The LPGA Tour and Golf Saudi have sealed an alliance marking a new milestone in women’s golf. The American circuit will return in 2026 to the Shadow Creek Golf Club, in Las Vegas, to compete in the Aramco Championship, a tournament co-sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour (LET) that will be part of the PIF Global Series and will distribute 4 million dollars in prizes.
The announcement is part of the 2026 calendar of the Ladies European Tour (LET), which has announced the continuation and expansion of the PIF Global Series and that next season will again feature five tournaments across three continents with a total purse of 15 million dollars. This year, a LET tournament was already held in Houston supported by PIF, which was actually won by Nuria Iturrioz, but it was not co-sanctioned with the LPGA. In 2026, this event will be held in Las Vegas and will indeed have the support of the North American circuit.
The announcement comes just weeks after Craig Kessler took on the role of LPGA commissioner, marking his first major strategic decision. “The Aramco Championship reflects exactly where we want to take the global LPGA calendar,” Kessler explained. “It brings together all the ingredients: an iconic course, a spectacular venue, and a prize that raises the bar for our players.”
The Las Vegas tournament, which will be held from 2 to 5 April 2026, will be a 120-player event and will coincide with the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, just before the Masters. It will be part of a West Coast swing alongside the Fortinet Founders Cup (Silicon Valley) and the Ford Championship (Arizona).
Additionally, the PIF Global Series 2026 will once again include stops in Saudi Arabia, London, Seoul, and Shenzhen (China), with a total purse of 15 million dollars. The complete schedule will be:
- PIF Saudi Ladies International – Riyadh Golf Club (11–14 February; $5M)
- Aramco Championship – Shadow Creek, Las Vegas (2–5 April; $4M)
- PIF London Championship – Centurion Club (6–9 August; $2M)
- Aramco Korea Championship – New Korea CC, Seoul (8–11 October; $2M)
- Aramco China Championship – Mission Hills, Shenzhen (5–8 November; $2M).
The president of Golf Saudi and governor of the PIF, Yasir Al Rumayyan, has celebrated the expansion of the series as “another milestone in the growth of women’s golf globally”. Meanwhile, Marta Figueras-Dotti, president of the LET, emphasised that this union with the LPGA “demonstrates the strength of collaboration and the shared vision between both circuits”.
The move consolidates the role of the PIF and Aramco as one of the driving forces of women’s golf since 2020. While in the past there were fears that a hypothetical women’s LIV Golf circuit would compete with the LPGA, the reality of 2026 shows a scenario of strategic cooperation that continues to broaden horizons for the world’s best players.
