JEDDAH — King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) is geared up to host the third edition of the Saudi International Golf Professionals Championship (Saudi International), sponsored by Softbank Investment advisors, organized by the Saudi Golf and Saudi Golf Federation, to be held at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, starting from Feb. 4 - 7, with the participation of 138 players from the world"s elite stars for cash prizes of $ 3.5 million. The third edition of 2021 witnesses the strongest participation of the most prominent global names in golf to compete for the global ranking points, which confirms the importance of the championship as the strongest event in this game and one of the largest tournaments in the Middle East region, which seeks to consolidate its position as one of the most important international tournaments, The championship, in its first and second editions, achieved great successes at the level of organization and shed light on the Kingdom"s youth capabilities and advanced infrastructure. World No.1 Dustin Johnson, 2020 US Open Champion Bryson DeChambeau and defending Champion Graeme McDowell have confirmed their participation. Saudi Arabia’s professional golf player Othman Almulla, who made history in 2019 when he became the first golfer from the Kingdom to turn professional and compete internationally, has received his third invitation from Golf Saudi to compete in one of the European Tour’s leading events. Saud Al Sharif will be the second Saudi Arabian player in the field, securing his invite as the leading amateur golfer in Saudi Arabia having impressed on the 2020 MENA tour last year when he shot the lowest round of the day on the MENA Tour’s fourth event of the 2020 season, having also finished second in the GCC Championship in Oman at the start of the year. Ahmed Ibrahim Lanjawi, CEO of KAEC, said: “In line with the ambitious aspirations of the Kingdom"s Vision 2030, the Kingdom will always remain at the forefront and the ranks of developed countries in all fields and strengthen its position at the forefront of global sporting events. “We feel proud to host the International Golf Professionals Club is in its third consecutive edition on the grounds of the ‘Royal Greens’, which has become a stop for the best players around the world, which will contribute to inspiring the new generation of golf players from Saudi youth and professionals.” King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) had hosted the first edition of the Saudi International Professional Golf Championship won by American Dustin Johnson, and early last year it hosted the second edition, which was concluded with the victory of the northern Irish player Graeme MacDalle, in addition to the $1million Aramco Saudi Ladies International. — SG