World No. 3 Jin Young Ko, Chinese star Muni He, Solheim Cup star Carlota Ciganda, Hong Kong’s Tiffany Chan and Dutch star Anne van Dam are among the stars set to take to the course this weekend.

Ahead of the Aramco Team Series debut in Hong Kong later this week, Muni said: “I am so excited to be here this week. I love playing in the Aramco Team Series. I played it once two years ago in Spain, and it was so much fun, so I’m very excited to be back, especially in Hong Kong, a place very close to where I’m from. I used to come here with my parents when I was younger, so it feels really lovely to be back, and I’m very excited.”

The Hong Kong event brings together 28 teams, each comprised of three professional golfers and an amateur player, in a team competition that runs alongside an individual stroke play event. Over the course of three days, players will compete for a prize fund of $1 million, setting a record as the largest fund ever assembled for a ladies’ professional golf tournament in Hong Kong.

Main image: Aramco Team Series presented by PIF

The post Stars touch down in Hong Kong for Aramco Team Series showdown appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Muni is popular both on the course and off it, with a massive social media following, and is also a regular competitor on the LPGA Tour. Muni is preparing for her second appearance in the Aramco Team Series, having previously achieved a T-7 finish at the 2021 Aramco Team Series — Sotogrande.

“I am excited to be competing in Hong Kong,” Muni said. “I’m grateful for the support from my fans, and I hope they will come out to support the event. I’m looking forward to it, to be competing in Hong Kong, and I’m excited to put on a great performance for the fans at this world-class event.”

The Aramco Team Series presented by PIF, and sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour, is a global golf series that features top professional and skilled amateur players. The Hong Kong edition serves as the fourth stop on the tour this year, bringing together 28 teams of three professionals and one amateur to compete in an exhilarating team competition format over two days. In addition, a three-day individual stroke play competition will see the players battle for the individual title and Race to Costa del Sol and Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings points.

Xiyu Lin. Supplied

The inclusion of Muni He in the Aramco Team Series Hong Kong line-up underscores the tournament’s commitment to showcasing the best talents in women’s golf from around the world.

“We are delighted to welcome Muni He to the Aramco Team Series Hong Kong,” said Andy Kwok, captain of the Hong Kong Golf Club. “Her participation adds another layer of excitement and showcases the global appeal of the tournament. We at the Hong Kong Golf Club are thrilled to provide a platform for talented golfers like Xiyu Lin and Muni He to shine and inspire our local golfers.”

The post Chinese star Muni He to compete in Aramco Team Series — Hong Kong appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The trio join defending champion Nuria Iturrioz, Solheim Cup stars Georgia Hall, Charley Hull and Céline Boutier and Catriona Matthew, who will return as  European next year, in the 56-player, US$285,000 Ladies European Tour event set for Emirates Golf Club from Nov. 4-6.

Ko’s signature is a coup given the 54-hole Pro-Am will need to rely on live television coverage (including Dubai Sports) for exposure after organisers have bowed to the inevitable and decided to play the tournament behind closed doors.

The OMEGA DUBAI MOONLIGHT CLASSIC ? is back!

It’s time for the @LETgolf players to battle it out once again, under the floodlights at @EmiratesGC, Dubai. Watch live on TV from 4-6 November… #TimeToShine ?

Player announcements coming soon ?… #ODMC #MadeForGreatness pic.twitter.com/wCAebctH4U

— OMEGA Golf Dubai (@OMEGAGolfDubai) October 8, 2020

The 23-year-old New Zealander, who will make her debut in Dubai, is a two-time major champion but perhaps better known for becoming the youngest player, male or female, to ascend to the top of the world rankings when she was 17 – and for her plethora of swing coaches she’s tinkered with ever since. Now with Tiger Woods former swing coach Sean Foley, Ko is ranked 38th but has shown a hint of her undoubted talent with a T-2 at the recent the Marathon Classic and is being talked of as a real threat at this week’s KMPG Women’s PGA Championship.

Lee finished T-11 in her Dubai debut in 2014.

At No.6, Australian Minjee Lee is the highest-ranked player thus far confirmed for the 14th edition of Dubai’s LET stop. The 24-year-old will arrive at the Faldo course at Emirates G.C. fresh from three top-four finishes in five starts since the post-COVID resumption and determined to better her T-11 finish in the Emirates in 2014.

He might be ranked a lowly 449 but she won’t struggle for attention. The 21-year-old Chinese star claimed her first tournament victory on the Symetra Tour in July 2018 at the inaugural Prasco Charity Championship in Maineville, Ohio. A follow-up win at last November’s LPGA Q-Series was enough to secure her 2020 LPGA Tour membership and Dubai will be a prime opportunity for her to prove her burgeoning potential.

RELATED: Lily He: ‘My Instagram fame used to define me”

The OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic will mark the return of sporting events to Dubai and take place under the appropriately named theme “Time To Shine” moniker after many tournaments have been cancelled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“2020 has been a very difficult year globally, not just for sports, and as such we are very grateful to Dubai Sports Council and all our partners,” said Tournament Director, Simon Corkill. “Without their support this tournament simply wouldn’t have been possible.

