Phil Mickelson is the seventh Major winner to sign up for the 2020 Saudi International at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, from January 30-February 2. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

FIVE-time Major Champion Phil Mickelson will tee it up alongside compatriot and fellow American Ryder Cup star Tony Finau when the Saudi International gets under way at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, in January.

The pair are the latest high-profile Americans to join an already world-class field for the second running of the European Tour event.

They will journey to King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) to compete for a prize fund of $3.5m with defending Champion Dustin Johnson, World Number One Brooks Koepka and Masters winner Patrick Reed for the Saudi Internatioal from January 30-February 2.

The Americans will also face stiff competition from a host of European Major winners, including Open Champions Henrik Stenson (2016) and Shane Lowry (2019), plus 2017 Masters winner Sergio Garcia.

Mickelson – a winner of 51 worldwide titles – has enjoyed a number of high-profile finishes in the Middle East but, despite 10 career European Tour victories, is still in search of a maiden win in the Middle East.

“I am really looking forward to playing in Saudi Arabia in January,” said Mickelson, the left-hander who spent more than 25 years in the world’s top 50.

“I watched Dustin win the title last year and thought the course looked like an interesting challenge.

“Having so many talented players on show also made it look like a much more established tournament than one in its inaugural year.

“I have enjoyed my previous visits to the Middle East and am looking forward to playing in a new country and doing my bit to grow the game in the Kingdom.”

Big-hitting American Tony Finau will seek his first European Tour victory at next month’s Saudi International. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

Ranked firmly inside the top 20 of the Official World Golf Rankings, the big hitting American Tony Finau, adds to the star studded line-up, as the 30 year-old looks for a maiden European Tour title on his first visit to the region.

“I’ve always believed that to be considered a world-class player, you must compete in premier tournaments around the world,” said Finau, who made his Ryder Cup debut in 2018 at France’s Le Paris National.

Finau added: “Playing in Saudi Arabia for the first time will be a great experience, and I’m looking forward to competing against what is already an exceptionally strong field, on what I have learned is a great golf course.”

The Royal Greens Golf & Country Club was designed by European Golf Design on the shores of the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Economic City

Saudi’s Royal Greens on the Red Sea

ROYAL Greens Golf & Country Club lies along the spectacular Red Sea coastline and is set alongside a series of stunning residential and recreational facilities.

The club not only boasts a championship golf course and world-class practice facilities, but a state-of-the-art clubhouse which was recently voted the ‘World’s Best Golf Clubhouse 2019’ and ‘Best Course in Saudi 2019’ by the World Golf Awards.

His Excellency Yasir Al-Rumayyan, chairman of the Saudi Golf Federation and Golf Saudi, said: “We are excited to add two more world-class players to our tournament and are firmly on track to deliver another successful championship in the Kingdom.

“Phil Mickelson has been at the top of the sport for more than 25 years and it will be fantastic for the people of Saudi Arabia to watch him play up close, while Tony Finau will no doubt wow the crowds with his incredible power hitting and skill.

“Both will be a fantastic advert for golf, and I look forward to them both helping us drive the game forward in Saudi Arabia.”

The second instalment of the Saudi International will place a special focus on families, community, charity and junior development as the Saudi kingdom looks to develop its golfing pedigree.

“Bringing the world’s best golfers to experience what is KAEC has to offer is an exciting proposition for us,” said Mr. Ahmed Linjawy, group chief exectuive of KAEC.

“We are delighted to be hosting two more first-class players at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, a multi-award winning development and the proud jewel of King Abdullah Economic City.

“Our goal is to establish ourselves as one of the region’s leading and most attractive tourism and leisure destinations on the Red Sea – in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 – and the profile this event attracts will speak for the quality of our experiences & offerings.”

•Tickets are now on sale for the Saudi International, priced at 50SAR per day or 160 SAR for a four-day tournament pass. For more information click here.

The post Saudi International: Mickelson and Finau latest American stars to sign up for KAEC appeared first on Golf North.

Victor Perez, the Frenchman who lives in Dundee, shot an eight-under 64 at Kingsbarns, in the third round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

DUNDEE-based Frenchman Victor Perez and Essex’s Matthew Southgate will enter the final round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in a share of the lead, with both players chasing a maiden European Tour title.

