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Asian Tour postpones $5 million Saudi finale; season now ends in Manila
The loss of the Riyadh event cuts the Asian Tour's 2026 calendar to 14 tournaments. The DP World Tour says its two UAE play-off events will go ahead in November.
The Asian Tour’s 2026 season will finish at Manila Southwoods, not Riyadh. Golf Saudi and the tour said on Thursday that the PIF Saudi International, a $5 million event due at Riyadh Golf Club 18–21 November, has been postponed. No new date or venue was given, and the tour’s official schedule now ends with the Philippine Open, 12–15 November.
The joint statement put the decision down to “an assessment of the organisational and logistical challenges associated with hosting the tournament” and did not mention security. Reuters linked it to the strike on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on 10 October, in which at least 12 people died. Houthi forces in Yemen have been firing missiles and drones at Saudi airports, ports and oil installations.
Cho Minn Thant, the tour’s commissioner, called it “one of the most important events on the Asian Tour calendar” and said the tour looked forward “to seeing our players compete in Riyadh in the future”. The tour said it was in direct contact with its members and would give details of the rest of 2026 and the 2027 schedule later.
The postponement leaves 14 Asian Tour events on this year’s calendar. Cho told bunkered.co.uk earlier this month that the tour had expected to stage 21 or 22 events before the Public Investment Fund withdrew its backing from LIV Golf, which also paid for the International Series. International Series events in India and China had already been cancelled.
The DP World Tour’s two play-off events in the UAE are going ahead. “It is our intention to play the two playoff events as scheduled in the UAE next month,” a spokesperson told Golfweek, adding that the tour was taking advice from international travel advisers. The Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship starts at Yas Links on 5 November and the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates on 12 November, with Sotogrande in Spain as the fallback venue.
Sources
- Asian Tour: PIF Saudi International postponed
- Asian Tour: 2026 schedule
- Reuters via KFGO: Asian Tour postpone Saudi International after Riyadh attacks
- Golf Channel: Asian Tour postpones Saudi finale as DP World Tour reportedly still plans UAE playoffs
- Golf Monthly: Asian Tour postpones $5m season finale amid Saudi security fears
- bunkered.co.uk: Doubt cast over Asian Tour finale after Saudi Arabia attacks
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