While the series, which sees an individual strokeplay competition and team tournament run concurrently, has grown in popularity on and off the course and has attracted some of the world’s biggest names in women’s golf, Anne van Dam probably knows the format better than most.

The Dutch star was runner-up at that first event at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City in 2020 and has been an almost ever-present since, watching the ATS evolve over the years first-hand. 

“The event has grown tremendously since 2020,” she told Golf Digest Middle East recently. “Back then it was relatively new for everyone. But it has been great to play as part of a team — also adding the amateur was something really new we hadn’t seen on tour — and that aspect has really grown on all the players over the past three years.”

The ATS’ global reach has expanded year on year, adding new destinations to help spread awareness of the series and the game of golf.

“I think it is always good to play in new venues and it is important to showcase the Aramco Team Series and our players in as many places as possible,” Van Dam said, while also praising some of the continuity in place. “I also like that some of the venues have stayed the same  — London for example — as it allows you to see the growth as more and more people come out every year. But I really love all the new additions: Singapore, Hong Kong, Sotogrande. To keep adding these new locations all around the world is super exciting for us as players and I hope over the coming years to keep adding more and more venues to the schedule and bringing new players to the game.”

The Golf Saudi Ambassador added: “I have done clinics at the past couple of events and they are a super fun way to bring a lot of together. To give girls a chance to try golf when they normally would not consider it is great and the Aramco Team Series has been a great opportunity for that.

“I do see myself as a role model to grow the game for kids and women around the world. It is great to see those enthusiastic faces around the golf course watching me, and the clinics and media events are powerful tools.”

As the Aramco Team Series prepares for its 2023 finale in Saudi Arabia, 27-year-old Van Dam is keen to chalk off another new destination on her travels — and even get her tourist hat on. 

“I have actually never been to Riyadh so I am excited,” she said. “I have heard many awesome things about the city and course so hopefully we can explore a bit. I have been to Jeddah and Royal Greens a few times and I am ready and excited for a new course and a new venue — especially to be there with the Aramco Team Series.”

Van Dam burst on to the professional golfing scene towards the end of 2018 when she went on a hot streak that saw her pick up four titles in just over a year — a run of form she feels she is rediscovering in 2023 having just missed out on the Irish Open title this summer.

“I have been playing really well this past while, getting close to a handful of wins,” she said. “Unfortunately I have not been able to get it over the line, but my game is good and I am getting closer to those wins. I am definitely hoping for an Aramco win — hopefully this year and in the years to come. One thing that drives me on out on the course is to finish the year strong and get another win under my belt.”

Main Image: Tristan Jones/LET

The post Anne’s grand plan: Seasoned Aramco Team Series veteran Van Dam is once again looking to the future appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

They grow up so fast these days … 

The Aramco Team Series can allow itself a bit of a nostalgic moment this month as it returns to where it all began.

Following the experimental Saudi Ladies Team International in Jeddah way back in November 2020, the ATS came into being and it all teed off at Centurion Club, just outside London.

From July 16 to 18, some of the world’s top female golfers will be back to swing into action for what is already a third birthday at the St Albans course.

Marianne Skarpnord and Bronte Law have tasted success in the individual event here in 2021 and 2022 respectively, while Olivia Cowan and Nicole Garcia led their quartets to the team titles.

Anyone hoping to join that esteemed group this time around will face a tough battle as a stacked field of 108 contenders will be vying for the two trophies and the $1 million prize fund.

Not only will we have ATS regulars such as Georgia Hall, Charley Hull and defending individual champ Law, whose epic 55-foot eagle putt won the title, two more big fish will be on the hunt.

World No. 2 Nelly Korda — she of 12 pro wins and a major at the age of 24 — and Ireland’s Team Europe Solheim Cup hero Leona Maguire are signed up for the showdown. 

As the ATS comes back to the Centurion, with its tall redwoods on the front nine and expansive parklands on the back, this third instalment will surely be one of the hottest tickets in town during the British summer season. 

Korda has recovered from a blood clot that sidelined her for much of last year, and the 2021 PGA Championship winner has bounced back to form and secured six top-10 finishes out of just eight starts this year. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion showed she was back to her best with a third-place finish in the first major of the year at the Chevron Championship. 

Bronte Law is the defending champion from the Aramco Team Series London. Tristan Jones/LET

Korda also knows how to win on the ATS, having taken home the trophy from Sotogrande, Spain, last year.

