The PGA Tour Champions are winning the Hassan Trophy this week in Morocco. Remarkably, at the Pro-Am held at the Royal Golf Darussalam in Rabat on Wednesday, Interesting name in the field.
According to Golf Channel’s Brently Romine, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) president Yasir Al-Rumayyan competed in the Pro-Am as an amateur with a handicap of 12. He played alongside Indian professional Arjun Atwal.
Saudi Arabia’s PIF is of course a backer of LIV Golf, providing funding for the emerging league.
Today I am playing with professional Arjun Atwal in the PGA Tour Champions Pro-Am match held in Morocco…
Mr. Yasir Al Rumayyan, 12 handicap amateur, PIF Governor pic.twitter.com/1KCa1ti3fF
— Brentley Romine (@BrentleyGC) February 21, 2024
Al Rumayan is no stranger to the golf course. He is an avid player and reportedly loves the game. He competed in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at the Old Course in St Andrews last year.
He was paired with LIV Golf’s Peter Uihlein and R&A CEO Martin Slumbers. But the most interesting thing about that week was that Al Rumayyan did not play under his own name, but under the name Andrew Waterman.
That raised a lot of eyebrows.
He also participates in the LIV Golf Pro-Am. Last year, Al Rumayan hit the ceremonial tee shot at the PIF Saudi International Tournament at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club.
There is still a lot of tension between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour. The original deadline for the agreement was December of this year, but both sides postponed the deadline to April.
Since then, the PGA Tour has signed a $3 billion investment agreement with Strategic Sports Group. Questions therefore remain as to whether Saudi funding is any longer needed for the tour. Jordan Spieth certainly doesn’t think so.
Still, the debate continues. What does the future of professional golf look like in a year? It’s impossible to know.
Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.If you want to know more about golf, please follow us. @_PlayingThrough On all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirls and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
