Exclusive: Golf's rebel Saudi-backed Asian Tour is coming to London

The Saudi golf revolution is coming to Hertfordshire. The Kingdom will on Tuesday announce the details of the 10-strong International Series with the unprecedented stop near London set to be seen as a direct, and rather cheeky, attack on the European Tour.

This will be the first time that the Asian Tour will ever have staged an event on away turf, but the grand unveiling in King Abdullah Economic City on Tuesday morning will be viewed in more radical terms than the piece of history being made at Centurion Golf Club in June.

The gloves are coming off in the Saudi’s pursuit to take on the two main circuits and controversy and recrimination is sure to abound. The Kingdom is increasing its 10-year investment on the Asian Tour from the $200 million first announced late last year to $300 million - and this is before they even try to launch the by now infamous Super Golf League, the mooted global circuit based on F1 they believe will revolutionise prime-time golf.

The PIF, the Saudi’s $500 billion sovereign wealth fund, will stump up for the St Albans tournament that will cause stirrings throughout the golf world. It is believed the prize fund will be up to £1.5m comparable with the British Masters being held on the DP World Tour - the new name for the European Tour - in May.

Greg Norman will front the press conference at the Royal Greens Country Club, which this week’s hosts the Saudi International, featuring some of the game’s biggest names, including Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, Tommy Fleetwood and Ian Poulter.

Nortman was named in November as the chief executive of Liv Golf Investments, the Saudi-funded entity formed to run an expanding golf empire that many have accused of being a central component of