“The Aramco Team Series is a special event that showcases a unique blend of individual talent and team dynamics in golf, and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to once again compete alongside top professionals and amateurs,” she said. “I’ve had great performances in the past three Aramco Team Series events I’ve played in, so I hope to deliver a top performance for the fans in London and capture my second Aramco Team Series title.”

Maguire is also up for the challenge after a sensational 2022 that included the LPGA Drive On Championship title, and she also has ATS pedigree, having taken part in the stormy New York event, with a T18 finish. 

Nicole Garcia, Mia Baker, Madelene Stavnar and Kelly Whaley took the team title last year. The Aramco Team Series will once again be back at Centurion Club just outside London. P54

“I had a great time competing in the Aramco Team Series — New York last year, and I’m looking forward to being part of the Aramco Team Series on European soil and compete alongside an exceptional field that’s lining up,” she said. “Hopefully, we can put on a great show for the fans in the UK.”

London is the third stop on the ATS 2023 schedule, having already been on trips to Singapore and Florida, with Hong Kong and Riyadh still to come.

How it works

The format is the same as in 2022, with two competitions happening side by side — the individual strokeplay competition alongside the team event.

Each team will contain three professionals and one amateur. The team captains are selected based on their Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings ahead of the events.

The 26 captains pick one player from the remaining field of 78 professionals in reverse order — the 26th ranked captain will pick first with the top-ranked picking last, while the third pro and an amateur in each team are decided by random draw to complete the quartet.

The team competition will conclude after 36 holes, with the final day being the final round of the individual strokeplay competition.

The post Aramco Team Series goes back to where it all began at Centurion Club 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)

The post Pedersen caps ‘strange, weird’ year with sweet Saudi slam appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 24-year-old Dane enters the final day of Saudi Arabia’s pioneering LET double-header in nearby King Abdullah Economic City with a good chance of winning pretty much all the silverware on offer.

She’s already created history by winning last week’s inaugural Aramco Saudi Ladies International and has piloted her team to the top of the team standings heading into Thursday’s final round of the $500,000 Saudi Ladies Team International, also being played at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club.

Pedersen also remains ominously positioned in second place in the individual championship running concurrently with the team event, just two strokes behind Spanish pole-sitter Luna Sobron Galmes who leads at -10. Pedersen already owns an almost unassailable lead in the LET’s season-long Race to Costa Del Sol and it would be well and truly sealed with victory on Thursday, even before the season-ending Andalucia Costa Del Sol Open De Espana from Nov. 26-29.

Pedersen and her team, which includes fellow LET pros Michele Thomson (Scotland) and Cassandra Hall (RSA) are joint leaders at -27, two strokes clear of Team Nuutinen with Team De Roey, Team Engstrom and Team Henry also in the mix at -23 after taking advantage of some rare benign afternoon scoring conditions.

Pedersen’s team-first approach to the 54-hole event is paying off on multiple levels.

“My focus is on the team this week and I am going to do my best regardless, for the team or the individual, and I hope I can keep making birdies and we can get it done as a team tomorrow.”

Thomson said the team was “ loving playing together and having a good time.”

“It’s a great new event. We’re here for Emily to make all the birdies and us to make all the pars! It gives us a confidence boost that she [Pedersen] picked us and we’re looking forward to tomorrow,” said Thompson.

Luna Sobron Galmes (pictured above), chasing her maiden LET title after finishing solo sixth last week, equalled the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club course record on Wednesday, her second round 65 including a hole-out eagle two from 73 yards on 17 and seven birdies.

“I’m very happy with my round,” said the Spaniard. “The key was my putter but you also have to be accurate with your long game on this course. I’m not thinking if I can win either event or not – I’m just playing my game.”

The Netherland’s Anne van Dam (-7), first-round leader Sanna Nuutinen (-6) and English star Charley Charley (-5) are all within touch of Galmes (-10) and Pedersen (-9).

The post Emily Kristine Pedersen eyes Saudi sweep with Costa Del Sol sweetener appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Annabel Dimmock played a handy captain’s knock to lead her side to the top of the leader board after the opening round of the $500,000 Saudi Ladies Team International.

Dimmock, joined by fellow Englishwoman Charlotte Thompson, Norwegian pro Stina Reeson and amateur Ed Edwards (Golf Saudi) signed for a -17 total in a format where the two lowest scores on each hole count towards the team’s total.

