DESPARDES — Saudi Arabia will host its first-ever golf tournament for women in spring next year.
108 professionals are set to participate in the event to be held in Jeddah in March.
All female players would be prohibited from wearing skirts or shorts during the tournament — trousers only, according to the National Post.
The latest Saudi female inclusiveness in most sectors comes as the kingdom announced giving women the right to drive and travel without male permission this year, and this week announced it was ending entrances to restaurants segregated by sex.
The Ladies European Tour (LET) event will be staged in collaboration with Golf Saudi and the Saudi Golf Federation and will carry a winning purse of $1 million.
A number of golfers have been roped in as ambassadors to promote the sport in the country, including Britain’s Carly Booth, Amy Boulden and Rachel Drummond, and Sweden’s Camilla Lennarth and Isabella Deilert, Al-Bilad Daily English Online reported.
In an unrelated development, a Saudi woman features in in Forbes’ most powerful 2019 list.
Rania Nashar is the first female CEO of Saudi commercial bank, Samba Financial Group.
She becomes CEO at a time when Saudi Arabia is beginning to implement reforms to promote gender equality as part of their Vision 2030.