“With some of the game’s best players set to attend this year’s tournament, we’ve gone above and beyond to ensure the necessary safety precautions are in place for November. Whilst we won’t be able to welcome spectators this year, we are delighted that Dubai will host the unique and day and night event which will be broadcast globally to 60 countries and 348m households.”

Formerly known as the OMEGA Dubai Ladies Masters, the inaugural tournament was played in 2006, with a strong rollcall of previous winners, including two-time winner, Annika Sorenstam, and four-time champion, Shanshan Feng. Sorenstam won the first two events back to back in 2006 and 2007, while Chinese former world no.1, Feng, dominated from 2014-2016, winning the tournament three times in-a-row.

The newly named and scheduled tournament has been switched from May to November after its first staging in spring 2019, when it achieved global recognition as the world’s first professional day-night tour event.

The post Lydia Ko, Minjee Lee and Muni He add sparkle to spectator-less OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

He certainly impressed her new boss – that person being the 18-year-old herself – with a pleasing one-under 71 to be just four shots off the pace after the opening day of the 12th OMEGA Dubai Ladies Classic.

“I think it went pretty smoothly,” He said of her first round as a professional after relinquishing her amateur status the previous evening.

“I was a bit nervous just because I came from stage 3 [the final LPGA Tour Q-School qualifier in Florida] and I didn’t really perform too well there [she finished tied 89th with a seven over total]. But I was just kind of able to play my own golf. I had a lot of fun out there.”

After shooting 76-76 to miss the cut as an amateur in Dubai last December, He’s first shift was indeed an unqualified success that no one really saw coming.

“Last year here, it [turning pro] definitely didn’t cross my mind, but I think it became a topic throughout the year and I think I knew it was something that I really wanted to do. I’m very excited for next year.”

She’ll play on the secondary Symetra Tour in 2018 but wants a big finish in Dubai beforehand. Perhaps the most encouraging sign yesterday was an uncooperative putter. He counted six missed birdie attempts inside 18 feet. “I had a lot of really good chances that I missed. That’s okay. It just means there’s room for improvement. I’m pretty happy.”

The post Muni’s memorable first day on the job appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

A five over 77 in Wednesday’s opening round means Zorzi needs something special today to prolong her 16-year career for another 36 holes. Regardless, it’s been a blast.

Related: Muni’s memorable first day as a pro

The 37-year-old won back-to-back French Open titles at Le Golf D’Arras in 2005 and 2006, the latter helping her finished fifth on LET Order of Merit that year. Emirates Golf Club also holds fond memories after she finished runner-up to Anja Monke in Dubai in 2008.

Zorzi thankfully won’t be lost to the game as she takes up a coaching job focused on nurturing the next generation at a golf club near Lake Garda, 30 minutes from her home in Verona.

“Now I want to try to give all my experience to young people and try to grow golf in Italy because it is still quite a low participation rate. I hope to train somebody to become a great player in the future,” she said.

“I have a group between 8-11 years old. My son, Ettore, was born on November 10, 2015 and he is also keeping me busy!”

Zorzi cited her two French Open victories and participation in team events such as the Women’s World Cup of Golf and European Nations Cup amongst her career highlights.

For the record, He, the U.S.-based Chinese star in waiting, signed for a 71 in her maiden round as a pro to share 29th place overnight.

The post Zorzi bids a fond farewell in Dubai appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

He dutifully thanked all the right people for the invite and gave the only answer she really could when asked if the Rio Olympic Games bonze medallist sitting next to her was a role model. “Oh, 100 percent”.

Then came the inevitable question. When will you turn pro?

“That’s my ultimate goal in the future, but as of right now, I don’t really know exactly when, because I will be attending USC [University of Southern California] in the spring…and I really don’t know when I’ll feel like I’m prepared enough to be able to go to Q-School and then maybe like
turn professional.”

Fast-forward 12 months and we have a definitive answer. The U.S.-based Chinese star, now 18, relinquished her amateur status overnight and will tee it up in her first round as a professional at 12.15am on Wednesday. He is grouped with Indian Aditi Ashok, already a three-time LET champion, and England’s Gemma Clews in a “teen sensation” threesome sure to attract the galleries.

With more than 100,000 followers on Instagram, He already has ample followers and new media fame likely to attract more sponsors exemptions, and financial, support as she begins her new career.

She also has serious game, highlighted as early as 2015 when she qualified for, and made the cut at, the 2015 U.S. Open in “probably the best week of my life”. She also finished a highly creditable T-30 as an amateur invite to the 2016 Reignwood LPGA Classic. He’s first goal as a pro will to be to survive the cut this week – she shot 76-76 last December to finish +8 – but regardless of her rookie bow, expect plenty of press conferences to come from the communications major.

The post Chinese teen turns pro on eve of Omega Dubai Ladies Classic appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.