European Tour Saudi International leaderboard http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2019/tournamentid=2019014/leaderboard/index.html#/leaderboard
As many of us in North America are caught in the grip of this frigid polar vortex I am watching the inaugural Saudi International half way around the world in the heat of Saudi Arabia.
TV has as way of zooming in on its target so at first glance it could be just another tournament and it's not until they pan around that you begin to see the surrounds..
Initial thoughts : It's obviously brand new, the course isn't a year old and it reminds me of Dubai 30 years ago without all the skyscrapers surrounding it.
: Thomas Pieters shot 63 -7 in the early calm conditions to lead the first round by 2 shots. As Patrick Reed mentioned, when the Desert wind blows in the afternoon it's a much tougher test.
: The top players are being paid enormous appearance fees and are all housed in first class accommodations at the site so they are being very gracious in their praise. So take that into consideration.
: Remember the European Tour can't play in Europe early in their schedule due to winter so the Middle East has become a great place for them to expand into. For sure each country has its own set of traditions and rules of behaviour and Saudis record on human rights is not great to say the least. However they could argue that also may apply to many other places in the world where pro golf is being played.
: In all of the Middle Eastern countries the local people are not playing the game. Rich ruling families are encouraging tourism to replace oil as a major source of income so a televised pro golf tournament on courses they have built is a great way to promote. Dubai in the UAE leads the way but countries like Turkey, Qatar and now Saudi Arabia are following suit.
Of the marquee names Patrick Reed -3, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson all -2. Brooks Koepka and Sergio Garcia -1 Justin Rose E.
Bryan Angus
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