PGA Tour clears players to compete in controversial Saudi event, but with conditions

The PGA Tour has granted permission for 30 of its members—including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau—to play the controversial Saudi International, Golfweek has learned.

But the okay comes with strings attached.

The decision was revealed in a memo sent Monday afternoon to the Tour’s entire membership, a copy of which was obtained by Golfweek. Players who sought permission to compete in Saudi Arabia received additional memos outlining the specific conditions attached to their releases for the event, which will be staged opposite the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, February 3-6, 2022. Tour members are required to obtain a waiver to compete in conflicting events.

A PGA Tour spokesperson confirmed the contents of the memos but declined to identify the 30 players who are being granted releases. Last month, the Saudi International released a list of commitments that included Mickelson, DeChambeau and Johnson, the defending champion. It also named Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson and Bubba Watson, among others.

The Saudi International is the latest front in a war between the PGA Tour and the Saudis, who have been trying to launch the rival Super Golf League by offering golf’s biggest stars huge guaranteed pay days. The Super League concept has been widely criticized as an effort by the Saudi regime to ‘sportswash’ its human rights abuses. The PGA Tour had indicated in July that it would deny permission for members to play in the tournament.

The memo sent to the Tour’s membership was signed by Tyler Dennis, the chief of operations. It reiterates the rules governing conflicting event releases as stated in the official PGA Tour Player Handbook. Those guidelines allow Commissioner Jay Monahan to grant or deny waivers based on the best interests of the Tour, and to attach conditions to waivers. The memo specifies the conditions that will apply to members who compete in Saudi Arabia.

Any player who has competed in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am event at least once in the past five years must commit to play at least once in the next two years (2023 and 2024). Players who have not competed at Pebble Beach in the last five years will need to do so twice in the three years until 2025. A source familiar with the names of the 30 players who applied for waivers told Golfweek that 19 of them will have to commit to one appearance at the AT&T, while the other 11 will be required to play twice.

Golfweek reached out to Andy Pazder, the PGA Tour’s chief tournaments and competitions officer, for comment on the decision. “While we certainly have grounds under Tour regulations created by and for the players to deny conflicting event releases, we have decided in this instance to allow a group of Tour players the opportunity to play in a single sanctioned tournament outside North America on a recognized Tour, with conditions attached that will contribute to the success of AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in future years,” Pazder replied.

Players who do not meet the obligations attached to their waivers would be subject to disciplinary action.

The memo emailed to Tour members late Monday afternoon also highlighted a requirement that applications for conflicting event releases must be submitted at least 45 days before the first round of the tournament in question. The Saudi International begins February 3—exactly 45 days from the date of the memo.

The 30 releases requested for the 2022 Saudi International marks a sharp increase on the 23 sought in 2021, and suggests a deliberate Saudi strategy of inviting so many players that the PGA Tour would be forced to deny the waivers in order to protect the quality of the field at the AT&T tournament. Had permission been refused, the Saudis could claim the PGA Tour was not acting in the best interests of members by denying them earning opportunities, further stoking discontent among the top players it has been attempting to recruit to the Super Golf League.

One source familiar with the situation told Golfweek that lower-profile players invited to compete in King Abdullah Economic City have been offered appearance fees of around $400,000, with mid-tier players receiving between $500,000 and $750,000. High-profile stars get seven-figure offers. Chartered private aircraft to and from Saudi Arabia is also provided.

Not every player who applied for a conflicting event release will necessarily compete in Saudi Arabia. It is likely that an updated list of competitors will be released by the Asian Tour, which sanctions the event, and in which the Saudi government has invested $200 million.