KAEC, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- The Saudi International, Saudi Arabia's first international golf tournament, began on Thursday in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), the world's largest privately-funded new city on the Red Sea coast.

As part of the European Tour, the Saudi event, held from Jan. 31 to Feb. 3, has drawn several of the biggest golf stars, including four of the top five players in the world.

The star-studded PGA European Tour golf championship will be broadcast in over 45 countries across the world, reaching 450 million homes through more than 30 global broadcasters.

Saudi Arabia is the 48th country that the European Tour has visited since its inception in 1972. Commercial and entertainment activities will be hosted by Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) in the event.

"The sport and entertainment sectors present excellent potential for investors," said Ibrahim Al-Omar, governor of SAGIA.

"Saudi Arabia has a large, young and affluent population with a growing interest in sports. Government support and a wide range of regulatory reforms are providing more and more opportunities across the sector," the governor added.

SAGIA has unveiled a new partnership between Invest Saudi, a key initiative created by the SAGIA as part of the kingdom's transformation program, and the top-ranked Saudi golfer, Othman Almulla.

This new partnership aims to showcase the talent among the Saudi young population.

"Our partnership with Almulla is based on our belief in nurturing Saudi talent and our recognition of the power of the game of golf, which has long gone hand-in-hand with the development of business opportunities," said Khaled Tash, deputy governor of marketing and communications of SAGIA.

"Almulla has been a standout player in the region and is an inspiration to many up-and-coming national players, as well as many young Saudis with ambitions to become global leaders," Tash added.

Almulla, competing alongside golfing legend, Ernie Els, for his first professional round, said "the partnership further proved that golf is being embraced in Saudi Arabia."

Everyone has the right to participate in sports, regardless of age, gender, nationality, said Majed Sorour, a board member of the Saudi Golf Federation (SGF).

"One part of our strategy is the focus on mass participation," Sorour added.

Saudi Arabia has an estimated 220 registered national golfers, and 6,000 regular players including nationals and expatriates.

The SGF, with a plan to develop up to 18 golf courses by 2030 in the kingdom, has embarked on a program to develop mass participation and elite players.

"The challenge is from outside when the golf is deemed an expensive elite sport," Sorour said.

"We have set a great budget to work directly with schools, and we want to build golf courses that have facilities like cooking or babysitting to attract family's participation," he added. Enditem

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