The decision was sent to players in a memo late on Monday afternoon that was obtained by The Associated Press.

It ends speculation that the Tour would deny conflicting event releases as it digs in against Greg Norman and his Saudi-backed venture presumably aimed at creating a new golf league with guaranteed money.

Australian Adam Scott is among the players while defending champion Dustin Johnson, who has won the Saudi event twice in its three-year existence, Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau are among the other high-profile players to have committed to the February 3-6 event.

It's the same week as the Pebble Beach Pro Am.

For players who have competed at Pebble Beach at least once in the past five years, getting a release requires them to play it once over the following two years.

If a player has never competed at Pebble, he would be required to play it twice over the next three years.

"While we certainly have grounds under Tour regulations created by and for the players to deny conflicting event releases, we have decided in this instance to allow a group of Tour players the opportunity to play in a single sanctioned tournament outside North America on a recognised Tour …" Andy Pazder, PGA Tour chief tournaments and competitions officer, said in an email.

The Saudi International, which will be the flagship event on the Asian Tour schedule in 2022, has invited controversy since its inception in 2019.

A year ago, 23 PGA Tour players competed in Jeddah, which was the same week as the Phoenix Open.

The field in Phoenix, however, turned out to be slightly stronger than the Saudi International, which pays appearance money.

Plus, it was part of the European Tour at the time.