LIV Golf has announced that they will be shifting their team championship event from Trump National Doral in Miami to Saudi Arabia this November.
The penultimate event of the tour will now take place at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in Jeddah according to ESPN Senior Writer Mark Schlabach.
The move shouldn’t come as a surprise given the league’s ties to the Middle East. LIV Golf is funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (SPIF), which is also why they’re able to offer such exorbitant purses to their players.
The league previously announced that they would be upping the prize pool in 2023 by $150M to bring the total to $405M up for grabs. While the move is a blow to the Trump brand, LIV has remained committed to hosting events at several Trump owned courses this season.
The $50M end of season team format now becomes one of the premier golf events in the Middle East, and gives the SPIF some return on their investment in the form of dollars flowing back into the local economy.
Previously, Dubai hosted several high profile events such as the Dubai Desert Classic which was a staple on the European Tour, and the Dubai World Championship which launched 2 years ago.
However outside of the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) Tour, the Middle East wasn’t exactly a burgeoning hotspot of high level golf outside of the United Arab Emirates. LIV is hoping to change that narrative as they look to establish Royal Greens G&CC as a destination course, similar to the likes of TPC Sawgrass, TPC Scottsdale, and others on the PGA’s schedule.
Opened in 2017, the 18-hole championship golf course sits along the Red Sea coast, and clocks in at just over 7,000 yards. It also includes a monster 607 yard par 5 finale at 18 which will test the mettle of even the most seasoned golfer.
LIV Golf’s 2023 schedule is currently set up to feature the following 14 stops:
Feb. 24-26: El Camaleón Golf Club, Playa Del Carmen, Mexico
March 17-19: The Gallery Golf Club, Tucson, Ariz.
March 31-April 2: Orange County National, Orlando, Fla.
April 21-23: The Grange Golf Club, Adelaide, Australia
April 28-30: Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore
May 12-14: Cedar Ridge Country Club, Broken Arrow, Okla.
May 26-28: Trump National Golf Club, Washington, D.C.
June 30-July 2: Real Club Valderrama, Sotogrande, Spain
July 7-9: Centurion Club, London, England
Aug. 4-6: The Old White Course, White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.
Aug. 11-13: Trump National Golf Club, Bedminster, N.J.
Sept. 22-24: Rich Harvest Farms, Sugar Grove, Ill.
Oct. 20-22: Trump National Doral, Miami
Nov. 3-5: Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
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