The famous St Andrews Old Course will play host on the final day and with the wind set to kick up, it will be all to play for among the chasing pack which features Cheshire’s Paul Waring, American Ryder Cup player Tony Finau and former World No, 1 Luke Donald.

But Perez and Southgate are in pole position at the Home of Golf, as they sit atop the leaderboard with a two-stroke advantage on 20-under par.

And Southgate will be looking to write a piece of St Andrews history by becoming the first player to win the St Andrews Links Trophy – one of the top amateur trophies – and the Alfred Dunhill Links, one of the most prestigrious on the European Tour.

Perez, who lives with his partner in nearby Dundee will be vying for a first European Tour victory in his rookie season, having graduated from the European Challenge Tour last year.

The 27-year-old carded an eight-under 64 at Kingsbarns Golf Links which included a run of five successive birdies.

Perez said: “It was awesome. Bit windier today. Out of all the courses, we got a bit fortunate to play here today, being a bit wider off the tee. Maybe Carnoustie would have been the tougher course today.

“I played great and hit the ball really well. Felt like I made a couple of putts. I didn’t make any bombs out there or anything.

“Missed a short one on eight but the rest of the ball-striking was class today and I was really pleased with nine birdies again, obviously.”

Southgate, meanwhile, is making his 140^th appearance on Tour and the closest he has come was a share of second place at the 2017 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.

The 30-year-old signed for a seven-under 65 at the Old Course after finishing with a birdie at the ninth, his 18^th.

Matthew Southgate, who won the 2010 St Andrews Links – played over three rounds on the Old Course, and one at either the neighbouring New or Jubilee Courses, said: “I didn’t miss many shots and got the speed of the greens really good.

“I set up so many chances. I was always bound to make a good fistful of them. Not much you can say really. Just really solid all day.

“My swing feels very solid. I feel very happy in my own head at the minute and playing with such a clear mind and just easy swing thoughts.

“The biggest job tomorrow is going to be keeping me in check rather than the golf swing. I’m hitting the ball fantastic the first three days, so there’s no reason why I can’t shoot another good score.

“Someone is going to post a good number, so it’s going to take a good score to get the win.

“I’m so passionate about winning tournaments and being here at the Home of Golf, tomorrow is going to be a difficult one to just keep myself in check and keep producing what I have done the first three days.”

Waring, who grew up playing links golf at the Wirral, and won the 2005 English Amateur Championship at his home club Bromborough, said: “Anything under par around Carnoustie you always take – especially with quite a stiff breeze out there.

“Pleased to shoot as low as I did and get myself involved with the tournament.

“I think when I’m happy and I’m having fun, I feel like I’m at my best. So, this week kind of blends well into the two elements for me.

“If I get a little bit too into it, a little bit sort of too strict on myself, it can have negative effects, said 34-year-old Waring, whose first win came in last year’s Nordea Masters.

“When I’m bouncing around and having a laugh, it’s the true me. It’s showing this season how I’m playing. Enjoying myself a bit more.”

Finau said: “I was happy with the way I played. Missed a short one on 17, but outside of that I played really nicely.

“I thought it was tough. That front nine, every hole was into the wind. It was quite cool this morning when we teed off, so a lot of those holes played a lot harder than they normally do with the wind.

“I was happy to get around the front nine in a couple under and I was able to score on the back nine,” said Finau, whose only PGA Tour win came in Puerto Rico, three years ago.

“It’s very cool to be at the Home of Golf. The Old Course, there’s nothing like it. So, to be able to tee it up tomorrow and play and have a chance to win a golf tournament here is going to be something special,” added Finau.

For final round scores click here.

The post Southgate hopes to complete St Andrews double by adding the Dunhill to Links Trophy appeared first on Golf North.

RORY McIlroy is targeting a second BMW PGA Championship title as he aims to round off a memorable season by matching his career-best total of five victories in a calendar year.

The World No. 2 sealed his first victory at Wentworth Club in May 2014, kicking off a sequence that saw him capture his third and fourth Major Championship titles as well as a World Golf Championship – and return to the summit of the world golf rankings within three months.