Team Dimmock will take a one-stroke buffer over Team Nuutinen, as in Finland’s Sanna Nuutinen, heading into the second of three rounds at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club on Wednesday. The side skippered by new Saudi Ladies International champion, Dane Emily Kristine Pedersen, are third a stroke further back.

Nuutinen produced Tuesday’s standout solo effort, the Finn’s six-under 66 earning her a two-stroke lead over Swede Johanna Gistavsson in the individual championship being held concurrently with the teams race.

RELATED: Ladies First: Why Saudi’s LET double-header is more than just an historic week of pro golf

Dimmock and Pedersen are among a group of six players who carded 69s. Dimmock says the team format strangely helped her play well individually.

“We were all trying to hit good shots for each other, and we certainly felt like it was a team event,” said Dimmock.

“Both Stina and I didn’t know our own score going down the 18th, and I usually know it. Stina got the first birdie on the fifth and we then we were like ‘let’s get the birdies going’. Then I holed my wedge shot on the next and then Charlotte got a birdie, so it was a real team effort.

1⃣7⃣ under & the top team
6⃣9⃣ -3 in the individual event

It’s been a great day for @AnnabelDimmock who is enjoying the experience of playing in a team event.#SaudiLadiesTeamIntl | #RaiseOurGame pic.twitter.com/YPFWIBc2d1

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) November 17, 2020

Dimmock and Thompson are best buddies on Tour but Resin is quickly making friends and influencing people with her impressive play.

“I hadn’t met Stina before the draw but once I knew she was in my team, we’ve all spent some time together and had a team practice yesterday. It’s been great to get to know another player on Tour,” said Dimmock.

Nuutinen’s round included an eagle on the 4th, six birdies and even a double-bogey.

“To be honest I drove the ball better last week and today was a struggle off the tee,” said Nuutinen. “But I still played my best round this week and was good on the greens and made a few putts. It’s such an advantage playing this course multiple times, as you can be really precise on yardages.

Sanna Nuutinen

“It still feels like an individual event as you can’t help your teammates, so you concentrate on your own game. But when someone in the team makes a birdie or the amateur makes a par I do give a little fist pump. It reminds me of amateur golf and being in the international team or college golf and being with a team.”

RELATED: Golf Saudi unveil sustainability strategy

Sweden’s Jenny Haglund created history with a hole-in-one on the 5th. Not only did she become the first women to make an ace in Saudi Arabia, she is the first player to record a perfect shot since Royal Greens joined the international fray with the Saudi International was first played at Royal Greens in Feb. 2019.

The ace is the sixth of Haglund’s career and fifth in tournament play, with the latest her third in three years.

? HOLE-IN-ONE ?

Massive congratulations to @JennyHaglund who aced the par-3 11th hole @royalgreens_ksa.

A historic moment becoming the first professional to get a tournament hole-in-one in Saudi Arabia ??#SaudiLadiesTeamIntl #LadiesFirst #RaiseOurGame pic.twitter.com/yuA07iX3PR

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) November 17, 2020

The post Team ‘Dimmock’ lead new Saudi Team Int. as Finland’s Sanna Nuutinen produces solo standout appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
If you see an LET star having a little mid-round boogie or reaching for an ice-cream instead of a club over the next few days, do not adjust your television set. Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Saudi Ladies Team International, serious tournament golf but not as we know it.

Thirty-six teams set out early Tuesday in a 54-hole, $500,000 teams event officially sanctioned by the LET. Teams will arrive on the first tee to their own choice of entrance music and tunes will be piped around Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City. ‘Quiet Please’ signs? So yesterday.

It is a serious tournament, though not a word that Golf Saudi want used as a challenging year winds down.

Expect smiles for miles at Royal Greens.

“Everyone has experienced first-hand the impact of COVID-19 in 2020,” said Golf Saudi CEO, Majed Al Sorour. “Women’s golf has been no different, with many events cancelled over the course of the year.

RELATED: Ladies First: Why Saudi’s LET double-header is more than just an historic week of pro golf

“We see the Saudi Ladies Team International as the perfect antidote to that. It’s a fun, exciting, innovative format that celebrates the women’s game, supports women’s golf and we hope offers the players a fun conclusion to a stop-start, sometimes difficult year.”

