? SOLHEIM CUP ACE! ?

Emily Kristine Pedersen makes the second ace in Solheim Cup history on the 12th hole! ?#SolheimCup2023 pic.twitter.com/sO58VSwmM9

— LPGA (@LPGA) September 22, 2023

A perfect shot, and a good swing to bookmark for whenever your tempo feels out of sync.

The 27-year-old Dane and her partner, Maja Stark, were one down to Allisen Corpuz and Jennifer Kupcho on the 12th hole. Pedersen’s ace brought the match back to all-square. Kupcho birdied the following hole to take back Team USA’s 1-up lead.

Pedersen and Maja Stark tied their match with Allisen Corpuz and Jennifer Kupcho.

Team USA made history Friday morning at Finca Cortesin, winning all four foursomes matches for the first time ever at a Solheim Cup. Team Europe have won the last two Solheim Cups, and if they were to win it again this year, it’d be the first time that Team Europe won three in a row.

Main image: Angel Martinez

The post Watch: Emily Kristine Pedersen makes second ace in the history of the Solheim Cup as Europe fight back appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Suzann Pettersen has announced her four captain’s picks to round out the home team that’s trying to win an unprecedented third straight Solheim Cup for Europe next month in Spain. Much like the eight automatic qualifiers who locked up their spots two days earlier, Pettersen chose experience along with a fresh face, taking one rookie (Gemma Dryburgh) and three veterans (Madelene Sagstrom, Caroline Hedwal and Emily Kristine Pedersen). With the matches set for Finca Cortesin Resort in just four weeks (September 22-24), here’s what you need to know about the newest members of Europe’s Solheim Cup squad.

Madelene Sagstrom

Madelene Sagstrom. Jack Thomas

This is the 30-year-old’s third Solheim Cup, though it’ll be the first time she’ll play the event in Europe. The Swede was a stand-out on the Epson Tour, winning three times in 2016 and earning her LPGA Tour card for the 2017 season. She has won once on the LPGA Tour and is currently ranked No. 42 in the Rolex World Rankings. Her overall Solheim Cup record is 2-4-0.

Emily Kristine Pedersen

Emily Kristine Pedersen. Charlie Crowhurst/R&A

This is Pedersen’s third Solheim Cup as well and her first start in Europe, too. You may remember her as the player who holed the winning put for the Europeans when they closed out their upset victory at Inverness Club in 2021. The 27-year-old Dane has won five LET events in her career, including four in 2020 alone. Notably, she is one of the longest hitters on the LPGA Tour, averaging 273 yards off the tee. Her career Solheim Cup record is 3-4-0.

Caroline Hedwall

Caroline Hedwall. Getty Images

Hedwall is the most experienced of Pettersen’s picks, set to make her fifth appearance. The 34-year-old Swede who was a stand-out at Oklahoma State who played 10 years on the LPGA Tour but never claimed a title. She does have seven wins on the Ladies European Tour, the most recent coming late last year at the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España —  which was played about an hour from the 2023 Solheim Cup site.
“Having great memories from the end of last year in Andalucía, I hadn’t thought much about Solheim until I won and after that, it was a goal for the season,” Hedwall said. “I’m just really happy it became a reality and super pumped to play in Spain again.”
Her career Solheim Cup record is 8-6-1.

Gemma Dryburgh

Gemma Dryburgh. David Cannon

This is Dryburgh’s first Solheim Cup, though she has experience in team play, having competed in the 2014 Curtis Cup. The 30-year-old Scot played college golf at Tulane before turning professional in 2015. In 2022, she won the Toto Japan Classic, her first LPGA victory. She will make a good foursomes partner as she is one of the most accurate drivers of the golf ball on the LPGA Tour, hitting more than 82 pe rcent of fairways in the 2023 season.

Team Europe’s complete roster for the 2023 Solheim Cup

Celine Boutier
Maja Stark
Charley Hull
Leona Maguire
Georgia Hall
Linn Grant
Carlota Ciganda
Anna Nordqvist
Gemma Dryburgh
Caroline Hedwall
Emily Kristine Pedersen
Madelene Sagstrom

The post Everything you need to know about Suzann Pettersen’s four European Solheim Cup captain’s picks appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Since Golf Saudi’s inception in 2018, the Ladies European Tour has been supportive of its development plans, helping create historic landmark events such as the Kingdom’s first-ever professional women’s golf event, the 2020 Aramco Saudi Ladies International.

