Staff WriterThe PIF Saudi Ladies International is back in town, and Riyadh Golf Club is about to learn what February pressure feels like when it’s wearing a $5 million price tag and carrying the first tee shot of the PIF Global Series in 2026.
Shannon Tan and Mimi Rhodes — the 2025 LET Order of Merit winner and runner-up respectively — arrive with last season’s receipts still warm, while Ruixin Liu brings the swagger of a recent big win and a refreshingly human admission: sometimes even elite players stand on a tee and think, now where does this hole go?
The trio headline a field that, by Tan’s own telling, doesn’t do “gentle” — and that’s rather the point. “I really like the PIF Global Series. It used to be a team event, and I quite liked it but I think it’s quite nice knowing the PIF has been very supportive towards the game and towards women’s golf, and the field is always really strong, and the prize purse is good as well.
It’s always a great event, and it’s an event that I always look forward to in my schedule. And I think about Riyadh Golf Club, I think I’ve played here four times, and so now I know what to expect. I’ve been working on things in the off-season that I know will help going into this week.”
Shannon Tan: family time, then the January grind
Tan’s offseason sounded less like a glossy highlight reel and more like a professional doing the unglamorous bits properly — rest, reset, then rebuild. “I just felt like time off was quite mandatory after having a long season last year. So I went home, saw my family and friends, and spent Christmas and New Year’s at home, so that was really nice.
And then I went to Australia for about three weeks and saw my coach and physio, and gym trainer. Then just worked on stuff that needed to be worked on, looking at what happened last year, and then pretty much grinded January out. And then now I’m here.”
And “here” isn’t just any stop. The PIF Saudi Ladies International at Riyadh Golf Club has a particular way of exposing your game’s weak links — especially if you’re not bringing enough speed to the party.
Ask Tan for secrets and she doesn’t hand you a treasure map; she hands you a gym programme. “I would say that long hitters do get an advantage. So I’ve been trying to work on my swing speed in the off-season, just trying to hit it as hard as I can and to not care where it goes, because I feel like, for me, I’m so conscious about how straight I hit it. So I’ve been focusing on just trying to gain some yardage, and that will definitely be an advantage. And I think just short game, the rough here can be thick and quite sticky, so I’ve just worked on technique.”
Translation: bring length, bring touch, and don’t bring fear.
Mimi Rhodes: fairways, fresh greens, and a putter with purpose
Rhodes is on her third visit and speaks like someone who’s watched this venue evolve — and intends to evolve with it. “Yeah, I mean, this is my third time here, so I pretty much know what to expect on the golf course as well, and I can tell that they’ve done a lot of work to improve the course, like the greens are rolling really nice. I think I’ve had enough practice and it’s pretty straightforward, if you’re going to hit the fairways, then it’s a really big advantage, because, if you get a bad lie on the rough, then it’s a no go. But I’m just really focused on the putting and the greens. I think it’s going to be a make a really big difference between making birdies or not so, that’s been the main goal.”
If Tan is chasing extra yards, Rhodes is chasing extra conversions — the difference between a solid week and a statement week often lives inside eight feet.
She also believes the series itself has changed the competitive temperature of the season. “It’s huge. It’s been a massive change to the LET especially, and, I think all the players are so excited when you know there’s five a year, so it’s really exciting, and I feel like we can plan our game to peak at those times because they’re the more important ones.
And like Shannon said about the team event, part of it like that was so much fun, and it kind of pushed you to make birdies, but I think it’s great that they made it a four round event, because it kind of shows who are the more consistent players or not, so it’s great for women’s golf and the LET.”
And Rhodes, who won three individual titles last year, knows success can be both jet fuel and turbulence. “It was a really good thing and a negative thing at the same time, because I got them so early on in the year that my mentality kind of changed and I put a few more expectations on myself.
And when you win three times so early on in the year, you kind of think, how easy it is to win, but you have to just change your expectations accordingly. I saw the results at the back end of the year, and I got better. It’s just an important thing to just stay positive out there and just take one day at a time and not get ahead of yourself and keep chasing those wins, because they’ll come if you’re doing the right stuff.”