The teams were decided using an ‘NFL-style’ draft system that saw each captain pick their first player before being randomly allocated a third professional teammate and a competing amateur, largely made up of event sponsors and partners.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ladies European Tour (@letgolf)

Some of the stand-out picks include Amy Boulden selecting fellow Welsh star Chloe Williams which is all rather cosy as Chloe’s dad, Paul, doubles as Amy’s coach. Boulden did, however, admit that she had been left somewhat irked by England’s Florentyna Parker stealing her first choice pick, best pal Kelsey Macdonald of Scotland, earlier in the round – something bound to add extra spice to the event.

Dame Laura Davies’s pick was purely tactical as this LET tweet captures:

Dame @lauradaviesgolf on the tactical reason behind why she picked her long term Tour mate @LydiaHallGolf ?#SaudiLadiesTeamIntl | #RaiseOurGame pic.twitter.com/uouSF7J7Rf

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) November 16, 2020

Elsewhere, Maha Haddioui opted for fellow Moroccan Ines Laklalech, while Australia’s Stephanie Kyriacou – the leading rookie on the LET – chose 16-year-old Pia Babnik for a team packed with youthful energy.

Warming up with music on the range ? @Fridagspang ? @georgiaoboh ? @manonderoey ?

#SaudiLadiesTeamIntl | #RaiseOurGame pic.twitter.com/Fo7K20rkO8

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) November 17, 2020

Charley Hull was another captain with the high-profile Englishwoman picking Dubai-based Scot Alison Muirhead.

Hull, who finished sixth in the weekend’s Saudi Ladies International, said: “I played with Alison last week and I thought she was pretty good. I played with her in Scotland in a practice round too and she was really nice, so it was an easy choice.

“It will feel different playing in a team event rather than as single players. It will be fun and help us relax a bit more. I’m looking forward to it.”

Muirhead added: “I’m really looking forward to the Saudi Ladies Team International, especially as I’ve got Charley in my team. I’m really excited to get started and feel we could do something as a team. We both have the game to do it and it’ll just be a matter of rolling in the putts and avoiding the bogeys.

“Playing as a team will be different because we’ll probably get off on each other’s energy, especially if you’re playing well and your playing partners are playing well.”

RELATED: Golf Saudi unveil sustainability strategy

Morgane Metraux flew round Royal Greens with nine birdies on Sunday, en route to a final round 67 that would secure her 10th spot in the SLI. That form and her swing caught the attention of Georgia Hall, the runner-up of the Aramco Saudi Ladies International presented by PIF. This partnership puts her in good stead for another strong showing this week.

“I’ve got a really good team so I’m looking forward to Tuesday. Georgia Hall picked me and we’re with Natasha Fear as well,” said Metraux.

“It’s really cool to have a different format like this where we’re also going to compete for an individual prize. To be playing in a team where you’re all counting towards the same score will mean we’re all pulling for each other, which will be different and a really fun atmosphere.”

And a fun atmosphere it promises to be. The rounds will be played with live music echoing across the course and, akin to WWE wrestling, teams will arrive on the first tee to their own choice of entrance music. Team Charley Hull have chosen ‘Eye of the Tiger’, while die-hard Liverpool FC fan Dame Laura Davies will bring a little bit of Anfield to Saudi with club anthem ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.

Each team will play three rounds, where their two lowest scores per hole are carded – with amateurs receiving ¾ of their official playing handicap.  The team with the lowest total score after all three days will be declared champions and will see its three professionals take home a winning share of the $300,000 prize fund. The lowest scoring professional across the three days – who may well come from a losing team – will themselves be rewarded with a share of the $200,000 individual prize fund.

Team Manon gets the inaugural #SaudiLadiesTeamIntl underway @manonderoey ?‍ @Ellie_Givens ?‍ @ItsLinetteH ?‍ #RaiseOurGame | @SaudiLadiesIntl pic.twitter.com/tO7JvuoLQS

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) November 17, 2020

The post Saudi Ladies Team International – complete with ice cream station for the players – a seriously fun “antidote” to the year 2020 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

As the first Arabic professional golfer to play on tour, the Moroccan 32-year-old knows better than most the significance of this week’s LET double-header at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City.

“I am really pleased and proud to represent my region in my region,” said Haddioui on the eve of the inaugural $1m Aramco Saudi Ladies International presented by Public Investment Fun (Nov. 12-15) and the $500,000 Saudi Ladies Team International (Nov. 17-19).

