Imago
silhouette golfer playing golf during beautiful sunset
Imago
silhouette golfer playing golf during beautiful sunset
The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) has been backing the Ladies European Tour (LET) since 2020. Then, back in November 2025, PIF shook hands to collaborate with LET and the LPGA Tour to host the Aramco Championship, the first-ever LET and LPGA Tour co-sanctioned event in the USA. And now, Golf Saudi is looking forward to expanding on its success.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
The chief investment officer of Golf Saudi, Thomas Rudy, said, “First, we’re not LIV Golf. We want to support the best women’s golfers with amazing tournaments around the world. Our job is not to run another league or disrupt existing organisations. I think you see that clearly here by bringing sanctioning bodies together. We’re focused on putting out a great product and promoting what’s happening with golf in Saudi Arabia.”
“Strategically, we have two objectives,” Rudy continued. “One is to be as connected as possible to the overall world of women’s golf. The second is to tell the world that Saudi is open for business. We’re building great golf courses and an amazing ecosystem.”
Top Stories
The PIF Global Series operates as the international tournament platform for women’s golf, funded by the Public Investment Fund and executed by Golf Saudi, which handles the organization and partnerships, working closely with LET to host five events under the PIF Global Series (previously Aramco Team Series). The story began with the Saudi Ladies Team International in Saudi Arabia back in 2020. Later in 2021, the series expanded to host four tournaments in the UK, USA, Spain, and Saudi Arabia.
And in 2025, LET and Golf Saudi collaborated to rebrand the Aramco Team Series into PIF Global Series to host five events in Saudi Arabia, South Korea, England, the USA, and China. But the collaboration between PIF, LET, and the LPGA Tour resulted in the Aramco Championship on April 3, 2026. The inaugural co-sanctioned tournament was hosted at Shadow Creek, Las Vegas, with a field of 120 players. And that included 38 of the top 40 players.
But what made the Aramco Championship a success was the close competition between Lauren Coughlin, Nelly Korda, and Leona Maguire. In the end, Coughlin scored seven-under 281, while Korda and Maguire stayed at two-under. Coughlin went home with $600,000. That’s actually the biggest amount (with a prize pool of $4M) that a PIF Global Series winner will get this year.
However, this wasn’t the first time LET and the LPGA Tour co-sanctioned an event. Back in 2016, LET and the LPGA Tour negotiated a three-year deal to host the Scottish Open, consisting of one of the strongest fields outside the majors. And now, things are starting to proceed towards the union of the leagues and more co-sanctioned events hosted in the US.
But how’s this plan of PIF different from LIV Golf? PIF hasn’t been able to secure an agreement with the PGA Tour. Hence, LIV Golf functions as a breakaway league. Through its lucrative deals and financial rewards, LIV Golf has reeled in strong players like Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm. However, the PIF Global Series acts differently. It allows the LET and LPGA Tour players to compete for official points while benefiting from increased prize money and global exposure. Many even claimed that Aramco takes care of the golfers.
The 2026 PIF Global series began with the PIF Saudi Ladies International in Riyadh in February. Charley Hull won that event with 19-under 269, just one stroke lower than Casandra Alexander and Akie Iwai. The Aramco Championship at Shadow Creek was the second event for the PIF Global Series. Now, we’re looking at the PIF London Championship in August, the Aramco Korea Championship in October, and the Aramco China Championship in November. And each of them will have a purse of $2M.
However, Golf Saudi hasn’t really finalized the schedule for 2027 yet. It’ll likely happen later in the year. However, Rudy was doubtful about getting the chance to host an event in North America again. But his team seems to be exploring every single option available, especially with the combination of the LPGA Tour and the LET. He sounded pretty optimistic about trying to try and replicate the success they experienced at Las Vegas in the near future.
But the future seems pretty lucrative for both LET and the LPGA Tour with the PIF Global Series.
Big guns laud the partnership between PIF, LET, and the LPGA Tour
Reflecting on the collaborations and schedule, the CEO of Golf Saudi, Noah Alireza, previously said, “Through our partnership with PIF and our collaboration with the LPGA and LET, we are continuing to transform the women’s game. The introduction of a co-sanctioned event in the United States with the LPGA reflects the global strength and ambition of this series. We’ve seen firsthand the power of these tournaments to inspire participation and shape the future of golf — from thousands of first-time players in Saudi Arabia to audiences around the world.”
Alireza looked at private sector partnerships as a fundamental enabler of growth. After all, that allows faster innovation and expands collaboration opportunities. The Saudis remain committed to delivering entertaining tournaments and creating new opportunities for the local and commercial talents.
Even Khalid Al Zamil, the senior vice president of corporate communications at Aramco, expressed his pride while extending their partnership with PIF Global Series. The LPGA commissioner, Craig Kessler, also had similar thoughts.
Kessler said, “We often talk about routing, courses and purses—and this event checks every box: a spectacular West Coast setting, an iconic course and a purse that continues our momentum in raising the bar for our athletes. We also recognize that partnerships like this—built on the LET’s longstanding collaboration with Golf Saudi and PIF—can help strengthen the women’s game on a global scale and elevate opportunities for our athletes.”
With collaboration replacing confrontation, Golf Saudi’s latest move suggests that the future of women’s golf lies in strategic alignment.
Written by
Edited by
Shreya Singh