$2M on line at Aramco Houston Championship

Twenty-six teams and 104 players will compete for a $2 million prize pool at the Aramco Houston Championship that begins Friday at the Golfcrest Country Club in Pearland, Texas.

The three-day tournament is the fourth of five events in this year's PIF Global Series, which rebranded from the Aramco Team Series after a major financial commitment was made in the Ladies European Tour (LET) by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) earlier this year.

Among the notable names in the field are England's Charley Hull, who is a Golf Saudi ambassador, and two former major champions, United States Solheim Cup veteran Danielle Kang and France's Celine Boutier.

Each team captain is selected based on the Rolex World Rankings, and they draft their teams. The top two scores for each team will count on each hole.

The players will also be competing in a 54-hole stroke play competition. After the team competition is complete, the field will be cut to the top 60 and ties for the individual competition that features a $1.5 million prize pool as well as points on the LET Order of Merit and Rolex World Rankings.

Sara Kouskova, who is second on the LET Order of Merit and captained her team to victory at the Aramco Team Series in Korea in May, said she is drawn to the series for several reason.

"The global element is huge – bringing the LET to the US is another great step," she said Thursday. "The prize fund also attracts LPGA players, which raises the standard. I don't prepare differently, but these events are definitely ones you circle on the calendar."

The event took place in Tampa last year, with Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, Celine Herbin, Meghan MacLaren and amateur Lujain Khalil winning the team competition. Alexandra Forsterling went on to win the individual competition.

Golfcrest is located about a half-hour drive from Houston.

The five events comprising the PIF Global Series are:

–PIF Saudi Ladies International: Riyadh Golf Club, Riyadh (February 12-15)

–Aramco Korea Championship: New Korea Country Club, Seoul, South Korea (May 9-11)

–PIF Championship: Centurion Club, London (August 8-10)

–Aramco Houston Championship: Golfcrest, Pearland, Texas (September 5-7)

–Aramco Shenzhen Championship: Mission Hills, Shenzhen, China (November 6-8)

The collective prize pool across all five events is $13 million.