RIYADH: American professional golfer John Catlin won the 2024 Saudi Open, presented by the Public Investment Fund, after completing his wire-to-wire victory at Riyadh Golf Club on Saturday.
He finished seven shots ahead of his nearest challenger on 24-under-par.
From the moment he teed off on Wednesday, Catlin was in the groove, and his final round was a procession.
Having shot a men’s course record 62 on Friday, the American followed it up with 66 on Saturday, his fourth consecutive round in the 60s in Riyadh.
It is Catlin’s sixth Asian Tour title and his second in a row, having beaten Spaniard David Puig in a playoff at the International Series Macau in March, and his form was simply too hot for the rest of the field to handle.
“I am tired, but very, very happy,” Catlin said. “I’ve never gone back-to-back like that. It is pretty special to finish back-to-back events holding the trophy. It was just a special week and I feel very lucky to be the champion.
“I hope my victory shows the fans that with hard work and dedication, anything is possible. I have dreamt about being a professional golfer since I was about 8 years old and I just kept putting in the hard work.”
He added: “I never let anything stand in the way of what I wanted to do, and I’d say that to anybody: if you want to follow in my footsteps, you have to put in the hard work and be willing to sacrifice, then great things can happen.”
Catlin was full of praise for organizers of the 2024 Saudi Open, and said he looks forward to defending his title in 2025.
“It was very well organized. The tournament was awesome. From start to finish we were looked after amazingly, and the people were friendly. The hospitality has been great, the food has been awesome — everything about this event is top class and I look forward to coming back in the future.”
Wade Ormsby’s final day 64 saw him finish second, two ahead of Peter Uihlein and Kiradech Aphinbarnrat in third.
The Australian admitted that it just proved impossible to haul in the runaway leader.
Ormsby said: “John had a big lead, it was difficult, you just want to go out and play as well as you can. There were a couple of potential tiny openings there, but he closed the door straight away. I am really happy with the way I played.”
Reigning champion Denwit Boriboonsub finished in style after a disappointing Friday saw his chances of retaining his trophy slip away.
The Thai golfer shot 63, the joint-second lowest round of the week, but enjoyed his time back at Riyadh Golf Club.
The 20-year-old said: “I’ve enjoyed and relished being the defending champion. It helped me a lot with a two-year exemption on the Asian Tour, which relieves a lot of pressure, and winning means a lot. Yesterday wasn’t so good, but I bounced back and I’m very happy with the score.”
American golfer John Catlin wins 2024 Saudi Open in Riyadh
https://arab.news/j8gps
American golfer John Catlin wins 2024 Saudi Open in Riyadh
- ‘Pretty special to finish back-to-back events holding the trophy,’ Caitlin says
- Australian Wade Ormsby finishes runner-up with final day 64
LIV Golf signs new broadcast deals in key European markets
- Multiyear agreement means Viaplay Group will screen all events to viewers in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Finland
- Separate deal reached for coverage in the UK and Ireland on TNT Sports and the Discovery+ streaming services
LONDON: Viaplay Group signed a new multiyear agreement on Friday to broadcast LIV Golf across the Nordic region, bringing coverage of the global golf league to viewers in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Finland.
Coverage begins this week as the 2026 season gets underway with the LIV Golf Promotions event in Florida from Jan. 9 to 11, where 87 players will compete for three wild card spots. The season proper starts in Saudi Arabia with the ROSHN Group LIV Golf Riyadh tournament from Feb. 4 to 7.
The 2026 season will feature 14 events in 10 countries, including Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mexico, the US, the UK and South Africa.
Peter Norrelund, executive vice president and chief sports and business development officer at Viaplay, said the company had been keeping an eye on LIV Golf since its inception.
“The quality of players on LIV Golf is truly exceptional,” he said. “Since we first broadcast LIV Golf events in 2022, we have followed the league’s development closely and we are very pleased to welcome LIV Golf back to Viaplay.
“The league has continued to evolve, both in terms of sporting level and global appeal, and it offers a distinctive, high-intensity format featuring some of the biggest names in world golf. With LIV Golf returning to our platforms, viewers can look forward to hundreds of additional hours of world-class live golf throughout the season.”
Orjan Olsson, senior vice president of international media rights at LIV Golf, said the league was pleased to be working with Viaplay once again.
“Through Viaplay’s long-standing commitment to delivering premium sports content, golf fans and audiences can expect inside-the-ropes access to elite global stars and emerging golf talent across the game’s most dynamic competition format,” he said.
“Together, we will continue to deliver golf fans access to the sport’s most compelling individual and team storylines, defined by intense rivalries and season-long drama.”
LIV Golf has also signed a new multiyear broadcast agreement with TNT Sports for the UK and Ireland, where all 14 events will be shown live on TNT Sports and the Discovery+ streaming service.
TNT Sports, which is owned by Warner Bros Discovery, plans to provide on-site presentation throughout the season. It takes over from free-to-air UK broadcaster ITV, which covered the 2025 LIV Golf season primarily on its ITVX streaming service.
The 2026 season marks a major change for LIV Golf, as all tournaments will be played over 72 holes instead of the previous 54-hole format. The change has been made so that players can earn official world-ranking points.
