The Saudi Open presented by PIF returns to the Asian Tour this week for the third successive season, back in the prestigious season-ending position.

When it debuted on the Asian Tour in 2023, it also brought the year to a close. On that occasion, Thailand’s Denwit Boriboonsub claimed the title at Riyadh Golf Club.

The following year it returned to the same venue, where American John Catlin stole the show with a commanding start-to-finish victory. It was played in April but this week makes a popular return as the season finale at a new venue- Dirab Golf & Country Club, just outside Riyadh.

The country’s National Open was first played in 2015 as a local event before being elevated to the Asian Development Tour in 2022, when Naraajie Ramadhan Putra from Indonesia triumphed at Rolling Hills Golf Course.

This year’s marks the 10^th staging of the tournament.

Jazz Janewattananond.

Tournament Information

• Tournament: Saudi Open presented by PIF
• Date: 10th – 13th December 2025
• Venue: Dirab Golf & Country Club, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• Par/Yards: 72/7,280 yards
• Purse: US$1million
• Asian Tour leg: 21st
• Previous winner: John Catlin (USA)
• Edition of tournament: 10th (Asian Tour 2024, 2023, Asian Development Tour 2022)
• Total number of players: 110
• Format: Stroke play tournament over four rounds of 18 holes with a cut after 36 holes to leading 65 pros plus ties.
• Social media hashtags: #TimeToRise, #thesaudiopen, #DirabGolfCountryClub, #golf_saudi

Julien Sale.

Field Breakdown

• Order of Merit winners: John Catlin (2024), Jazz Janewattananond (2019)
• Nationalities: 35
• Top contenders: Kazuki Higa (JPN), Scott Vincent (ZIM), Jazz Janewattananond (THA), Wang wei-hsuan (TPE), Poosit Supupramai (THA), Jeunghun Wang (KOR)
• Highest ranked player on OWGR: Kazuki Higa (JPN) #113
• Highest ranked player on 2025 Asian Tour Order of Merit: Kazuki Higa (JPN) #1
• No. of amateurs in the field: 16
• No. of Saudi players in the field: 9

Dirab Golf & Country Club.

Tournament Notes

• Kazuki Higa from Japan leads the Order of Merit after a brilliant season that included back-to-back wins in the Shinhan Donghae Open and Yeangder TPC in September. The 30-year-old also stormed out of the gates in the beginning of the season with three straight top 10’s, posting a T8 at the season-opening Smart Infinity Philippine Open, a T5 at the International Series India presented by DLF and a T2 at the 104th New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport. He also added a T2 at the International Series Philippines in late October to regain the top spot from Scott Vincent, and he’s held it ever since.
• Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent, who won The International Series Rankings that concluded at the PIF Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers three weeks ago, earned his ticket back to the LIV Golf League and is in second place, 142.47 points behind Higa. The two-time Asian Tour winner has been impressive all season, and in addition to his win at the International Series Morocco in July, he has collected five other top-10’s including runner-up finishes at the Shinhan Donghae Open and Jakarta International Championship. To win the Order of Merit he needs at least a solo-fifth to surpass the leader in the unlikely scenario that Higa misses the cut.
• The 2019 Order of Merit winner Jazz Janewattananond came close to winning the Bharath Classic two weeks ago in India, eventually finishing in a tie for third place. The seven-time Asian Tour winner has collected five top-10’s this season with the best being a T2 at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open in early May. If Jazz gets his putter working this week, he will be a threat to win his first title since the 2022 International Series Morocco.
• Wang Wei-hsuan from Chinese Taipei has enjoyed a great second half of the season racking up three top-three finishes in a span of a month, finishing T2 at the Yeangder TPC, third at Mercuries Taiwan Masters and losing a play-off at the SJM Macaco Open. He has also won three events on his local Taiwan PGA Tour, and has clinched that Order of Merit with one event remaining.
• Asian Tour’s latest winner Poosit Supupramai of Thailand got his breakthrough victory in India two weeks ago, taking the title at the inaugural Bharath Classic. He had also posted a T6 in his previous event, the Taiwan Glass Taifong Open.
• Korean Jeunghun Wang is a one-time Asian Tour winner, having won the 2016 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open that was co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour. This season his best result came in the Moutai Singapore Open where he lost a play-off to eventual winner Yosuke Asaji, and he also had a T9 at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters. In addition to the Mauritius victory Wang has two other DP World Tour titles on his resume, the 2016 Trophee Hassan II and the 2017 Commercial Bank Qatar Mastes, and was at his peak in 2017 ranked 39^th on the OWGR.
• Only two players are still able to win the 2025 Asian Tour Order of Merit title, Kazuki Higa and Scott Vincent. They would both be the first from their respective countries to do so.
• Much of the drama will likely centre around those trying to secure playing rights for next year by finishing in the top 65. Currently holding the 65th spot on the Merit list is Sean Ramos from the Philippines with 227.58 points, with Argentina’s Miguel Carballo just outside in 66th, a mere 2.54 behind with 225.04.
• Dirab Golf & Country Club is nestled amidst the scenic vistas of Dirab, just a short 45-minute drive from the bustling heart of Riyadh and lies within Tawfiq Valley. Opened in 1994 it has the distinction of being the first all-grass golf course in the Kingdom.
  It is a premier leisure property with an 18-hole championship course, a nine-hole academy course, which is floodlit, while it also boasts an equestrian centre.

Pictures by Ian Walton/Asian Tour.