As part of their roles with us, the ambassadors will share their views with Golf Saudi organisers on how to bring long-term success to the future of the game in Saudi Arabia, as well as providing advice on how to reach new audiences and youngsters keen to take up the sport. As such, all eight will support Golf Saudi’s future vision for the game and introduce golf to the wider population within Saudi.

As international ambassadors for both the Aramco Team Series and Golf Saudi, these stars will also promote the Saudi Arabia globally as a leading golfing destination.

The post Golf Saudi has welcomed eight new faces who are to become its latest ambassadors appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Sunday’s tournament champion Georgia Hall (pictured right, below), 2020 Aramco Saudi Ladies International winner Emily Kristine Pedersen of Denmark (pictured centre, below), and Sweden’s reigning AIG Women’s Open champion Anna Nordqvist (second from left) stepped-up to the mark in the hope of setting a new world record for the number of plates smashed in three minutes, from a distance of 21 metres.

Their male Asian Tour counterparts Gavin Green of Malaysia and TK Chantananuwat of Thailand had only six weeks earlier blasted their way to a best 15 plates at the PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers – five short of equalling the 20-plate record.

Could the trio of Solheim Cup stars go one better and bag the record for their own?

 

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A post shared by Aramco Saudi Ladies Intl (@aramcoladiesint)

The post WATCH: Anna Nordqvist, Emily Pedersen and Georgia Hall try to ‘smash’ Guinness World Record at Saudi Ladies International appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By GolfDigestme.com
Hot on the heels of the Aramco Team Series – New York, where the Big Apple lived up to its name as ‘the city that never sleeps’ after taking two flood-lit play-off holes to crown Team Jessica Korda, the fourth instalment of the Ladies European Tour’s (LET) innovative new tournament series turns to Saudi Arabia.

Featuring 108 tour professionals and 36 amateurs, golfers will #BringTheEnergy to Royal Greens G&CC in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) from November 10-12. It follows the Saudi Ladies International from Nov. 4-7 where Emily Kristine Pedersen is also the defending champion.

RELATED: Runaway Saudi champion Lydia Ko urges Kingdom’s trailblazing female golfers to ‘show the power of women’

Played originally as the Saudi Team International – the team event was won in 2020 by a fourball led by Pederson. The European Solheim Cup star also captured the individual prize, helping her claim the 2020 Race to Costa del Sol, the LET’s season-long competition to crown Europe’s No.1 player.

The unique format of the Aramco Team Series sees amateur golfers contribute to the result of the main team competition, while individual pro scores contribute towards world ranking points.

The ATS reaches Jeddah in time for Saudi Arabia’s Women in Sport Season (WISS).

While providing unprecedented support for female professionals, courtesy of title-sponsor Aramco, the ATS is also committed to gender equality at every level of women’s golf. To leave a positive and lasting legacy, partnerships with charities have been formed in London (UK), Sotogrande (Spain) and New York championing female empowerment.

The post What you need to know: Aramco Team Series – Jeddah appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
After winning every piece of silverware on offer during last year’s LET double-header in the Kingdom, it was no surprise Emily Kristine Pedersen was the focus of the 2nd Saudi Ladies International preview media conference on Wednesday.

That said, it was impossible to ignore the insight from the circuits only Arabic player, Maha Haddioui, much less Kiwi superstar Lydia Ko.

The two-time major champion and former world No.1will make her Saudi Ladies International debut on Thursday and likes what she has seen of Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in the build-up to the $1 million event which runs until Saturday.

“The course is really nice,” said Ko, the 24-year-old former ANA Inspiration (2016) and Evian Championship (2015) winner.

“It has a good blend of tougher holes and some holes that are gettable. That afternoon wind is a huge factor around this golf course but at the same time it cools the temperature down, so I’m for the wind!”

