Saudi International: Power ranking the top 10 at Royal Greens

Political tension is swirling around the European Tour’s controversial new stop, the Saudi International.

Whenever the European Tour can bring in four of the world’s top five players, that’s usually the big story for the buildup to the tournament. Especially when you consider this week’s event, the Audi International, is brand new.

Instead, the European Tour is under the microscope for playing amidst the turmoil in Saudi Arabia.

Players have been asked to defend their decision to play in this event, with most turning on the tunnel vision and rationalizing their choice as a business decision. Several big name American pros are in the Middle East like last week’s Dubai Desert Classic winner Bryson DeChambeau, three-time major winner Brooks Koepka and 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed. It’s not a big leap to speculate they’re all walking away richer this whether they make the cut or not.

It’s hard to know how playing in Saudi Arabia will affect the field not only in their dealings with the media, but in terms of on-course play.

The host course is Royal Greens Golf & Country Club which only opened last year. For members it’s a par 72 but at 7,010 yards it’d reduced to par 70 for the pros.

The course is near the sea with desert waste areas surrounding flushes of green.

The weather forecast looks pretty benign with temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s, sunshine and winds that could nudge into double digits miles per hour.

Without much data to go off here, I find it advisable to find players who have fared well on the last two week’s desert layouts in the United Arab Emirates or even the Desert Classic on the PGA Tour.

Rest and jet lag are something to consider. Do you really want to ride with someone jumping from San Diego to Saudi Arabia? It could be risky.

There’s plenty of talent to choose from to formulate a top 10, so let’s get to it: