Advertisement

Ladies golf beats Saudi Arabia's strict dress code tournament rules

Meghan MacLaren chose to boycott the first LET event in Saudi Arabia when it was originally scheduled for March - Getty Images
Meghan MacLaren chose to boycott the first LET event in Saudi Arabia when it was originally scheduled for March - Getty Images

History will be made on the Ladies European Tour when they play in Saudi Arabia’s first female  professional golf tournament in November.

They will be allowed to wear mid-calf or three-quarter length “cut away” trousers and short-sleeved polo shirts while competing for prize money of more than £1 million.

It was reported in December that players were warned they might have to wear full-length trousers due to the kingdom’s strict dress regulations.

This, interestingly, was not a privilege offered to male players when they played in the Saudi International last year. Men are not allowed to wear shorts on any tour, while both the LET and LPGA allow players the choice to wear trousers, skirts and shorts of any length.

The Aramco Saudi Ladies international, with a prize pot of $1 million (£784,620) will be the second-highest paid non-major on the Ladies European Tour this season, which has been truncated due to Covid-19. The tournament had been scheduled for March and will now be played from Nov 12-15 at the Royal Greens Golf Club close to Jeddah.

There will be a further $500,000 (£392,311) available in prize money as a Saudi Golf week has been established and LET professionals will have the chance to play in a team event alongside amateurs, most likely to be from the Middle East where there are few female professional players – there are currently none in Saudi Arabia.

The Daily Telegraph understands both events will be broadcast live by Sky Sports.

The compromise regarding dress code has been reached in “order to observe and respect local customs” according to Alexandra Armas, the LET chief executive.

She told The Telegraph: “The recommendation is that the women are modestly dressed with trousers half way up the leg and with polo shirts, they won’t have to cover more of their arms or their heads.

“We haven’t been told we have to do this, this is us advising our players what is appropriate to abide by the local customs.

“This is uncharted territory for the LET and Golf Saudi has been very generous to players. We want to be respectful of their customs and there will be on-going conversations. We will keep discussing from year to year as the event continues what is acceptable and what expectation is and we manage that expectation with our players.”

There have been accusations that Saudi Arabia is using tournaments such as these for “sportswashing” and Meghan MacLaren, who finished last season as the top Britain on the LET, had decided to boycott the event when it was originally scheduled for March.

Armas, however, believes the motives of hosting women’s golf is well-intentioned. “From my perspective, I feel like this tournament is being held for the right reasons. I know there has been a lot of debate around why hold these sporting events and what are the objectives and is it just about trying to change the perceptions?” she said.

“My responsibility is to give  playing opportunities to our athletes. We also want to grow the game of women’s golf and influence the participation of the game in new markets.

“They want to expand golf to all sectors of society regardless of age, gender, socioeconomic background.”