Asked if playing in different parts of the world was beneficial to her own development, Ko said: “We go to many different countries, different continents and this is my first time in this part of the world. Obviously playing in the British Open is very different than playing in the US Open, for example, and playing in this part of the world is also different. I think you’re able to get used to the different climates, the different grass.

“I think as a player the more diverse you are the more able you are to compete and contend at different events – you don’t end up being a player who plays in only one type of tournament. It’s great that we get to go to all these different courses and learn different types of shots that I necessarily wouldn’t be used to playing.”

Pedersen, meanwhile, is thriving off “great” memories of her Saudi sweep last year.

The Dane bagged a clean sweep with victory in the inaugural $1million Aramco Saudi Ladies International presented by Public Investment Fund in 2020, and then both the team and individual elements in what was then the Saudi Ladies Team International – the precursor to the LET’s new Aramco Team Series.

Emily Kristine Pedersen.

“It feels great to be back. I have a lot of good memories from here. As I’m walking the course there’s constantly good shots that I remember from last year, so it’s great. It’s nice too to stay in the same place for two weeks, especially if you like the course – and I like it here,” said the 25-year-old.

Asked how her mindset differs between the two back-to-back events – one where the focus is as an individual, then the latter as a team format – Pedersen said: “It changes a little bit because obviously you’re in a team and you are cheering a little bit more for other players to do well than you normally do, but at the end of the day I feel like it comes down to how you play yourself.

“I’m just trying to do the best that I can every week – both in the individual and the team event – and hopefully that’s good enough to contribute to the team’s score.”

Pedersen and Ko will face stiff competition in an Aramco Saudi Ladies International field that includes major champions Minjee Lee (AUS), Anna Nordqvist (SWE), Georgia Hall (ENG) and Dame Laura Davies (ENG), plus the likes of Charley Hull (ENG), new Dubai Moonlight Clasic champion Bronte Law (ENG) and Carlota Ciganda (ESP).

The Aramco Team Series – Jeddah follows the Saudi International from Nov. 10-12.

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By GolfDigestme.com
No one is better qualified to champion the merits of Saudi Arabia’s Ladies European Tour (LET) double-header than Emily Kristine Pedersen.

The 25-year-old Dane completed the “Saudi Sweep” last year, capturing the Aramco Saudi Ladies International in a playoff from Georgia Hall before leading her team to victory in the Saudi Ladies Team International the following week. Not content with that, Pedersen also won the individual component of the Team International, the precursor to this year’s globe-trotting, four-event Aramco Saudi Teams Series. And then a fourth successive trophy at the Andalucia Open De Espana, one of five victories in a breakout season as she waltzed away with the LET’s Race to Costa del Sol title.

We caught up with the winning Solheim Cup rookie in Long Island at the penultimate event of the Aramco Saudi Teams Series to get her take on Golf Saudi’s innovative new series in London-Sotogrande-New York-and Jeddah, with a specific focus on this month’s double-header at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club with its combined $2 million prize purse.

What are your overall impressions of the format for the Aramco Team Series?
It’s definitely different but it’s good to get the chance to playa in a different format. One of the great things about golf is you can play with anyone, any age, any gender and the Aramco format really brings that into play. It kind of shows that golf is for everyone, as even though we are professionals we can play with amateurs regardless of age, gender or handicap, who will still be able to contribute to the team and that’s a really good thing.

● ● ●

You excelled at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club last year. What’s your secret?
There was something about getting there that just brought a peace of mind for me. The first day we were at the course I fell in love with it, I really enjoyed playing round there and gained a great deal of confidence from that. I felt that if I could find my game the course suited me really well. Obviously, I exceeded my expectations a little bit by going on and winning both the events, but it was just a great place to be, the people were so nice, and I just felt really comfortable being there.

● ● ●

Can you describe what it was about the atmosphere of the event that suited you particularly?
Well, I feel like, and I think this is the case for all the Aramco events, that they are set up like a major championship. With all the big grandstands and the player dining, it makes you feel like you are going into a big event, and subconsciously that does something for us players. When everything is set up like a major it does something that makes us really want to play well.

