Out of the Rough: LIV Golf Riyadh (2026)

The new look LIV Golf Tour is set to make its 2026 debut this week with LIV Golf Riyadh.

In an attempt to appease the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR,) LIV Golf has opted to expand their tour to 72-hole tournaments, opposed to the 54-hole format (in which the Tour is named after) that have been the norm since its inception.

With that being said, this week’s event will follow a Wednesday-Saturday schedule, in a way.

LIV Golf Riyadh is played during the night, under the lights. Therefore, the first round is technically Wednesday night with the final round set to take place Saturday night.

The Riyadh Golf Club in Saudi Arabia will once again play host this week, just as it did for the inaugural playing of this event a season ago.

The Field

The elephant in the room is the departure of headliner Brooks Koepka along with the likes of Patrick Reed and a few other names.

Koepka, via a program of reintroduction to the PGA Tour, made his first start on the PGA Tour since leaving for LIV in 2022 last week at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Reed will play a full DP World Tour schedule this season to better his standing with the PGA Tour. Reed can re-enter the PGA Tour in late August.

That leaves the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson, Cameron Smith and others to carry the torch of LIV Golf this season.

Also, there are a few new members to the Tour this season that will make their LIV Golf debuts this week. Among them are Thomas Detry, Victor Perez, Elvis Smylie, Yosuke Asaji, Bjorn Hellgren and Richard Lee. 

Adrian Meronk won this event a season ago, winning by two strokes over both Ram and Sebastian Munoz. He’ll be back this week to defend his title.

The Course

The Riyadh Golf Club is best described as your typical desert track.

It was opened in 2005 and plays as a Par-72 at just over 7,400 yards.

Off-the-tee, there isn’t much to deter golfers from free swinging. The fairways are both wide and undulating.

The fairways are flanked by both bunkers and strips of desert.

There are various lakes and streams dotted across the layout, but none more notable than the 163-yard par-three that is surrounded by water.

The greens are described as “testing and fast” but are large in size and slopped.

The course is best known for its monstrous, 689-yard par-five.

Of course, the biggest line of defense for this event is the fact that it is being played at night, under the lights. These are conditions that not many golfers have experienced.

The Weather

As of the time of writing this, there is a zero-percent chance of precipitation for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Saturday currently calls for a five-percent chance of precipitation. Being played at night, we’ll focus on the possible low temperatures. Wednesday has lows at 53-degrees and Thursday has a low of 51-degrees. Friday is calling for a low of 55-degrees and Saturday a low of 59-degrees. Winds will begin Wednesday at seven miles-per-hour before dipping to five miles-per-hour on Thursday. Winds will return to seven miles-per-hour on Friday before finishing the week at nine miles-per-hour on Saturday. 

Key Stats

• Greens in Regulation Percentage (GIR%)

• Putting Average

• Aver Driving Distance

• Birdie or Better Percentage

Betting Card

Joaquin Niemann (+2000)

When I see this big of a number next to Niemann’s name in a LIV Golf event, I’m going to take it. He won five events a season ago on this Tour. He finished last season first on Tour in average driving distance, second in both GIR% and birdie-or-better percentage and 29th in putting average. He placed T22nd at this event a season ago. I know his form coming in is awful with missed cuts in three straight DP World Tour events (Hero Dubai Desert Classic, Crown Australian Open and BMW Australian PGA Championship) but he has it figured out when it comes to LIV Golf. Again, simply not going to leave a number that big on Niemann on the board. 

Thomas Pieters (+4000)

Pieters last appeared at the PIF Saudi International in November where he placed T27th. In the same month, he also placed T9th at the Moutai Singapore Open and T9th at the Link Hong Kong Open. All on the Asian Tour. He placed T18th at this event a season ago. Pieters finished last season 11th on Tour in average driving distance, 12th in putting average, 14th in GIR% and 20th in birdie-or-better percentage. 

Peter Uihlein (+10000)

Uihlein finished last season fifth on Tour in both putting average and average driving distance. He was also 20th in birdie-or-better percentage and 44th in GIR%. He placed T21st at this event a season ago. He last played the PIF Saudi International where he placed T20th. Prior to that he was the runner-up at the Link Hong Kong Open and placed T20th at the International Series Philippines, again, all on the Asian Tour.