European Tour’s Saudi decision ‘not taken lightly’ – Harrington

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON has tentatively backed the European Tour’s decision to stage an event in Saudi Arabia next year and insisted that golf can be a positive force for change.

The new Saudi International event, scheduled for January 31 to February 3 next year, was launched in London last March and has been included in the European Tour’s 2019 schedule, less than a month after the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Speaking ahead of the Turkish Airlines Open, Harrington said the situation needs to be “monitored” and going there was “a difficult decision”.