● ● ●

Will you return there feeling particularly confident?
Obviously, I have a lot of good memories from there, but I also know there is going to be a lot of great players and at the end of the day it’s about who is in the best form and who plays the best golf. But of course, if I can bring my good golf, it will give me great confidence playing at a venue where I have so many great memories.

● ● ●

Can you describe what is required to succeed at Royal Greens and the challenges the course presents?
I think you need to know when to push the brake and when to push the speeder because there are some holes where you have to back out a little bit and other holes that look tricky but actually you can be quite aggressive. There are some big runoffs too, so it’s essential you avoid those, I’m sure the conditions at the next edition will be as good as last year, so those will pose a threat next time round. Hopefully, it will be set up pretty long like it was the last time, which was good for me because I hit it quite far.

● ● ●

Looking back at your victories at Royal Greens was there a defining moment or hole that shaped your success that week?
Well, at the 18th, I hit a second shot in there, in the individual tournament on a hole where I knew I needed to make birdie to get into a playoff with Georgia, and I think I had about 200 yards over water to a back pin and I was like, right I’m going to give it a go. Pulling off that shot gave me tremendous confidence building into the team event and for the remainder of the season.

● ● ●

When you discuss the Aramco Team Series with other players what is the general consensus about the feel of these events, particularly the Team Series aspect?
Personally, I think it’s great that the Aramco Team Series is something that comes back and forth, obviously people have different opinions but personally I think it would be amazing if like in Saudi there was a big individual event first and then the team event afterwards. Playing the individual first almost made me want to enter into the team spirit more, it allowed me to be more aggressive and plan our rounds more like a team. The format that week in Saudi was something I really enjoyed.

Photo by Tristan Jones/LET

● ● ●

When you approach these events how do you rationalise or prioritise your approach?
Honestly, I am always trying to do the best that I can for the team and bring a lot of birdies. I’ll also try to encourage the other players and the amateur. Some players just want to do their own thing but for me it’s important to try and make the amateur feel comfortable. I’ll speak a lot, chat a lot, joke a lot, just for that person to be comfortable because I do feel they can be a bit intimidated coming in and playing with not only one but three pros. I know all the other pros and I know they do their thing and I’ll chat to them a little bit, but they are all professionals. For me it’s about trying to make the amateur comfortable and help them bring their good game forward and help ease their nerves.

● ● ●

How would you describe the perfect amateur teammate for these events?
One that makes birdies (laughs)! No seriously, if they can get on the scorecard a few times, make a few pars, make a few birdies, it’s just great because it gives you some kind of a security blanket. There are always going to be periods of the round where everyone is not playing as great, so it’s really helpful if you have an amateur that can pop in with a par here and there and maybe even a birdie.

● ● ●

It is widely regarded that the Aramco Team Series has brought about positive change in women’s golf through the million-dollar prize funds on the LET, the innovative format of the team series events and introducing initiatives like the Ladies First Club in Saudi. As a player what are your thoughts on the support being offered by the Aramco?
I think it’s great that we have people coming into the game and saying they want to help, and I know we as players are all really appreciative of that and are hoping Aramco will continue to support and help grow women’s golf even further.

● ● ●

Is there anything you want to add about the Aramco Team Series that is a particularly fond memory?
I think it’s great it is some of the same people that are coming round and it’s great to have these stops during the season. Of course, Jeddah has a really special place in my heart because I knew I had won earlier that year, but I feel like when I went to Jeddah it just gave me so much confidence and so much to build on for the future and hopefully that will just continue, so I think that for me was my fondest memory of the Aramco Team Series so far, Jeddah is very special to me.

● ● ●

In terms of going to new and emerging destinations, how important do you think it is for tour professionals to go and help put new golfing destinations on the map?
Well, I think it is very important to grow the game of golf in all different parts of the world and I think the fact that we are travelling around is helping that, hopefully it will be an eye-opener for people in different countries and it’s good to make your mark on not just one country but in different places around the world.

