‘Adapt quickly to the Middle East sandstorm.’
Major stars representing the Korean Professional Golf (KPGA) Korean Tour flocked to Saudi Arabia. It is to participate in the PIF Saudi International (total prize money of 5 million dollars), the opening game of the Asian Tour in Saudi Arabia.
Bio Kim (33), Young-Soo Kim (34), Tae-Hun Ok (25), Sang-Hyun Park (40), Min-Gyu Kim (22), Geun Jang (30) will participate in the Saudi International, which will be held at the Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for four days from the 2nd of next month. ), Lee Tae-hee (39), and Moon Gyeong-jun (31), eight Korean players will participate.
All of them are Asian Tour seeded players. They participate in Asian Tour competitions to maintain a sense of competition in February and March, when there is no Korean Tour competition. And the beginning is the opening PIF Saudi International.
◇ Total prize money of about 6.1 billion won… The Asian Tour, which had been “four times” the most prize money tournament in Korea
, is undergoing a makeover this year. The Asian Tour, backed by Saudi Arabian capital, plans to hold 10 international series events sponsored by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund (PIF) as well as this opening match. The prize money for each tournament is expected to range from $2 million to $5 million. It is trying to get away from the past ‘wrong’ look of the tour through co-hosting with tournaments hosted by Asian golf associations, and to have a proper tour centering on the international series.
This huge increase in prize money is a strong motivator for players. The total prize money of the Saudi International, which will be held on the 2nd, is 5 million dollars, or about 6.14 billion won in Korean money. It is more than four times the amount of 1.5 billion won (Genesis Championship), which was the highest prize money on the Korean Tour last year. Last year’s winner, Harold Varner III, won a prize of 1 million dollars (approximately 1.22 billion won) at once. With one win, you can get more than the prize money (790 million won) earned by Kim Young-soo, the prize money king of the Korean Tour last year.
It is also a tournament that not everyone can participate in as the prize money is large. Bio Kim entered the top 200 in the world rankings and won the right to participate in this event. Kim Young-soo was able to compete as the Korean Tour prize money king, and Ok Tae-hoon as the Asian Tour winner. Park Sang-hyun, Kim Min-gyu, Jang Yi-geun, Lee Tae-hee, and Moon Gyeong-jun were also able to participate by maintaining the top seeding order of the Asian Tour. 먹튀검증
Our players will be hunting for their first championship of the season in Saudi Arabia. Kim Young-su, who arrived in Saudi Arabia on the 30th, said, “I heard that the sandstorm is severe because it is in the Middle East. He said, “I will focus on adapting well to the wind during practice.” My goal is to advance to the finals and play in the 4th round, and if it goes better, I want to enter the top 10.”
Kim Min-kyu, who looked around the course in a strong wind, said, “It was my first time in Saudi Arabia, so I was surprised and scared. He said, “If the opportunity to win comes, I want to take it well without missing it.” I will do my best in the first tournament of the new year.”
The tournament has a more spectacular roster than most American Professional Golf (PGA) tours because the Saudi Arabian Sovereign Fund (PIF), which serves as the title sponsor, invites several world-class star players with a huge invitation fee. World No. 4 Cameron Smith (Australia), who transferred to LIV Golf last year, announced his participation, adding to the spectacle. In addition, eight of the top 50 players in the world rankings will participate in this event.
Smith, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson Dishambeau, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson (USA), Sergio Garcia (Spain), Henrik Stenson (Sweden), Graeme McDowell (Northern There are 12 major champions such as Ireland).
On the same day, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am of the PGA Tour, which will be held at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California, USA, has many top rankers absent, putting the weight on the field of Saudi international players.