LPGA stars flock to the desert before Asian swing.
While the LPGA is off for two weeks before beginning its spring Asian swing, a number of top players will compete in next week's PIF Saudi Ladies International to kick off the 2026 LET season.
No. 5 Charley Hull headlines the field Feb. 11-14 at Riyadh Golf Club. The popular Englishwoman opened her season last week at the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in Orlando, Florida, where she tied for 17th. Two years ago, Hull won in Riyadh for her fourth LET title. She has three wins on the LPGA.
Rio Takeda, 14th in the Rolex Rankings, also joins the field as do the Iwai sisters, Chizzy and Akie, Nasa Hataoka, Celine Boutier and Amy Yang, who finished runner-up last week to Nelly Korda at the controversial weather-shortened TOC.
Promising LPGA rookies Helen Briem and Mimi Rhodes also kick off 2026 in Saudi, as does the newly-engaged Muni He, who is playing on a sponsor invite along with Danielle Kang and new mom Alison Lee.
Five-time major winner Yani Tseng, who orchestrated one of the great comebacks of 2025 when she won on the LET in Taiwan, her first title on any tour since 2014, is in the field. Tseng also made the cut at the AIG Women's British Open last year, her first made cut on the LPGA since 2018.
Other notables include Singapore’s Shannon Tan, the 2025 LET Order of Merit winner, 2024 Saudi winner and major champion Patty Tavatanakit and Solheim Cup stalwart Carlota Ciganda, who got married over the offseason to longtime beau James Longman, a caddie on the LPGA.
The 72-hole tournament features a purse of $5 million, the highest on the LET outside the majors. The Saudi Ladies International marks the first in a series of five tournaments sponsored by the PIF Global Series.
Saudi-backed events remain controversial, given the wide-ranging human rights abuses Saudi Arabia has been accused of, especially toward women. The 2026 season marks the first time the LPGA will sanction a PIF-funded event with the new Aramco Championship April 2-5 at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Charley Hull headlines $5 million Saudi Ladies International field
Category: General Sports
