Asian Tour Heading Back to Riyadh for Saudi Open with Order of Merit, 2024 Cards up for Grabs

The Asian Tour’s 2023 season will come full circle next month when it holds its last event of the year in Saudi Arabia.

More than 10 months after starting the season in the desert kingdom, the tour returns for the Saudi Open in Riyadh.

With the order of merit title still up for grabs and only players in the top 65 retaining full status for next year, there is plenty to play for at this week’s event at the Taifong Open in Taiwan and at Riyadh Golf Club 11 days later.

Those that do keep their cards will be back at the same venue little more than a month later for the start of the 2024 schedule, with the tournament taking place again from January 25 to 28.

In a release, the tour said the elevation of the event from the Asian Development Tour (ADT) in 2022 to the Asian Tour was “a further sign of the close ties between Golf Saudi and the Asian Tour”.

“Last year’s Saudi Open on the ADT was one of the most popular tournaments we have staged in the kingdom,” Cho Minn Thant, commissioner and CEO of the Asian Tour, said.

“Following that success, it will now provide a fitting climax to the Asian Tour’s 2023 season – and we will then see a quick turnaround during the new year break and return to tee off our 2024 campaign.

“Our thanks go to our counterparts at Golf Saudi and the Riyadh Golf Club for their continued support and partnership.”

The 120-strong field for this year’s event will include the top 80 available players from the order of merit as well as invited players from other international tours.

The tournament will also feature up-and-coming players from the Gulf Cooperation Council and Arab countries as well as representatives from Saudi Arabia’s national team.

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“Joining the Asian Tour this year as the final event on its schedule is an exciting new development for the Saudi Open,” Noah Alireza, CEO at Golf Saudi, said.

“Every year we’ve hosted the tournament, it has got bigger and better. We’re especially proud of how each edition provides Saudi and Arab golfers the opportunity to participate in a top-tier competition.”