The Saudi tournament is being held the same week as the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California; players who have competed in the PGA Tour event at least once in the past five years granted a release on the condition they commit to play it at least once in the next two years
Monday 20 December 2021 23:44, UK
The PGA Tour has granted conditional release to players to compete at the Saudi International next year.
Defending champion Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau are among 25 players who were already announced for the Asian Tour event from February 3-6.
The tournament, previously on the European Tour, is being held the same week as the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California and the PGA Tour had previously said it would deny waivers.
Players who have competed in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at least once in the past five years were granted a release on the condition that they commit to play it at least once in the next two years.
If a player has never competed at the event, he would be required to play it twice over the next three years.
Paul Casey, Tommy Fleetwood, Adam Scott and Xander Schauffele are among a host of other leading players to have signed up for the Saudi event at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club.
The Saudi international, which pays appearance money, is now the flagship event on the Asian Tour, which has added 10 new events as part of a 10-year investment by LIV Golf Investments, the largely Saudi-backed group being led by Greg Norman.
The PGA Tour added the releases are not "precedent setting".
World No 3 Johnson won the Saudi International in 2019 and 2021, and he was runner-up to Graeme McDowell in 2020.
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