JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Women’s golf just received an influx of cash.
On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the primary bankroller of LIV Golf, announced a deal with the Ladies European Tour for a five-event series with a combined purse of $13 million. The tournaments will be contested in Saudi Arabia, South Korea, London, Houston and China.
In addition to an individual leaderboard, there will be a team component with captains drafting squads weekly. Additional details are still being ironed out.
Despite Saudi Arabia’s contentious record on women’s rights, many of women’s golf’s biggest stars see the partnership as a positive.
“I think it’s amazing that they’ve made this announcement,” said Golf Saudi ambassador Celine Boutier, of France. “I think they raised the purse and made the tournaments very interesting and competitive with the team events. It’s definitely fun.
“I had the chance to play my first PIF team event last year in October and I was actually really surprised by how cool and how fun it was to be able to play in a team environment. It’s not something we get to experience very much in professional golf, so I thought it was really cool tournament to play in. And to have a few of these throughout the year in different countries and different courses, I think is very exciting.
Jeeno Thitikul, meanwhile, won the PIF Saudi Ladies International Crown in February and collected $675,000 with the victory. By contrast, she has earned $681,769 in seven starts this season on the LPGA.
“All the things that LPGA, LET, Golf Saudi have been into golf, it’s helped,” the Thailand native said. “I think they’re trying to get women’s golf like bigger and bigger, elevating them to a top level. And then it’s pretty good news to be honest to me, because it’s like [getting] more [chances] for everyone to play a really good golf course in really good events.”
And the liquidity can help bridge the divide between men’s and women’s golf.
“I just think whatever helps women's golf, it’s good,” Thitikul said, “because men’s golf and women’s golf kind of see the [difference] of all the fans. When you go into the PGA Tour you see a bunch of the fans. If you go to women’s golf, you still see the gap between it. So I think if the much we promote it and then we create new or other sponsors trying to build some more like women’s golf to be bigger, that's good enough for us.”
The PIF’s investment in women’s sports stretches beyond golf. Last year, it announced a deal with the WTA and backs its maternity fund.
Plus, the PIF and PGA Tour shook hands on a framework agreement to unify, but nearly two years after the announcement, nothing has been finalized.
The Ladies European Tour and the LPGA also agreed to merge in 2019, but that has reportedly been blocked by Golf Saudi and remains in limbo.
Earlier this year, LIV Golf’s new CEO, Scott O’Neil, said he has explored getting into the women’s game.
Saudi Arabia’s involvement in sports has been labeled as “sportswashing,” which is when governments, individuals, corporations, or other groups use sports to help their reputation after wrongdoing.
But if the PIF can help women’s golf, players aren’t opposed to it.
“PIF and Golf Saudi, they are big supporters of women’s golf, especially [the] Ladies European Tour,” said Golf Saudi ambassador Carlota Ciganda, of Spain. “Yeah, what they are doing, it’s amazing for golf, for us, putting all those amazing events and tournaments. I hope we can have a great partnership with them and we can have their support for many, many years.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Women’s Golf Stars See Saudi Arabia PIF-Ladies European Tour Deal As Positive .