The Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund has piled more money in women's golf after signing up as title sponsor for a revamped Ladies European Tour (LET) series.
The newly named PIF Global Series consists of five tournaments across three continents for a total prize fund of $13 million.
One of those, the PIF Saudi Ladies International, has already taken place with Jeeno Thitikul winning the event that had a total prize fund of $5m.
The remaining four events, which will all be played for a total purse of $2m each, start in Seoul, South Korea this week before further tournaments in London, Houston and Shenzhen, China.
Centurion Club, host of the first ever LIV Golf tournament, will stage the PIF Championship in August, with the famous Mission Hills in China hosting the concluding Aramco Shenzhen Championship in November.
Replacing the old Aramco Team Series, there will still be a team event during the tournaments, while the state-owned oil giant remains as title sponsor for three of the five.
"This partnership with PIF continues to raise the level of competition and commitment to the women’s game, to ensure our players have the best possible opportunities to develop and succeed on the world stage," said the LET's chief executive Alexandra Armas.
Charley Hull, one of the women's game's biggest stars, added: “The new PIF Global Series is another huge moment for the LET, as it continues to grow and offer more opportunities for players to play and win in amazing events around the world.
“I love playing either as an individual or in a team, so I can’t wait to tee it up at series events throughout the year and hopefully inspire more and more young people into golf around the world.”
A change from the old Aramco Series will see only pro golfers now taking part in 26 teams of four - with a $500,000 team prize fund to play for alongside the $1.5m on offer for the individual competition.
2025 PIF Global Series schedule
- February 13-15: PIF Saudi Ladies International (Riyadh Golf Club, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)
- May 9-11: Aramco Korea Championship (New Korea Country Club, Seoul, South Korea)
- August 8-10: PIF Championship (Centurion Club, London, England)
- September 5-7: Aramco Houston Championship (Venue TBC, Houston, USA)
- November 6-8: Aramco Shenzhen Championship (Mission Hills, Shenzhen, China)
Will PIF investment lead to LIV Ladies Tour?
The PIF said in a statement that the investment in the Global Series was a sign it wants to be "a catalyst for the growth of women’s sports" and is hoping to continue "enabling and advancing women’s golf, driving growth of the sport around the world".
That has led some to believe that this deal serves as a sign that the PIF could move towards a LIV Golf style tour for women in the future.
PIF boss Yasir Al-Rumayyan shows no signs of letting LIV Golf fade away despite still being in talks over a deal with the PGA Tour, and that could include expanding into the women's game.
This Global Series deal is with the LET and not the LPGA Tour, but big stars such as Nelly Korda have been regulars in the Aramco Team Series so there is potentially room for a crossover.
There's a world of difference between a couple of events here and there and a LIV Golf style tour though, but some will hope this move is a step towards the best female golfers getting access to the millions that's being splashed out for the men in LIV.