● ● ●

As an Aramco Team Series and Solheim Cup winner, what is it about team golf that you think captivates people?
I think golf is such an individual sport, normally it is just you and your caddie and the team of coaches behind you, but it is funny sometimes when you play normal events, and you play for yourself you don’t really pay attention to how the other girls in the group play. What I have experienced in these team events having girls that you are normally competing against, coming over and saying, ‘you’ve got this, ‘knock that one in’ and stuff like that is quite nice. It makes for a positive change having people that have your back a little bit. It’s the same thing with the Solheim Cup… it’s just amazing to be part of something that’s far bigger than just yourself.

● ● ●

What about from the fan perspective because clearly events like the Solheim Cup and the Ryder Cup really engage new audiences for golf.  Why do you think that is?
I think people love to watch people come together as a team because I think in golf, it can be hard to know who to root for. Some of my friends that don’t play golf who try and watch it say it’s a little bit confusing because they are watching me play with someone, and they might not be the one who is leading and then they watch the Solheim Cup and they are like alright I understand this, these players are on the same team against this one, so it’s much easier to follow. It is the same with the Aramco Team Series, it is easy to identify these people in this group are all on the same team and I think that makes it easier for spectators to follow and enjoy.

The post Emily Kristine Pedersen praises Golf Saudi’s impact on the women’s game ahead of Kingdom’s LET double-header appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
It’s a safe assumption. The 2017 Solheim Cup will not go down as one of the better weeks in the professional life of Emily Kristine Pedersen. The then 21-year-old arrived in Des Moines, Iowa, as one of European captain Annika Sorenstam’s wild-card selections but left as one of the two pointless members of a losing Old World squad. Pedersen played three times and comfortably lost all three, climaxing with a 3-and-1 defeat to Danielle Kang in the final day singles.

That was bad enough. But things soon enough got worse for the long-hitting Dane. By the end of 2018—courtesy of a poor LPGA season in which she made only six cuts in 20 starts—Pedersen was ranked 323rd in the world. Which might sound bad. But only for as long as it takes to realize she dropped another 186 places over the following 12 months.

“I needed to mature and see the difference between Emily the golfer and Emily the person,” she says. “I worked hard with a phycologist to make that clear. When I played poorly, I thought I wasn’t a good person and I doubted I’d ever be back. I didn’t really know how to handle playing badly because it had never happened to me before. Then I couldn’t let it all go. I couldn’t play badly, then go home and be okay about everything. I was emotionally restrained too much of the time and had to learn how to separate the different parts of my life.”

For all of the above, the Solheim experience gets much of the blame. While Pedersen claims that her week in Iowa was “far from traumatizing,” it would be naive to think it didn’t have an effect on the almost immediate decline in her play.

“Maybe I wasn’t quite ready for the pressure that comes with the Solheim Cup,” she admits. “I did put a lot of that on myself, feeling like I had to prove I was good enough to get the pick Annika gave me. By the end, I was upset, and it knocked me. I didn’t perform my best, but then the fact that people were criticizing that I was a pick meant that I had to put all my energy into proving to myself and to others that I was good enough to be on the team. Before that week, and every week since I was 14 years old, I only thought about the round ahead of me and developing as a golfer. But my focus changed. I listened too much to the crowd.”

That crowd thing won’t be a problem this week, however. No spectators are allowed onto the Dumbarnie Links in Fife where Pedersen is competing in the Women’s Scottish Open (an event she lost last year in a playoff with Stacy Lewis). And, so far at least, competing with some distinction. A brace of 69s has the 25-year-old at six under par at the halfway stage and well in contention for what would be a sixth victory on the Ladies European Tour and a maiden win on the LPGA.

All of which is no surprise, of course. Replacing the dark times of 2018-19, Pedersen is today a golfer on the rise. The numbers are startling. At the back end of last year, the former European Amateur champion claimed three LET titles in succession and is now ranked 68th in the world. Just last week she was T-5 at the Olympics in Japan. That’s quite a change. When Pedersen arrived at the Renaissance Club for the 2020 playing of this week’s event, she was 423 places lower in the world rankings than she is now. Perhaps just as impressively, she is all but certain to top the list of six automatic qualifiers for next month’s Solheim Cup at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.

