Tour pro claims Saudi PIF are buying England's most prestigious golf course

English tour pro Eddie Pepperell says Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund are going to purchase Wentworth.

Pepperell made the claim on the latest episode of The Chipping Forecast.

The 33-year-old said he was told the news by someone 'who would know' last week at the Genesis Championship in South Korea. 

And LIV Golf's backers are also keen on purchasing the uber-exclusive Sunningdale Golf Club. 

"Talking of the Saudis," Pepperell said as the conversation with sports journalist Iain Carter and commentator Andrew Cotter veered towards LIV Golf and the PGA Tour. 

"I was told this week by someone who would know that they are buying Wentworth.

"The PIF are buying Wentworth, for sure. That's what I was told and they are [also] interested in buying Sunningdale. 

"Now that's [Sunningdale] is more of a rumour but Wentworth..."

The DP World Tour's headquarters are at Wentworth in Virginia Water, Surrey. 

Wentworth, of course, also plays host to the flagship BMW PGA Championship. 

Reignwood, a Chinese investment group led by the billionaire Dr Chanchai Ruayrungruang, are Wentworth's current owners.

They completed a controversial £135m takeover in 2014.

Ruayrungruang, who made his fortune as the distributor of the energy drink Red Bull, rubbed existing members the wrong way in the immediate aftermath of the takeover by changing the business model entirely.

Existing members were told they had to rejoin the club and pay an annual fee of £100,000. 

Sir Michael Parkinson, the legendary chat show host who died in August aged 88, was among those to criticise the move. 

He accused the Chinese owners of ignoring tradition to create a club for the 'super rich' with a 'car park full of Lamborghinis'. 

Sunningdale operates through a membership structure rather than a single owner or corporate entity. 

Details of their membership is a closely guarded secret. 

It is understood that Sunningdale, which features two 18-hole courses, charges £92,000 for membership with an annual subscription fee of £9,500. 

Film star Hugh Grant, former tennis ace Tim Henman and former England striker Gary Lineker are understood to be members of the prestigious club with strict rules. 

Telegraph Sport reported in September that former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen withdrew his application to join Sunningdale after members 'threatened a veto'. 

A source told the paper: "Kevin was effectively blackballed – I've no idea why. He's a good golfer and wouldn't have caused any problems. 

"I think he's a member of Wentworth, so he will have to make do with playing there for now."

Pietersen later denied this was the case. 

Phones are banned in the clubhouse at Sunningdale and on the course. 

Last year former Premier League footballer Jimmy Bullard revealed he got banned from Sunningdale after he used a Peroni beer bottle as a tee. 

He begged to be allowed back, he said, but was rejected. 

Saudi PIF to scale back international investment

Earlier in the week the Financial Times reported Saudi Arabia's vast sovereign wealth fund planned to scale back the share of its international investment. 

The Saudi PIF, which has about $930bn worth of assets, said it intended to cut back the proportion of funds invested overseas to between 18 and 20 per cent, down from 21 per cent today.

Naturally, questions were asked about what this could mean for the future of LIV Golf. 

The Times of London have since reported LIV will be unaffected. 

Cutting back international investment will only apply to future portfolios, the paper reported.

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