{"id":786346,"date":"2026-09-29T12:30:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T12:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/786346\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T12:30:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T12:30:14","slug":"womens-golf-hit-by-latest-saudi-withdrawal-as-pif-global-series-comes-to-an-end-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/786346\/","title":{"rendered":"Women\u2019s golf hit by latest Saudi withdrawal as PIF Global Series comes to an end \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The influx of Saudi Arabia<\/a> money into professional golf is slowing down dramatically. And while LIV Golf were the first to feel the pinch, now the Ladies European Tour are to set to be hit with the withdrawal of the PIF Global Series at the end of this year.<\/p>\n

This season\u2019s PIF Global Series on the LET featured five tournaments with a total of $15 million in prizemoney but will collapse to just one next year, the PIF London Championship, which will have a new name, date and partner for 2027.<\/p>\n

This season\u2019s PIF-backed tournaments on the LET took place in Saudi Arabia, Las Vegas (where Leona Maguire was runner-up) and London with two more scheduled to take place in Seoul, South Korea and Shenzhen in China.<\/p>\n

Five will become one next year with the event in London \u2013 to be held the week before the AIG Women\u2019s Open \u2013 renamed simply as The Championship, according to a Golf Saudi press release.<\/p>\n

\u201cGolf Saudi has been an outstanding partner to the LET and has played a transformational role in creating opportunities for our players,\u201d said LET CEO Tom Phillips in a release. \u201cWe are delighted that Golf Saudi is continuing to invest in the Ladies European Tour.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Singer-songwriterSinger-songwriter and R&A Ambassador
\nNiall Horan made a surprise visit to Golf It! in Glasgow to see first-hand the progress of its Disability Golf Programme. Photograph: R&A Niall Horan combining singing with being R&A ambassador<\/p>\n

Singer-songwriter Niall Horan \u2013 formerly of One Direction but still very much of Mullingar Golf Club, where he is a long-time member \u2013 is fulfilling his role as an R&A ambassador with unerring accuracy off the golf course.<\/p>\n

Horan made a surprise visit yesterday to the Golf It! Facility in Glasgow to witness first-hand the progress of the centre\u2019s Disability Golf Programme.<\/p>\n

Horan, in Glasgow for a stop on his Dinner Party Live tour, went to the R&A\u2019s community-based golf facility to meet participants, hear about their experiences and take part in a session for golfers with a disability, seeing first-hand the impact of a programme.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was brilliant to visit Golf It! and spend time with some of the people who are taking part in the disability golf sessions. Golf should be a sport that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy and seeing the difference this programme is making \u2013 whether that is helping someone try golf for the first time, building confidence or giving them the opportunity to progress further in the sport \u2013 is incredible,\u201d said Horan.<\/p>\n

Word of Mouth<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think anybody knows what\u2019s the weight a captain carries on their shoulders all week. I don\u2019t think they realise that you\u2019re not just making a decision that affects you, you\u2019re making a decision that ripple affects the whole team – people\u2019s families, people\u2019s lives. Every decision you make carries a serious consequence. You think you know, but you don\u2019t until you\u2019ve done it\u201d<\/p>\n

USA captain Brandt Snedeker on finally feeling the weight lift off his shoulders after a final day singles fightback saw his team complete their own Miracle at Medinah in coming from three points behind to finally overcome the International team in the Presidents Cup. The USA won 9\u00bd out of 12 points on offer in the final session of singles, for an overall 17-13 victory. It gave the USA an 11th straight Presidents Cup win.<\/p>\n

\"LiamLiam Nolan is in action in Abu Dhabi. Photograph: Ben Brady\/Inpho By the Numbers: 9<\/p>\n

No question where the largest contingent of Irish golfers will be in action this week, with nine players competing in the Abu Dhabi Championship in the UAE on the Hotel Planner Tour: Liam Nolan, Max Kennedy, Conor Purcell, Mark Power, Gary Hurley, Ronan Mullarney, James Sugrue, Damien Scott and amateur Mark Cadden are all teeing up.<\/p>\n

On this day, September 29th, 1996<\/p>\n

Sweden\u2019s Per-Ulrik Johansson had been in two minds on whether or not to include the Smurfit European Open at The K Club on his schedule, his confidence hit by back-to-back missed cuts on the European Tour.<\/p>\n

Johansson \u2013 who had missed the weekends at both the Lancome Trophy and the Loch Lomond Invitational \u2013 decided that he would play in Straffan, a move which resulted in securing a third career win on the circuit.<\/p>\n

Having started the final round one shot behind Paul Broadhurst and Costantino Rocca, Johansson finished birdie-birdie for a 70 for a winning total of 11-under-par 277, one clear of Rocca.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis sport can be tough sometimes. You just can\u2019t give up so easily, though. It\u2019s funny, when I won the Czech Open a couple of years ago, I nearly wasn\u2019t going there either. Maybe that says something about my frame of mind; perhaps I\u2019m inclined to put too much pressure on myself and, when I don\u2019t expect too much, I achieve most,\u201d said Johansson of his mindset in capturing the title and a payday equivalent to \u20ac175,000.<\/p>\n

Social Swing<\/p>\n

A nice week off. Back now for @dunhilllinks. Played @Sunningdale_GC old and new, @StackstownGC @thekclub and @PGC1894 \u2013 P\u00e1draig Harrington proving that a week off is never a week off. The Dubliner is in action at this week\u2019s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to believe it\u2019s already been a year since Bethpage. I\u2019m still so proud of this team and incredibly grateful to have shared those moments and made history together. Being Captain is a privilege I\u2019ll always cherish. To everyone who gave everything for Europe, my family who supported me every step of the way and the fans who made New York feel like home, thank you. A week I\u2019ll never forget \u2013 Luke Donald still on cloud nine a year after Bethpage.<\/p>\n

In the Bag<\/p>\n

Matt Fitzpatrick – FedEx French Open<\/p>\n

Driver \u2013 Ping G430 LST (9\u00b0) <\/p>\n

3-wood \u2013 TaylorMade Qi35 (15\u00b0)<\/p>\n

5-wood \u2013 TaylorMade Qi35 (18\u00b0)<\/p>\n

Irons \u2013 Ping i210 (4), Ping S55 irons (5-9) <\/p>\n

Wedges \u2013 Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48\u00b0, 52\u00b0, 56\u00b0 and 60\u00b0) <\/p>\n

Putter \u2013 Bettinardi BB1 \u2018Fitz\u2019 Prototype<\/p>\n

Ball \u2013 Titleist ProV1X<\/p>\n

Know the Rules<\/p>\n

Q: In stroke play, player A concedes player B\u2019s short putt and knocks the ball away. Player B lifts their ball and plays from the next tee. What is the ruling?<\/p>\n

A: In this situation, Player B is disqualified. Under Rule 3.3c, if the player fails to hole out at any hole they must correct that mistake before making a stroke to begin another hole. If the mistake is not corrected in that time, the player is disqualified.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The influx of Saudi Arabia money into professional golf is slowing down dramatically. And while LIV Golf were…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":786347,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[5904,154764,39462,17106,259054,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-786346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-ladies-european-tour","tag-niall-horan","tag-padraig-harrington","tag-saudi-arabia-s-public-investment-fund","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=786346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786346\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/786347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=786346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=786346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=786346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}