“It’s a big tournament, a big statement and it’s positive to see women’s golf get more recognition. Saudi is opening up to the world of golf and it is going to help grow the game, which I am happy about. I can’t wait to get started on Thursday.

The 72-hole Aramco Saudi Ladies International will be Haddioui’s 102nd LET start. She’s still searching for her first win and arrived in KAEC fresh from a lowly T-38 finish at last week’s OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic. But she has rattled off three top-12s in this disrupted season, including a 6th placing at the Swiss Ladies Open in Sept.

“Winning anywhere would be special but it would mean a lot more to happen here in an Arab country. I love the course, I love the place and feel really welcome here,” who has career earnings of €139,847 on the LET.

“I am so grateful to be able to have picked up the game and it has changed my life, I’d love for other Arab women to be able to pursue this and enjoy the opportunities that I have had.”

“The prize fund is a huge statement from Golf Saudi.

To celebrate the historic nature of both tournaments, Golf Saudi will this week launch a world-first ‘Ladies First Club’, which will offer free golf to 1,000 women living across the Kingdom.

The post Maha Haddioui: LET double-header prize-fund a ‘huge statement’ from Golf Saudi appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Like last week’s Moonlight Classic in Dubai, the $1m Aramco Saudi Ladies International from Nov. 12-15 and $500,000 Saudi Ladies Team International from Nov. 17-19 will be played behind closed doors at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club due to COVID restrictions.

It means the events will rely on TV for exposure with 14 broadcasters across Europe, Americas, MENA, Asia and Australasia to show the back-to-back tournaments.

But for Golf Saudi and Saudi Golf Federation CEO Majed Al Sorour there is something even more significant happening at home; for the first time Saudi-held international women’s elite sporting competition will be beamed nationwide.

“Broadcasting the first women’s professional tournaments in Saudi Arabia across the world is another hugely significant milestone for golf in this country,” said Al Sorour.

Golf Saudi and Saudi Golf Federation CEO Majed Al Sorour.

“We would have loved spectators to attend again, but millions across the globe will have the chance to witness some of the best players on the planet from a world-class golfing venue. Thanks to the support of our broadcast partners and in-depth coverage and content across our social media channels we have a chance to show the world Saudi Arabia is open and transforming through this great sport – truly inspiring a new generation for years to come.”

KSA Sports and Dubai Sports Channel will each broadcast  21 hours of live coverage for the tournaments in King Abdullah Economic City.

A total of 108 players, including some of Europe’s elite players, will compete this week including for what is the third-largest purse on the LET this season after the British and Scottish Opens.

The post Global broadcast of LET double header “chance to show the world Saudi is…transforming through” golf appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Charley Hull has always been a tenacious competitor but an unforgettable year has unearthed even deeper reserves as the Northamptonshire star returns to a favourite hunting ground.

By Kent Gray
We’ve all been impacted by the coronavirus in some way but few in King Abdullah Economic City for Saudi Arabia’s historic LET double-header have felt it as intensely as Charley Hull.

The 24-year-old was in the final stages of her prep for September’s ANA Inspiration when she tested positive on the eve of the third women’s major of this crazy old year. Hull put it down to jet lag, the stifling California heat and her asthma playing up. Indeed, she thought she might have already beaten the invisible enemy.

“I actually thought I’d already had it so I wasn’t really looking out for symptoms,” the Englishwoman revealed.

“I felt a bit flu-like on arrival in Palm Springs but I put it down to a long day of travel. I was pretty surprised when I tested positive as I’d been carrying on with my preparation for a major as normal.”

Hull reckons she got off lightly even if she described her two weeks in quarantine as “pretty brutal”.

“The recovery did take a little longer than I was expecting, not in a major way, but I did notice the tiredness and I also lost my taste for a while. It’s quite nice now knowing that I’ve had it, and I shouldn’t get it again, but I still need to be careful not to be a spreader. “

Welcome to the New World Order. The impacts of COVID-19, especially after a brush with the deadly virus, have Hull fizzing tbhe women’s week of golf at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, the $1 million Aramco Saudi Ladies International (Nov. 12-15) and $500,000 Saudi Ladies Team International (Nov. 17-19).

It was galling to miss the ANA but the world No. 28 quickly rebounded with a T-7 finish at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship last month for her 6th major championship top-10.

