Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: LIV Golf Investments and the Asian Tour have unveiled The International Series and the 2022-2023 destinations and prize purses for the ground-breaking series of 10 marquee international events announced in November 2021. 

In what was described as ‘the most significant development in the history of Asian golf and a boom for the global game’, what is now to be known as The International Series will be integrated into the full 2022-23 Asian Tour schedule.

The series will kick-off in Thailand in March followed by visits to England, Korea, Vietnam, the Middle East, China, Singapore, and Hong Kong and will feature prize purses ranging from US$1.5 million to US$2 million per event.

The announcement also saw the unveiling of the new brand, name, and logo for The International Series as well as an increase in the lucrative and unprecedented investment into the Asian Tour by LIV Golf to US$300 million from US$200 million, further solidifying LIV Golf Investments’ dedication to the growth of the global game.

As one of the biggest investments in the history of professional golf, The International Series will support playing opportunities and prize funds for the 10 events to be played every season over the next decade. It has been designed to drive greater engagement among fans, attract new commercial interest and to help stabilise professional golf following a sustained period of worldwide disruption and uncertainty.

“We are on the threshold of a new era for Asian golf,” said Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner and CEO, Asian Tour, a Full Business Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation. “The International Series is a new upper-tier of elite events, the likes of which the region has not seen before, that will mark the start of a phenomenal period of growth for the Asian Tour.

“It also signifies the furthering of our relationship with our new strategic partner LIV Golf Investments and its CEO, Greg Norman.

“Importantly, The International Series will add to the Asian Tour’s backbone of established events to comprise a 25-event season, expected to represent a record-breaking combined prize-fund. Each of the 10 events will be broadcast live across the globe, with plans to attract an international field of headline talent.”

In October last year, Norman was announced as CEO of LIV Golf Investments – a newly formed company whose purpose is to holistically improve the health of professional golf on a global scale to help unlock the sports’ untapped worldwide potential. PIF, one of the world’s largest and most impactful sovereign wealth funds with a diverse international investment portfolio, is the majority shareholder in LIV Golf Investments.

“We are setting the Asian Tour up as a powerful new force on the world golf stage,” said Norman. “In my 40 years as a professional golfer, I’ve seen many parts of the world that have benefitted tremendously from golf and its growth and development. 

“We now have the opportunity to do that in the Asia Pacific region and the Middle East with this incredible investment platform. Everyone benefits – professional players, amateurs, grass-roots golf, fans, economies, communities, stakeholders. I’ve never been so optimistic about the future of the sport.”

Black Mountain Golf Club in Hua Hin will host The International Series Thailand (March 3-6), boasting a prize purse of US$1.5 million, before London stages the next event at Centurion Club (June 9-12), offering a US$2 million purse. 

The second half of the year will see stops in Korea, Vietnam, and Indonesia before heading to the Middle East and then culminating in China, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

The announcement comes on the eve of the Asian Tour’s new season with the US$5 million PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers starting on Thursday at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club.

With six of the top 20 players in the world competing – including Americans Dustin Johnson, the 2019 and 2021 champion, and Bryson DeChambeau – as well as over 50 of the Asian Tour’s most prominent players, the star-studded event is the strongest field in the history of the Asian Tour.

The tournament, which is not part of The International Series, also offers one of the Asian Tour’s most lucrative purses.

The Asian Tour’s 2020-21 season was completed last month and saw Kim Joo-hyung, Korea’s 19-year-old rising star, claim the Asian Tour Order of Merit title.

Kim said: “I have been fortunate to enjoy an amazing start to my professional career but for this to happen at the same time as the Asian Tour is going through such incredibly positive changes is a huge bonus for me, as well as for all the Asian Tour players.”