major champions, nine Ryder Cup stars, and a 78 combined PGA Tour victories; a stacked field has assembled in Riyadh for the Asian Tour’s PIF Saudi International to compete for the $5 million prize fund.
After a successful debut season on LIV, and a memorable victory at the Hong Kong Open which secured his place in the 2026 Open Championship and a maiden Masters appearance in April, Tom McKibbin is among those looking to sign off on 2025 in style.
The Holywood man is up to a career-high 79th in the Official World Golf Rankings after finishing tied for 16th in the DP World Tour Championship, and the most lucrative event on the Asian Tour calendar presents another opportunity to claim a tournament victory, a healthy pay cheque, and world ranking points to aid his chances of playing in all four majors next season.
Playing under the lights in his first LIV start, McKibbin found Riyadh Golf Club very much to his liking and shot a seven-under 64 in round one before fading a little in the final round, but few come into the event more tournament ready as he’s set to play his fourth tournament in succession.
Dustin Johnson, winner of the event in 2019 and 2021 when it was part of the DP World Tour schedule and played at Royal Greens Golf Club, is the headline act, but the heavy LIV presence means that he’s got no shortage of major winners from company, with Patrick Reed, Cameron Smith, Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen, Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell also set to compete.
Saudi Arabia is the site of McDowell’s last professional victory, winning at Royal Greens in 2020 shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the shutdown of professional golf, but the 46-year-old has struggled for consistency in the time since. He did post his best result in a LIV event at LIV Virginia back in June, but finished 34th in the LIV Rankings.
Joaquin Niemann is the defending champion, having edged Cameron Smith and Caleb Surratt in a playoff last December, and he and Tyrrell Hatton are the bookmakers’ favourites. Niemann hasn’t played since the Open de España in early October, while Hatton, the highest-OWGR-ranked player in the field, is coming off back-to-back starts in the Middle East on the DP World Tour.
Patrick Reed, who won his first LIV event in Dallas back in late June, will play his fifth tournament in as many weeks, going from the Philippines to Hong Kong, then to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and now to Saudi Arabia.
The 2018 Masters champion has managed to hold on to a top-50 placing in the World Rankings, despite not earning points for any of his starts of LIV, which is testament to both his willingness to travel and tee it up in non-contracted events and to his consistent performances in those.
McDowell plays alongside Hatton and Charles Howell III for the opening two rounds, getting underway at 04:00 a.m. on Wednesday, while McKibbin joins Johnson and Niemann in the marquee grouping at 08:20.
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