“That’s a big thing for me,” she says. “I’ve played well. It’s never bad leading anything. But I’m trying not to think too much about the Solheim. My aim at the moment is just to keep playing good golf. This is the third week in a row I’ve been in contention. I’m thinking that’s good. I wasn’t playing so well at the beginning of the season, but my recent play is definitely trending in the right direction. Plus, I believe I have grown a lot since that last time. I’ve definitely grown since then. I’ve learned a lot about myself, both on and off the course. I am in a far better place to handle making the team. My game is more solid than it was four years ago. Everything is more solid. And I’m in a better place mentally I feel ready to take up that challenge again.”

Still, if she is to live up to that bold claim, Pedersen will have to putt better than she has so far this week. A recent switch from left-hand low to right-hand low has been quickly abandoned.

“Looking back, I probably shouldn’t have tried that grip,” she says with a shrug. “But I’m always trying to get better. And putting is the big thing I need to improve. I went into it and committed to making the change. But I reached a point where I had to admit it didn’t work. If you want to be better, you sometimes have to change something. As it turned out, it wasn’t the right thing for me. But at least I tried.”

Indeed, further thought may be required. Nine bogeys have scarred the Dane’s scorecards—six of them the result of three-putting. In contrast, her tee-to-green play has been typically strong.

Emily Pederson of Denmark tees off during the pro-am at the Women’s Scottish Open at Dumbarnie Links. David Cannon

“Today was a bit of a mix, to say the least,” Pedersen said in the immediate aftermath of a three-under-par second round that included two eagles, five birdies, six dropped shots and only five pars. “A lot of good birdies, but my putting has been an absolute disgrace the last two days. I know it is difficult out there in the wind and maybe I am being too hard on myself. Then again, maybe not. I’ve been missing too many short putts. I shouldn’t be making six bogeys.”

The post Lessons of past Solheim Cup struggles fuel Emily Kristine Pedersen’s return to top form appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
Winning streaks don’t usually last long on the Ladies European Tour, which is what makes Emily Kristine Pedersen’s performance this past month notable. After a pair of victories in Saudi Arabia, the 24-year-old from Denmark triumphed again on Sunday in Spain, grabbing the title in the 2020 season finale at the Andalucia Costa del Sol Open de España. In the process, Pedersen became the first LET golfer to win three straight individual tournaments since Marie-Laure de Lorrenzi in 1989 and only the second in the tour’s history.

RELATED: Pedersen caps ‘strange, weird’ year with sweet Saudi slam

Pedersen’s latest victory, her fourth in 12 LET starts in 2020, came after closing with bogey-free 66 at Real Club de Golf Guadalmina, extending a one-stroke lead at the start of the day to a four-shot victory over Spain’s Nuria Iturrioz. For good measure, Pedersen did it with her father serving as her caddie

“It was very special with my dad here,” Pedersen said. “He got me into golf and he has been a big support the whole way, he kept me going when I was down. It is really big for me to have him here and win this amazing trophy. I was really happy to go through something really positive and good with him because he is right beside me off the course and now, he has been there on it.”

? DANISH SUPERSTAR ?
@emilypedersen96 wins the @Openfemenino & becomes only the second player in LET history to win 3⃣ ?in a row.

Simply incredible, let the celebrations begin ???
#SpanishOpen #RaiseOurGame #RaceToCostaDelSol pic.twitter.com/KvaiceNkUu

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) November 29, 2020

In addition to the €90,000 first-place check, Pedersen, a member of the 2017 European Solheim Cup team, also earned €20,000 for winning the inaugural year-long Race to Costa del Sol points title. Her season-long earnings were €415,000—three times the amount of No. 2 on the money list, Spain’s Azahara Munoz—thanks to the four wins, a playoff loss to Stacy Lewis at the Ladies Scottish Open in August and one other top 10, plus a T-11 at the Women’s British Open.

Pedersen’s impressive play this year helped earn her an exemption into next month’s U.S. Women’s Open at Champions Golf Club in Houston (she was exempt off being 77th on the Rolex Ranking). There she’ll hope to improve upon a somewhat disappointing record in majors in the United States; Pedersen’s highest finish to date is a T-36 at the 2017 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

Quality Sport Images
Pedersen in action during the final round of the Ladies European Tour’s Andalucia Costa del Sol Open de Espana

Beyond her T-11 at this year’s Women’s British Open she has just one other top-20 showing in a major (T-14 at the 2016 Evian Championship).