“A sign of good things to come? Yes, I hope so. I’m really excited to still have some good events ahead of me this year…I can’t wait to try to keep the momentum going.

“We were very impacted in the beginning when the golf tours stopped, and all the golf courses closed.  So for eight weeks or so things were very different. I’ll definitely play all that I can between now and the end of the year as I’ve only played about 5 events so far.  It’s just got tougher moving around the world with all the restrictions; it’s a real feat of organisation.”

Coupled with her desire to make up for lost time, Hull has proven pedigree in the Middle East. She captured her maiden LET title in Morocco just four days before her 18th birthday and went wire-to-wire at the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club in Jan. 2019, not long after her Christmas time engagement to mixed martial arts champion Ozzie Smith whom she went on to marry last September.

Photo courtesy of TaylorMade

“I really enjoy being in the Middle East. The place has a real holiday vibe, so I feel relaxed here, a bit like I’m on holiday.  The courses really suit my game too – lots of high shots into the greens.”

The Solheim Cup is another part of golf that clearly suits Hull’s bubbly but tenacious personality. She became the youngest competitor in 2013 and contributed three of a possible four points to Europe’s upset of the U.S. at Gleneagles in 2019 to be running at a 70 percent success rate in the matches. She handles comparisons with countryman Ian Poulter, Europe’s Ryder Cup ‘Postman’, with similar aplomb looking ahead to the 2021 edition at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.

“Well Ian and I do have one thing in common and that’s that we are both from Woburn Golf Club. But I think I’ve got a way to go before I match his Ryder Cup performances. I just love playing the Solheim and the big crowds and the excitement definitely get me going.’

So to do the new events and formats being rolled out for the women’s game in the Middle East.

“I think it helps to attract new players to the game, and it’s great to hear that there was a real rise in the amount of new people into the game during lockdown this summer,” said Hull.

“It’s really important to grow the game wherever we can. Saudi Arabia is an important new market and I can’t wait to see the set up there.”

Photo courtesy of TaylorMade

Just as exciting as getting to grips with Royal Greens is the Saudi Teams International which was tagged onto the 72-hole strokeplay event at the 11th hour as Golf Saudi and the Saudi Golf Federation doubled down on their commitment to the LET and women’s game in general.

“I hope I get drafted into a good team. I think I’d play with Dame Laura [Davies] if I was given a choice.”

It’s likely, given her world ranking, that Hull will be given a choice as one of the 36-team captains involved in the novel NFL-style draft for the teams event. Whether she gets Davies is another matter but you can be assured Hull will fight to the last whomever she is teamed with.

If 2020 has taught Hull anything, it is you can only control the controllable. Like battling back from a positive COVID-19 test, the Rose Ladies Series, bankrolled and organised by Justin Rose and the major champion’s wife Kate to give tournament-starved LET players an employment lifeline, was another case in point.

Hull won the opening event in a playoff at Brockenhurst Manor and went on to claim the £20,000 order of merit title by a whisker from Georgia Hall courtesy of a runner-up finish when the final round of the series finale at Wentworth was cancelled due to wildfires raging on nearby Chobham Common.

It was just another 2020 curveball Hull has successfully batted off.

“I just love playing golf so I was playing anything going during the summer. There were a couple of other mini-tours going on too. It was so good of Justin and Kate to put on the Rose Series, not least because we got to play some great golf courses. To win it was the icing on the cake.”

Hull clearly has designs on finishing the year on a high but like most of us must secretly hope to put 2020 in the rearview mirror as well. So, what is your dream for the world in 2021 given how tough it has been this year?

“I just hope that things get back to normal as soon as possible, and that not too much damage is done in the meantime.”

Hull has been lucky that not too much damage was done in September. All that positive COVID test has done is make her doubly determined to get things back to normal. A New World Order in which she remains one of the game’s most dangerous competitors. Her peers KAEC have been warned.

Editor’s Note:  Hull entered last week’s OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic as one of the pre-tournament favourites but had a topsy-turvy week, struggling to bounce back from a triple-bogey 8 on the 16^th in her opening round. The world No. 30 eventually signed for rounds of 72-69-78 to finish on 222 — 16 shots adrift of winner Minjee Lee — in a share of 35^th place with Dame Laura Davies and German Esther Hensele who was runner-up at last year’s Moonlight.

The post Charley Hull: Is that all you’ve got, 2020? appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.