With three victories so far this year on the way to sealing FedEx Cup glory in the United States, the Northern Irishman is eyeing at least two more wins from his remaining four events to equal his 2012 total – starting this week at the fourth Rolex Series event on the 2019 Race to Dubai.

McIlroy, who returns to the Burma Road West Course in fine form, said: “The most I’ve ever won in a season is five. I’d love to at least equal that and try to better that. Feel like I’m playing well enough.

“Just keep going, try not to let my foot off the pedal and finish the year the way I started it, on a very positive note.

“I think all the great golf that I’ve played up until this point this year moves me in the right direction – and gives me motivation to try and end this year well, and try to get a couple more wins.

“The win in 2014 was something out of the blue. I went down and rode that wave of momentum all the way through the summer, with Majors and Ryder Cup and all that.

“Sometimes need these little sparks to get you going and that was definitely a spark for me to give me that little push forward and do what I did that year.”

McIlroy, who finished runner-up to Francesco Molinari here last season, is joined in one of the strongest fields in the history of the prestigious event by a trio of debutants in Tony Finau, Viktor Hovland and Jon Rahm.

American Finau last played in England at The Open at Royal Birkdale, in 2017, but he sees this week’s event as the first of many around the world in the coming years.

Finau, whose rise to fame began as one of the starts of the Golf Channel’s Big Break series in 2009, said: “I’ve heard nothing but great things about this golf tournament, about the event, about the golf course.

“A lot of our guys enjoy coming to this tournament specifically. As I asked around, and as I was planning on adding a couple of European Tour events to my schedule, this was one that I felt like was necessary with all the feedback I got from the American guys.

“If you’re truly a world-class player, I feel like you’ve got to win all around the world on different types of golf courses, and then I get to experience different cultures and travel to different places.

“So a combination of all those things, I feel like are a reason why I wanted to add some European Tour events – and maybe eventually even some other tours to my resumé.”

Hovland, the 22-year-old Norwegian, has his sights firmly set on the 2020 Ryder Cup as he makes his European Tour professional debut in the event that kicks of the points race for the European Ryder Cup team.

Hovland, who turned pro after finishing 12th in the US Open at Pebble Beach in June, playing as the reigning US Amateur Champion.

He won the Havemeyer Trophy at the famous Californian venue in August 2018, and is already thinking about he Ryder Cup having played in the Palmer Cup for Europe and the International team against the top American college golfers in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

Hovland said: “That would mean everything to be part of the Ryder Cup team. I love college golf so much, even though professional golf is really cool, I still think about the times that we had in college.

“There’s nothing better than winning a tournament as a team, and hopefully one day I’ll be part of a winning Ryder Cup team.”

“We have a really cool venue this week and hopefully I can continue to play some good golf,” added Hovland, who is already on the verge of breaking into the world top 100 after just eight professional starts in the States.

Meanwhile three-time Rolex Series event winner Rahm is aiming to add his name to the illustrious list of Spanish victors at Wentworth, following his countrymen Seve Ballesteros, Miguel Ángel Jiménez and José Maria Olazábal.

Rahm, who won his third Rolex Series event at the Irish Open, in July, said: “Yesterday was the first time I was ever on the ground here and first time I ever played on the course, and I like it.

“I’ve heard so many things over the years people telling me about the redesigns – people that like it, people didn’t like it.

“I think it’s just been coincidence that three of the four events I’ve won on the European Tour have been Rolex Series Events, luckily for me.

“Any time I can join Spanish golf history, it would be great,” added the Ryder Cup winner, who first played men’s amateur golf in England back in 2010, when he competed in the Brabazon Trophy.

“To do it here, a tournament that a lot of people look forward to, and I’ve looked forward to, it would be nice to be the fourth one to get there and add it for Spanish golf,” said Rahm, whose record of a total of 60 weeks at No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, in 2015 and 2016, is still a record.

Rory McIlroy is out to match and even break his record of five victories in 2014 – which included two Major victories – as he tees it up in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

The post Rory revved up for run at breaking five-win record as he returns to Wentworth appeared first on Golf North.