PARIS: Saudi Arabia will stage its first European Tour golf event in 2019 as the kingdom opens its doors a little more to professional sport, it was announced on Thursday.
The tournament, the first in a three-year partnership, will take place from January 31 to February 3, 2019, and will be staged at the Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City on the Red Sea coastline.
Plans were finalized this week during the visit to London of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, the man seen as the oil-rich country’s key driver of reform.
“We are very excited to be talking the first steps toward bringing professional golf to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the first time and I must thank His Royal Majesty, Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud for his vision in making this happen,” said European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley.
The new Saudi tournament will form part of the early season Gulf desert swing which already includes tournaments in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Qatar and Oman.
“I hope that this event will inspire more Saudis to take up the game and show that, as a nation, we can host sporting events of this calibre,” said Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyan, the president of the Saudi Arabian Golf Federation.
Saudi Arabia has witnessed a number of steps forward in sports organization this year with a first-ever professional women’s squash tournament staged in Riyadh and women allowed into stadiums to watch local league football matches.
Saudi Arabia to host first pro golf tournament
Saudi Arabia to host first pro golf tournament
Rabiot double lifts Milan after early scare at Como
- Milan are second in the standings on 43 points, three behind rivals Inter Milan and three clear of Napoli in third, while Como are sixth with 34 points
COMO, Italy: AC Milan came from behind to earn a 3-1 victory at Como on Thursday, with Adrien Rabiot scoring twice to keep the away side in the Serie A title race.
Milan are second in the standings on 43 points, three behind rivals Inter Milan and three clear of Napoli in third, while Como are sixth with 34 points.
Como made the brighter start and took the lead after 10 minutes when Marc-Oliver Kempf rose to head home a corner.
Despite the hosts controlling much of the first half, Milan struck in stoppage time as Christopher Nkunku calmly converted from the penalty spot after Kempf was penalized for pushing Rabiot.
Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan produced a series of strong saves to keep Como at bay after the break before Milan took the lead in the 55th minute when Rabiot knocked the ball in from close range.
Como were denied an equalizer as Nico Paz saw his effort from outside the box crash against the crossbar. Milan then sealed the win two minutes from time when Rabiot caught the Como defense off guard with a low strike from distance that crept into the bottom corner.
“This was a team victory, we showed our mentality,” Rabiot told DAZN after being named Man of the Match.
“We suffered a lot in the first half, but we talked during the break, came out with a different mentality, we all came out fighting for the three points.
“We gave something extra and I am very happy to score two goals, obviously, but above all I’m pleased with the mentality of the team.”
While Rabiot provided the goals, another Frenchman, goalkeeper Maignan, made his mark with a string of crucial saves.
“We knew that playing here would be difficult, we were well-prepared. We started a little sluggish and they scored, but we managed to keep the game open, and then all together started to play as a team,” Maignan said.
“We know these are great nights for Milan with an atmosphere like this. We suffered, we used up a lot of energy and left it all on the field.”
