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Patrick Reed will play in the Saudi International next month. Photo: AFP

Asian Tour: Masters champion Patrick Reed, Tony Finau, added to star-studded field for US$5 million Saudi International

  • Australian trio Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman and Lucas Herbert also playing in next month’s event
  • Top 30 from Asian Tour Order of Merit will get the chance to compete against strongest field in tour’s history
Asian Tour

Masters champion Patrick Reed will join a host of top international golfers at next month’s Saudi International, in what will be the strongest field ever for an Asian Tour event.

Reed, who won in Augusta in 2018, again returns to King Abdullah Economic City having played in every tournament at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club since the inaugural event in 2019.

Last year’s runner-up, Tony Finau, has also been added to the playing field, and will be looking to go one better to start his 2022 season with a bang.

Majed Al-Sorour, CEO and deputy chairman of Golf Saudi and the Saudi Golf Federation, said the event had assembled a “truly world class international field”.

“The mix of the world’s best players from across the US, Europe and Asia Pacific will make this year our most anticipated yet,” Al-Sorour said.

Defending champion Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Louis Oosthuizen, Sergio Garcia, Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood and Phil Mickelson have all previously announced their intentions to play.

With the Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced as the new title sponsor, the landmark tournament is set for a record-breaking edition when it returns from February 3 to 6.

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Alongside four of the world’s top 10, the tournament will also feature several new faces with a debut for Matthew Wolff, one of golf’s hottest young talents. Other newcomers will be exciting Australian trio Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman and Lucas Herbert.

Frenchman Victor Perez will also join a star-studded field competing for an increased prize purse of US$5 million and one of the highest OWGR point totals in international golf.

Alongside some of the star names confirmed will be the leading 30 players from the final 2020-21 Asian Tour Order of Merit ‒ which will be finalised after this month’s Singapore International and SMBC Singapore Open. Wade Ormsby (Australia), Phachara Khongwatmai (Thailand) and Joohyung Kim (South Korea) are the current top-three ranked players.

Cho Minn Thant, the Asian Tour’s commissioner and CEO, hailed the approach of one of the “biggest events in the organisation’s history”.

“The tournament will give our members an incredible opportunity to play with many of the game’s global stars and allow us to further increase our fan base,” he said.

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