Staff WriterIf the new season needed a trumpet blast, the PIF Saudi Ladies International at Riyadh Golf Club is more like a full brass band marching down the fairway. From 11–14 February 2026, the Ladies European Tour’s season opener doubles as a PIF Global Series showpiece, a $5 million statement that women’s golf is not just here, it’s here in high definition.
World No. 5 Charley Hull tops a field packed with major winners, Solheim Cup warriors and serial globe-trotters, all converging on Riyadh to chase trophies, rankings points and life-changing cheques.
The PIF Saudi Ladies International is part of the expanding PIF Global Series – a travelling circus of elite women’s golf that rolls through Las Vegas, London, Korea and Shenzhen, offering the best in the world a serious competitive platform and emerging talent a chance to crash the party at premier venues.
Between the world-class fields and equal prize funds, it’s starting to look less like a tour and more like a quiet revolution with yardage books.
Beyond the scoreboards, Golf Saudi’s ambassadors will be putting in overtime. Not just between the ropes, but in Go Golf clinics and on the range with beginners and local amateurs at every stop, including Riyadh. The message is simple: watch us play, then come have a go yourself.
Hull Returns to Riyadh as the Benchmark
Charley Hull, Golf Saudi Ambassador and serial leaderboard occupier, arrives at Riyadh Golf Club with enough form and history here to give everyone else indigestion. The 29-year-old already has multiple global titles on her CV and famously lifted the individual crown in the Riyadh Series back in 2024.
Since then, she’s turned the PIF Global Series into something of a personal playground, racking up top-10 finishes in both Riyadh and Houston last year and earning cult-hero status with fans in the region.
Now she’s back for another crack at the PIF Saudi Ladies International, bringing the swagger of a four-time LET winner who knows exactly how to win in the Kingdom.
Hull has long made fitness and mental wellbeing as non-negotiable as her pre-shot routine, and she made plenty of headlines in 2025 when she revealed that one of her big goals was to sharpen her 5km run time.
Hull said: **“Every time I return to Riyadh, I’m blown away by how much the game has grown. My preparation for the PIF Saudi Ladies International is about more than just golf; it’s about arriving as an athlete ready to perform on a world-class stage.
“As a Golf Saudi ambassador, I want the next generation of young girls watching us at Riyadh Golf Club to see that with discipline and the right support, there are no limits. Being part of this journey where we see equal prize money is incredibly inspiring, and I’m proud to help show young girls what’s possible through the game. Every time I return to Riyadh, I’m blown away by how much the game has grown.”**
And if you thought that was all about soft-focus motivation posters, think again. Hull’s as competitive on the road as she is on the range.
“I haven’t yet got my PB down as I tore a ligament in my ankle in August, just as I was getting close to 20 minutes… I’ve only just started running again but I hope to get to sub 20 this year!”
Ligament tear or not, she lands in Riyadh very much as the woman everyone else has to go through if they want to win the PIF Saudi Ladies International.
Alison Lee: Solheim Star, Maternity Comeback, Serial Winner
If you’re looking for storylines, Alison Lee has brought a suitcase full. The American is a two-time PIF Global Series individual winner (Sotogrande 2021 and Riyadh 2023) and a two-time Solheim Cup star, which means she’s used to both winning and doing it under floodlights and flags.
Lee returns to Riyadh Golf Club after her comeback at the Aramco Houston Championship, following a maternity break that would have sent most athletes into a full schedule rethink. Instead, she was back inside six months, teeing it up at the final PIF Global Series event of 2025 in Shenzhen, and speaking openly about juggling elite performance with being a new mum.
In golf-speak, that’s called “taking on a lot of shots”. In human-speak, it’s downright heroic. Expect plenty of eyes on Lee as she chases another big week at the PIF Saudi Ladies International.
Patty Tavatanakit: Major Champion Back Where She Already Won
Major champion Patty Tavatanakit returns to Riyadh with a grin and a goal: do it all over again. The 26-year-old is one of Thailand’s brightest lights and has already proved she travels well, winning the PIF Saudi Ladies International in 2024 and cementing a special bond with Riyadh Golf Club in the process.
Tavatanakit said: “I feel good going into this week, and I’m super excited to get to Riyadh. This course and tournament have a special place in my heart, and I’m so lucky to count myself as a past champion. This event stands out on the calendar every year due to Golf Saudi’s incredible support of the athletes and of golf in general – we’re all looking forward to getting there for a great week!”
A past champion with a comfort level on this golf course is about as dangerous as it gets. If the putter warms up, she’ll be a massive threat to add another Saudi title to her collection.
Ciganda, Skarpnord and the Veterans Who Refuse to Fade
Spain’s Carlota Ciganda arrives with a CV that reads like a career bucket list: 11 combined wins across the LPGA Tour and the LET, plus seven Solheim Cup appearances. In Houston, her last PIF Global Series outing, she finished T2 behind compatriot Nuria Iturrioz, tied with none other than fellow Golf Saudi Ambassador Hull.
In other words, Ciganda is one hot weekend away from turning the PIF Saudi Ladies International into a Spanish fiesta.
Then there’s Marianne Skarpnord, proof that age is just another number on the leaderboard graphic. The 39-year-old played 18 LET events in 2025 and has been stacking wins since 2009. Retirement clearly didn’t get copied into her calendar invite.
Skarpnord said: “Women’s golf has changed massively since I started on the tour in 2005. Over the last decade, the game has grown enormously, and the standard today is completely different. Golf Saudi has played a massive part in that – they are raising the profile of the women’s game, strengthening the fields and creating opportunities for us that simply didn’t exist before.”
She returns to Riyadh Golf Club with all that experience and zero intention of stepping politely aside for the younger generation at the PIF Saudi Ladies International.
Muni “Lily” He and the Question Everyone’s Asking
Few players move the needle with fans quite like Muni “Lily” He. Stylish, social-media savvy and blessed with a golf swing that could be bottled and sold, she finished T8 in the 2025 edition of the PIF Saudi Ladies International at Riyadh Golf Club.
She’s already shown flashes of brilliance on both the LPGA and the LET. The question now, heading into 2026, is whether this is the year she turns “popular player” into “consistent winner”. A big week in Riyadh would be a very loud start.
Danielle Kang: Major Heart, Major Grit
Danielle Kang, a Major champion and six-time LPGA Tour winner, is another headliner back in the PIF Global Series mix after finishing inside the top 30 at the Aramco Houston Championship in 2025.
The 33-year-old has dealt with serious back issues and health challenges, yet keeps reappearing on leaderboards like a particularly stubborn boomerang. The PIF Saudi Ladies International offers another chance for Kang to turn that resilience into silverware, and few would be surprised if she mounted a charge.
Olivia Cowan and Pauline Roussin-Bouchard: Road Warriors on the Rise
If frequent flyer miles translated directly into trophies, Olivia Cowan would need a new trophy room. The German played all five PIF Global Series events in 2025, finishing inside the top 20 three times and peaking with a T4 at the PIF London Championship at Centurion Club.
She’ll be eager to use the PIF Saudi Ladies International as a springboard into another strong year, especially after proving she can contend on a variety of layouts.
France’s Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, meanwhile, brings a blend of youthful fire and proven winning touch. A two-time winner on the Ladies European Tour, she also claimed the PIF Global Series – Singapore title in 2023.
With the 25-year-old now eyeing the next phase of her career, Riyadh looks like a logical place to start another trophy chase: the PIF Saudi Ladies International is exactly the sort of stage she tends to light up.
A New Era for Women’s Golf on Show in Riyadh
From Hull’s running-obsessed preparation and Tavatanakit’s love affair with Riyadh Golf Club, to Alison Lee’s maternity comeback and Skarpnord’s veteran perspective, the PIF Saudi Ladies International is much more than a curtain-raiser. It’s a snapshot of how far the women’s game has come – bigger prize funds, stronger fields, global schedules – and where it’s heading next.
Throw in Go Golf clinics, ambassadors mixing with juniors on the range, and equal prize money making a very clear statement, and you’ve got a week in Riyadh that promises drama on the leaderboards and inspiration outside the ropes.
How to Watch It Live in Riyadh
Tickets for the PIF Saudi Ladies International at Riyadh Golf Club are now on sale and can be purchased at: webook.com/en/events/pif-golf-ladies-int
For more information on the PIF Global Series and the upcoming Saudi Ladies International, visit: www.pifglobalseries.com
