Written By: Anjali Mishra 

Golf Saudi officials issued a press release announcing the commitment of 25 top American and European players, including 11 major champions, to play at Royal Greens Golf Club near Jeddah.

When the Saudi International was a European Tour tournament, the PGA Tour used to provide its members free passes to the first three rounds. The PGA and European tours formed a strategic agreement last summer, which included the removal of the Saudi event from the European Tour's (now DP World Tour) schedule, and was widely seen as a combined effort to thwart any competitor tours.

Now, several players on the list of Saudi International have competed in or won the tournament (Dustin Johnson won in 2019 and 2021, Graeme McDowell won in 2020), which was part of the DP World Tour (formerly European Tour) schedule from 2019 to 2021. Tour officials in Europe and the United States distanced themselves from the event when Golf Saudi began making overtures toward launching its own golf series and attempting to recruit high-profile players to be the major attractions. They reportedly told players that they would no longer be allowed permission to compete in the Saudi Invitational and that if they did, they would be reprimanded.

The players announced as committed to playing the Saudi International in 2022 are:

Abraham Ancer, Adri Arnaus Rafael, Cabrera Bello, Bryson DeChambeau, Jason Dufner, Tommy Fleetwood, Sergio Garcia, Tyrrell Hatton, Dustin Johnson, Jason Kokrak, Shane Lowry, Graeme McDowell, Phil Mickelson, Kevin Na, Joaquin Niemann, Louis Oosthuizen, Ian Poulter, Xander Schauffele, Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson, Harold Varner III, Jhonattan Vegas, Bubba Watson, Lee Westwood, Paul Casey.