The post Kicking on from where she left off in Saudi, Pedersen closes 2020 in historic fashion appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The past 10 days in particular have been a dream with the 24-year-old completing a sweep of all available titles at Saudi Arabia’s historic LET double-header on Thursday. Just four days after capturing the inaugural Saudi Ladies Team International, Pedersen wrapped up the team and individual titles at the Saudi Ladies Team International.

The Dane departs Royal Greens Golf & Country Club with $207, 500 and the LET’s season-long Race to Costa Del Sol title sown up with next week’s season-ending Andalucia Costa Del Sol Open De Espana still to be played.

“It’s been a strange year for all of us with COVID but while everyone’s saying it is the worst year, I’m having the best year ever, so that’s a little weird but I am really happy,” said Pedersen.

Thursday’s celebration was a far cry from her week in Dubai when she opened the OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic with an 82, eventually finished T-41 in the 56-strong field and quickly figured out she was putting too much pressure on herself as the spectre of becoming LET No.1 loomed.

“I obviously really, really like the course here,” Pedersen said of Royal Greens. “Our tactics were great for the two weeks and we stuck to it. I can’t believe what’s happened this season. I was confident I could get back to where I was but I couldn’t imagine that it would be like this.”

Team Pedersen, consisting of Michele Thomson (Scotland), Cassandra Hall (South Africa) and talented English amateur Matt Selby snatched victory in the team event with Hall’s clutch birdie on the closing birdie getting them to -40 for the 54 hole event. 40-under par and a share of $97,500 for the professionals.

Team Pedersen featuring Michele Thomson, Casandra Hall and amateur Matt-Selby.

“It’s been unbelievable, I was absolutely delighted when I heard Emily picked me,” said Thomson who shared in a third of the $97,500 prize for the professionals.

“She’s one of the best players I think I’ve ever played with and we just wanted to make some birdies out there today. Although I am about 10 years older than her, I have learnt a lot from her and I’ve gained a great friend this week.”

Team Kyriacou (Steph Kyriacou, Pia Babnik, Manon Gidali) and Team De Roey (Manon De Roey, Eleanor Givens, Linette Littau Durr Holmslykke) finished one back on 39-under for a share of second.

Pedersen’s final round 67 sealed victory at 14-under to finish two shots clear of Aussie Stephanie Kyriacou, Dutchwoman Anne Van Dam and Spaniard Luna Sobron Galmes.

Outstanding 19-year-old Kyriacou capped an impressive Saudi Arabian display by setting a new course record with a brilliant 63 that included two eagles and five birdies. The Australian, who started 2020 in the amateur ranks, has now all but sealed the LET Rookie of the Year title.

Stephanie Kyriacou.

“It was obviously a great day,” said Kyriacou. “I started with a birdie, wanted to keep the momentum going then holed out on the 14 and then chipped in on the last for eagle which was a great way to finish the year.

“I hadn’t thought about the Rookie of the Year title until my friend told me about it and then was like, ‘That’s cool, it would be great to win’. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

H.E. Yasir O. Al-Rumayyan, Chairman of the Saudi Golf Federation and Golf Saudi, was thrilled with the trailblazing 10 days in King Abdullah Economic City.

“This has been an historic time for Saudi Arabia and women’s golf, and we could not be prouder. I am confident this won’t be the last we hear of exciting team formats in the professional game.”

Saudi Ladies Team International – Final Results

Team
-40: Team Pederson
-39: Team Kyriacou, Team De Roey
-37: Team Mehmet
-36: Team Pace
-33: Team Dimmock

Individual
-14: Emily Kristine Pedersen (Denmark)
-12:  Stephanie Kyriacou (Australia), Anne van Dam (The Netherlands), Luna Sobron Galmes (Spain)
-9: Charley Hull (England)
-8: Eleanor Givens (England), Georgia Hall (England)
-7: Ursula Wikstrom (Finland), Johanna Gustavsson (Sweden)

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