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Johnson, rated No. 1 after winning the Northern
Trust and the Tour Championship the past two months, and
DeChambeau, who won the U.S. Open by six strokes in September at
Winged Foot.
The Saudi International, an official European Tour event, is
scheduled for Feb. 4-7 at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club
in King Abdullah Economic City. Northern Ireland's Graeme
McDowell will return to defend his championship.
Johnson won the 2019 Saudi International by two strokes, then
finished two shots behind McDowell in the event this year.
"I am really looking forward to returning to Saudi Arabia for a
third consecutive year," Johnson said in a statement. "I've
really enjoyed both of my visits and love the golf course, as
evidenced by my win and runner-up finish. The scuba diving
experiences I've had in the Red Sea have also been amazing.
"It's been pretty neat to witness the growth of golf in the
kingdom, and it's definitely one of the reasons I like to play
in Saudi Arabia.
DeChambeau came in sixth place in 2019 at Royal Greens the week
after earning a European Tour win in Dubai, United Arab
Emirates.
"I have undergone a lot of changes since I last visited the
kingdom as I work to fulfill my golf potential, and I think you
can say the same about golf in Saudi as it continues to develop
as Golf Saudi endeavor to grow the game," he said in a
statement. .".. I obviously hope to finish a little better this
year but I am also really interested to see what has changed and
how golf has grown since my last visit."
McDowell said in a statement, "From the high of winning the 2020
Saudi International in February against such an amazing field we
very quickly had to contend with all that Covid-19 has thrown at
us since, so I think I was lucky to be able to hold onto that
awesome winning feeling through the darker parts of lockdown.
"I am really looking forward to getting 2020 over and having a
fresh start to 2021 and, from what I've heard about how the
field is shaping up, it sounds like almost everyone has decided
to make that fresh start in Saudi Arabia."
--Field Level Media
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