Twelve players came through Final Qualifying at Hankley Common to secure their place in the AIG Women’s Open at Walton Heath later this week.

Wales’ Chloe Williams was the leading qualifier after an impressive five-under-par 67 at the Surrey venue, helped by an eagle at the par-5 13th. Williams finished a stroke ahead of French player Emma Grechi and Gina Kim from the United States of America, who will both make their debuts in the AIG Women’s Open. Irish amateur Anna Foster also progressed in a four-player group at three-under-par.

“I’ve been here a couple of times so I know the golf course and I’m very familiar with it,” said Williams. “It was a really, really good day. A couple of breaks went my way, which you need on a day like this as it’s like a shoot-out and anything can happen. I just knew I was hitting the ball well and I stayed patient and took my chances. I played in the AIG Women’s Open at Carnoustie in 2021 and hopefully that experience helps me. There is nothing like having the big grandstands around, it’s amazing.”

Grechi added: “The conditions were just ideal, not too hot or cold, no wind and the greens were just perfect speed. I didn’t hole many putts on the front nine and was a bit frustrated, but I just tried to be patient and I did well on the back nine so I’m really happy. I made eagle on the last, a 3-wood to two metres, so that was just a bonus. I’ve not played in a major before so I’m really, really happy. It’s crazy.”

Late in the day, four players — Mi Hyang Lee, Hayley Davis, Kelsey Bennett and World Amateur Golf Ranking No. 1 Ingrid Lindblad  — came through a 13-way sudden-death play-off, after they had all finished at two-under-par.

Savannah De Bock booked the final spot in a Tuesday win over Canada’s Maddie Szeryk.

Qualified in 2022
Qualified in 2023

“We just have to do our best and we’ll see!” It worked out for Savannah De Bock as she took the final spot at this year’s AIG Women’s Open. pic.twitter.com/f1oE3l1k9V

— AIG Women’s Open (@AIGWomensOpen) August 8, 2023

Final Qualifiers
Chloe Williams, Wales
Emma Grechi, France
Gina Kim, USA
Anna Foster, Ireland  *amateur
Kylie Henry, Scotland
Daniela Darquea, Ecuador
Wie-ling Hsu, Chinese Taipei
Mi Hyang Lee, Korea
Hayley Davis, England
Ingrid Lindblad, Sweden *amateur
Kelsey Bennett, Australia
Savannah De Bock

The post Field set for AIG Women’s Open as 12 players come through Final Qualifying appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

It was something out of a slapstick ‘Carry On’ flick, and after seeing it, we’re not sure which was funnier on Saturday: the hilarious way Ladies European Tour star Chloe Williams flipped backward over a sign, or her reaction upon seeing replays of it. Call it a dead heat, because Chloe was a great sport about it.

The setup: Wales star Williams was lining up her tee shot on the par-3 sixth in the LET’s Aramco Team Series — Bangkok, and in the background were on-course billboards advertising the Saudi Arabian destination of Diriyah. The red sand and colours are right behind her and there was a small piece of wooden ‘rock’ behind the tee that gave the ads a 3D quality. As Williams backed up to visualise her shot, the facade clipped her at the knees, and she tumbled backwards, her legs flying up in the air.

Final day fail for @ChloeWills95 ??#RaiseOurGame | #BringTheEnergy pic.twitter.com/NnADMIi2lU

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) May 14, 2022

The LET players are so accessible that an on-course reporter caught up to Williams later in the round — while she was still competing — to share the video with her. Williams got quite the kick out of it.

“I’m sorry, I’ve only just seen this,” Williams said as she watched the video on the reporter’s phone “Honestly, it’s just brilliant. I’m just glad I could contribute some fun for the group.”

The hardest part, Williams confessed, was that she still had the shot to hit while her partners were in hysterics. She smoothed a nice iron on to the green and made par. “I said to the girls, that was one of my best pars in history,” Williams said, still laughing.

In the 54-hole tournament, Williams closed with a 76 and tied for 52nd. The winner was Belgium’s Manon De Roey, who shot 66 to overtake overnight leader Patty Tavatanakit.

The post Watch: ‘One of the best pars in history’ — LET pro Chloe Williams takes a tumble at Aramco Team Series, and her reaction is worth a prize appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.