Hada News
Golf Saudi ends PIF Global Series, shifts women’s golf money to a $4m UK Championship from 2027
Golf Saudi will close the PIF Global Series after the 2026 season. From 2027 it will focus its tournament money on The Championship in the UK, co-sanctioned by the LPGA and the Ladies European Tour with a $4 million purse, and on a multi-year LET Order of Merit deal, it said on 28 September.
Golf Saudi, the commercial arm of the Saudi Golf Federation, said on 28 September that the PIF Global Series will end after the 2026 season. The series has staged 29 Ladies European Tour (LET) events on three continents since 2021, and its last two events are in Korea in October and China in November. Reuters, citing the LET-distributed release, said the change takes Saudi backing from five tournaments carrying $15 million in purses to a single $4 million event.
That event is The Championship, staged in London since 2021 and won last month by 17-year-old Canadian Anna Huang. From 2027 it will be co-sanctioned by the LPGA and the LET, with a $4 million prize fund, and Golf Saudi lists its 2027 dates as 19–25 July. Reuters reported the playing days as 22–25 July, with the venue still to be confirmed. Golf Saudi is also taking on a multi-year partnership with the LET Order of Merit, the season-long points race whose winner receives an end-of-season bonus.
The federation ties the move to growth at home: it says more than 15,000 people have signed up for lessons and over 4,000 are on a waiting list, more than a third of them women. It aims to grow from about 4,500 registered golfers to more than 30,000 within five years, helped by academies and a new LPGA Professionals programme. Chief executive Noah Alireza said the focus was now on “investing intelligently” in the women’s game.
AGBI and Reuters link the move to a wider review of Saudi sports spending, including PIF’s April decision to stop funding men’s LIV Golf after 2026 (Reuters) and the WTA Finals leaving the kingdom a year early (AGBI).
Why it matters: women professionals lose several Saudi-funded starts but gain a bigger single purse and season-long money. For Gulf sport desks, it is a clear sign of Saudi money moving from event volume to pathways and participation.
Sources: Golf Saudi press release, 28 Sep 2026; Ladies European Tour release; Reuters (Field Level Media), 28 Sep 2026; AGBI, 30 Sep 2026.
Watch next: the 2027 venue, the size of the Order of Merit bonus, and whether Saudi-backed events stay on the 2027 LPGA calendar.