The PIF Saudi International, the crown jewel of The International Series and regular season finale PIF, will take place this week December 4 – 7.
The vast majority of LIV stars will be travelling to Riyadh, battling it out with other International Series and Asian Tour golfers at The Riyadh Golf Club.
If that name sounds familiar it is because The Riyadh Golf club will host the 2025 LIV Season opener February 6 – 8.
The finale not only provides LIV golfers with the points in various standings and a shot at a sizeable purse but also helps the field familiarise themselves with the course that will eventually crown first-time individual and team champions in the 2025 opener.
As of late November, it has been confirmed that at least 44 members of LIV who played during the 2024 Season will attend the finale.
Noticeably absent will be a number of team captains: Bryson DeChambeau, who has been preoccupied, but ultimately triumphant, in hitting a hole-in-one over his house.
Jon Rahm, who has spent the last several months racking up OWGR points, and Brooks Koepka who will be joining DeChambeau for a 2v2 match in December against PGA Tour stars Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy.
Ultimately, a season champion will be crowned this week. Up for that honour is LIV’s Peter Uihlein, John Catlin, and Patrick Reed, currently sitting at 1st, 2nd, and 7th in the standings, respectively.
Several others who have performed admirably over the course of a long season that started in February also have a shot to vie for the tournament championship.
Peter Uihlein Wins Second International Series Tournament in Qatar
The RangeGoats’ Peter Uihlein scored his second victory of the season on Saturday in Qatar, smoking the competition with a tremendous 16-under par, five shots ahead of runner-up Charl Schwartzel.
Uihlein’s consistency across the four-day tournament (R1: 68; R2: 64; R3: 71; R4: 69) kept the American in contention throughout the tournament until Saturday when victory became a foregone conclusion.
Uihlein’s Round 3 score of 64 was the single best day amongst the field, this coming despite windy conditions which knocked a number of golfers off course after Round 1.
Of course, this was not Uihlein’s first time making a mockery of his competition. During his road to victory at International Series England, Uihlein ran away from the rest of the field at Foxhills with a score of 20-under par, beating out Legion XIII’s Caleb Surratt by an incredible seven shots.
Uihlein’s win in Qatar has vaulted him to number one in the overall standings, surpassing longtime number one and fellow LIV golfer John Catlin.
With the cumulative scores being so close, it appears The International Series will exhibit some late-season drama – reminiscent of the Jon Rahm – Joaquin Niemann duel at the conclusion of the 2024 LIV Season.
At this point it’s Uihlein’s to lose, we’ll see if he can complete the trifecta, win the tournament and the season-long competition!
Wanted: Top 10 Finishes for LIV 2025
After a somewhat lacklustre 2024 LIV Season, Uihlein will no doubt use the season finale in Riyadh as a litmus test for how he matches up against his competition for the 2025 season.
A T2 place finish in Las Vegas kept Peter respectable in the overall standings, but Vegas was shockingly his only Top 10 finish of the season.
Matthew Wolff and Uihlein will be looked upon as the top two men to lead The RangeGoats back to their former glory of 2023.
If he is able to lock his current form in place as he has done on The International Series, it could be a very interesting season for the RangeGoats!
The Resurgence of Patrick Reed
Patrick Reed has never won an individual title since joining LIV Golf. His fortunes may change when the calendar turns over.
Through The International Series, Reed is making a recommitment to himself, sharpening his game by taking part in multiple international circuits.
In search of OWGR points to qualify for major championships he missed out on in 2024, and for a shot to rejoin the Ryder Cup which he dominated for so many years, Reed is reminding the world that he is still one of the world’s best.
Since joining LIV during its inaugural season in 2022, Reed has come in third place in the individual standings three times and runner-up twice.
Always the team player, as noted in his past Ryder Cup performances, Reed helped Dustin Johnson’s 4 Aces become the league’s most dominant team for their first two seasons.
A disappointing 2024 has The 4 Aces looking to retool their roster. While Reed is expected back with DJ, the former has taken it upon himself to play more tournaments, improve his game, and bring The 4 Aces back to the winner’s podium.
A Champion Once Again
Reed’s foray into The Asian Tour this past November set an extremely high bar on what could be one of the most interesting redemption arcs golf has seen in recent memory.
Not only did Reed win the Link Hong Kong Open, his third-round score of 59 marked the best single-day score of his career!
Reed’s third round included birdieing six out of the first seven holes, then dovetailing that performance with birdies on five out of the last six holes. Start strong, End Strong.
With rounds of 65, 68, 59, and 66, Reed took first place over international star Ben Campbell by three strokes to finish Hong Kong with a final score of 22-under par. It was without a doubt Patrick’s best performance in years.
For his troubles, the OWGR awarded Patrick 10.1 points, his best haul since a T12 finish at the 2024 Masters where he earned 10.6 points.
Continued Excellence in Qatar
The Doha Golf Club in Qatar provided a number of LIV golfers ample opportunities to capture OWGR points, take a shot at a sizeable purse, and knock some of the rust off of their games.
His performance was good for a T13 finish. Going into the season finale, Reed maintained his 7th place in the standings while only participating in three (soon to be four) tournaments this year.
Winning on LIV: Close Calls, Coming Up Short
Last season was statistically Reed’s worst since joining LIV. After finishing in 4th and 6th place in 2022 and 2023, respectively, Patrick still finished inside the lock zone, but at 20th place overall.
His best opportunity for a win came in his home state of Texas during LIV Houston where he earned a T3 finish, his lone podium finish of the year.
Catlin on Target for Permanent Spot in LIV
Consistency is the name of the game for LIV super-sub John Catlin who represented Crushers, Smash, and Legion XIII during the 2024 LIV season.
While it is expected that multiple teams are already interested in signing him long-term based on his performances last season, winning The International Series would leave no doubt that Catlin not only belongs in LIV, but has the potential to win tournaments.
Catlin has spent most of the season in the Top 10 and had been at Number One overall for quite a while before being eclipsed by Peter Uihlein after Qatar.
A win on The International Series is worth 787.50 points, and a second-place finish roughly half that.
An outright win in Riyadh would secure the crown for either Catlin or Uihlein, but if the golfers move further down in the standings it becomes a numbers game.
According to The International Series’ official rankings, Uihlein (1071.10) sits 143.65 points above Catlin (927.45).
Not too far behind are dark horses Ben Campbell (851.55) of New Zealand who is absolutely capable of pulling off a huge upset despite the field being flush with top-tier talent.
John Catlin, impressively securing the Order of Merit according to the Asian Tour, remains a formidable contender.
Viewers can watch the regular season finale on The Golf Channel, starting at 9:30 AM ET, Wednesday, December 4th.
