The PIF Saudi Ladies International will kick off the Ladies European Tour season for the first time this week. Right out of the gate, 120 players will vie for one of the biggest purses in the women’s game. The $5 million prize fund is the largest on any tour outside the five LPGA majors and season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, which is $11 million.
The LPGA’s new Aramco Championship at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas has a purse of $4 million.
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World No. 5 Charley Hull headlines the field. Last year, current No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul won the event, earning a check of $675,000, but she’s not back to defend. Other past champions include major winners Lydia Ko (2021, 2023), Georgia Hall (2022) and Patty Tavatanakit (2024). Solheim Cup veteran Emily Pedersen won the inaugural edition in 2020.
Rio Takeda, 14th in the Rolex Rankings, also joins the 2026 field as do the Iwai sisters, Chizzy and Akie, Nasa Hataoka, Celine Boutier and Amy Yang, who finished runner-up to Nelly Korda at the controversial weather-shortened TOC.
Promising LPGA rookies Helen Briem and Mimi Rhodes also kick off 2026 in Saudi, as does the newly-engaged Muni He, who is playing on a sponsor invite along with Danielle Kang and new mom Alison Lee.
The seventh edition of the event will be held Feb. 11-14 at Riyadh Golf Club in Saudi Arabia.
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Last week, the LET announced a combined record prize fund of over 40 million euro across 30 tournaments. The LET’s PIF Global Series includes five events stretched across three continents, with stops including London, Las Vegas, Seoul, Shenzhen and Riyadh. Purses at the five events total $15 million, which is higher than any women’s major.
Saudi-backed events remain controversial, given the wide-ranging human rights abuses Saudi Arabia has been accused of, especially toward women.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: How big is Saudi presence in women’s game? Try $15 million
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