The PGA Tour Champions leaves the United States this week for the Trophy Hassan II, the only tournament on its calendar that is held beyond its borders, apart, of course, from the Senior Open Championship. The championship venue is the Royal Golf Dar es Salam, magnificent Rabat course by Robert Trent Jones where we have Miguel Ángel Jiménez and José María Olazábal.
However, for now, there is one person whose presence has eclipsed the professionals. This is Yassir Al Rumayyan, head of the Saudi Public Investment Fund and the man in charge of LIV Golf. He participates today Wednesday in the Pro Am of the tournament, sharing a game with the Indian professional Arjun Atwal, as well as with Tarik Sijilmassi, president of the Credit Agricole bank of Morocco, and Mustapha Terrab, prominent businessman and advisor to the governments of Hassan II and Mohammed VI.
As is logical, the presence of Al Rumayyan cannot be overlooked, nor should it be a simple anecdote when the PGA Tour and LIV Golf are in full negotiations to reach an agreement that provides stability and a common future to golf. It is perfectly possible that Yassir plays the ProAm by an express invitation from the royal family of Morocco, but if relations with the PGA Tour were broken or at a very delicate moment, it would hardly be understood his involvement in an event of this type. At least, it can be deduced that the communication channels remain open. From there, to think that there may be an agreement soon is perhaps going too far.
Let’s remember that the PGA Tour already announced weeks ago the creation of the for-profit company PGA Tour Enterprises, in association with the American investment group SSG. At the same time, it made clear that the negotiation with the PIF (the Saudi fund) remained open. Tiger Woods himself declared last week at the Genesis Invitational that he would like to reach an agreement and see professional golf united again. As is logical, the appearance of Al Rumayyan in a PGA Tour tournament only extends the speculations about a possible agreement.
This will be the second time that the Trophy Hassan II is celebrated as an integral part of the PGA Tour Champions calendar. The previous time was in 2023, with victory for Stephen Ames, precisely the winner last week of the Chubb Classic. Morocco will be the third stop of the senior circuit this season. So far, Miguel Ángel Jiménez has played the first two tournaments with an 18th and a 21st place, while Olazábal makes his debut in 2024 this week.
Another of the big names of the week is Ángel Cabrera. The Argentine will play his first tournament on the PGA Tour Champions after his stint in prison. He has not played on this circuit since September 2020. Before coming to Rabat, he has participated in some tournament in Argentina.
