The LPGA is linking up with the Ladies European Tour for a new event in Las Vegas next spring that will be part of the Saudi-backed PIF Global Series. The new Aramco Championship will be staged at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas, a club known in recent years for hosting iterations of “The Match” series, as well as the LPGA’s T-Mobile Match Play up through this year.
The new tournament, co-sanctioned by Golf Saudi, will have a $4M purse, one of the biggest on the LPGA, and be part of the PIF’s Global Series, which has four other tournaments across the world. The Aramco Championship will be contested April 2-5 and be operated by sports and entertainment agency 54. Currently, the agreement is only for 2026.
LPGA commissioner Craig Kessler, who took the position this summer, has talked at length about the priorities for tournaments on the tour, including courses, purse sizes and position on the schedule. At $4M, the purse would be the third-highest for a non-major tournament on the 2025 schedule. Shadow Creek is a well-known venue in both men’s and women’s golf. And finally, the Aramco Championship comes at a portion of the schedule where the LPGA is already playing other tournaments in California, Arizona and Texas. The new tournament also keeps top-level golf in Las Vegas, which recently lost its fall PGA Tour event.
The final piece to the new tournament is Saudi Arabia’s involvement. The LPGA and LET were on the verge of a merger nearly two years ago, only for the deal to fall apart at the last minute, reportedly because of a threat by Golf Saudi. The Aramco Championship likely keeps all sides appeased.
Former LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan, whom Kessler replaced, was at times criticized for not being open to having more conversations with Saudi Arabia.
But Kessler has been vocal about the need for additional investment in the sport and was at the PIF’s Future Investment Initiative event in Saudi Arabia recently. Upon his hiring this summer, he was asked about a potential Saudi investment in the LPGA.
“As the incoming commissioner, I have one primary duty and that is to elevate the sport and to recognize and honor the incredible talents of the women who lay it all on the line every week on the golf course. And anybody who’s out there who’s willing to have a conversation that helps us further that mission, I can’t wait to have the discussion.”