Ruixin Liu: confidence without the carry-on
Liu arrives as the 2025 Aramco China Championship winner and offers the kind of perspective you only get after you’ve had to grind for form, then suddenly found a door marked WIN and kicked it clean off the hinges.
“Well, last year, that was pretty much my last tournament of the year, and I didn’t really have a great season on the LPGA. I kept my card, but I think that win almost made me feel more confident. And so coming from that one, I didn’t play any golf in the last three months, I had a great off-season.
So for this week, I think I’m just going to take it slowly. It’s my first time playing this golf course, so I’m still kind of confused on some of the holes. So I think my strategy is just to have fun with my dad out there and just try to figure it out.”
As for arriving with the “most recent winner” tag? Liu shrugs it off like lint. “I wouldn’t say that. I always treat each win as an individual. I don’t feel any difference on the next time I play after I win, as I feel like the course is different. But I do think my game is up there. So I just have to get the feeling back after a three-month break, so I feel pretty relaxed this week.”
The $5m question: what does an early win change?
It’s the kind of purse that can alter your entire season’s psychology — and Rhodes answered it with the honesty of someone who understands both economics and irony.
“A lot of spending! But no, obviously, if you win one of these, you take that pressure off of yourself, because, at the end of the day, we’re trying to make a living out here, and if you get that done early, then it takes the pressure off, and you’re more focused on wanting to win instead of wanting to win because of the prize money.”
That’s the sweet spot: playing to win, not playing not to lose.
Tan’s Singapore surge — and keeping it joyful
Tan’s achievements have made her a trailblazer for Singapore — first to win on the LET, first to play in the Olympics, first to be named Player of the Year — and with that comes a spotlight that doesn’t always switch off.
“It is definitely a big honour. First of all, to just represent Singapore. It’s also good just knowing that I’ve got the support of a lot of Singaporeans back home, golfers or non golfers, and just to know that the whole country is behind you when you’re out competing in so many different countries and continents.
And it’s always a good feeling going home for me. Like I went to practice when I was home, everyone was just coming up to me, saying well done for the year. So it’s really nice just knowing that you have people looking out for you and supporting you, and wanting the best for you.”
Growing the game: advice for the next wave in Saudi
Off the course, Golf Saudi’s junior-focused initiatives are part of the week’s wider storyline — and all three players leaned into the same theme: make it welcoming, make it fun, make it feel like it belongs to you.
Liu put it plainly: “I feel like Golf Saudi is just really putting women’s golf out there, and that’s something that has never been done like this before, so I do feel the support. And when we play the golf course, you can see the support and that just shows how much we mean to them. It doesn’t make us feel lesser than the men. I just feel like it’s a great opportunity for us, for the tour and for the future of women’s golf.”
Tan went straight to the core of why anyone sticks with a hard sport. “It’s always good to see juniors and people willing and wanting to take up golf and trying out even just as a sport. It’s nice just seeing more people getting interested in the game. It’s really good to just see Golf Saudi’s passion for the game. But if it’s advice to give, more personally, I think the most important thing for me is just to have fun.
Even for me, when I’m out there, I feel like the weeks I play better are the weeks I enjoy myself out there a bit more. So I think that’s always just important to just have fun.”
And Rhodes delivered the practical nudge — use what’s in front of you, and don’t do it alone. “How much they’re pushing golf here, I would say, just take advantage of the facilities that you have. And at the end of the day, you want to have fun out there.
And I think it’s really nice to be around people that are also your age and just make sure you’re having fun with them in groups, because, it’s not so fun by yourself, but you’ve got great weather here, and the facilities here are really good, and they’re getting better every year we come back. So just take advantage of them.”
When and where is it?
The PIF Saudi Ladies International runs 11–14 February at Riyadh Golf Club, opening the PIF Global Series 2026 with Tan, Rhodes and Liu among the headline acts.
Tickets for the PIF Saudi Ladies International 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 please visit: www.pifglobalseries.com
