Major winners Georgia Hall and Anna Nordqvist are looking forward to the testing conditions at this week’s Aramco Saudi Ladies International.
It is the third edition of the tournament, which is held at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in KAEC and will see 108 players from 27 countries tee it up in the LET’s second event of the year.
Nordqvist, who won the 2021 AIG Women’s Open, believes the wind will be a factor in the tournament with strong gusts predicted throughout the week.
“I love coming here, it’s my third time now and this is probably as good as I’ve ever seen the golf course, it’s very lush out there,” said the Swede, who finished ninth in the 2021 Race to Costa del Sol.
“It’s probably as windy as I’ve ever seen it, so it’s going to be a challenge because it’s early in the year. Normally when you come here you have quite a few months of tournament play behind you, so that’s going to add a little extra challenge this year.”
The Solheim Cup star begins her tournament at 7.32am local time on the 10th tee alongside English duo Bronte Law and Laura Davies.
And Nordqvist is excited to see the new rookies on the LET this year and the record-breaking schedule that is ahead of them in 2022.
“There’s been a lot of good tournaments added to the Ladies European Tour schedule this year, so I’m excited to play a few with the girls,” said the number 16 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.
“What’s so great about the Ladies European Tour is players from all over the world come to compete, and they also play all over the world, so that diversity and everything about the Ladies European Tour makes people feel at home.”
While fellow Solheim Cup winner Hall, who was runner-up in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2020, is hoping to thrive in the tough conditions.
The English star will tee it up at 12.03 local time with two-time LET winner Pia Babnik and Finland’s Sanna Nuutinen, who finished fourth in last year’s Race to Costa del Sol.
“I really enjoy the golf course, it’s in really good condition and the win can get up a lot which I don’t mind, but it’s a really enjoyable place to be and I love it here,” said the 2018 Women’s Open winner.
“I feel quite comfortable playing in the wind, I feel like I’m used to it a bit more than other players. I think it will be fairly windy this week, but the greens are in good condition and not too fast, so I think the ball should hold.
“In the afternoons, you have to prepare for a lot of wind and how it changes the ball flight, but the most important thing is to stay patient.”
The duo will be joined in the field by 2020 Race to Costa del Sol champion and 2020 Aramco Saudi Ladies International winner Emily Kristine Pedersen who is playing alongside Steph Kyriacou and Olivia Cowan.
Plus, Dutch star Anne Van Dam, Spain’s Carlota Ciganda, South Africa’s Lee-Anne Pace, and Norway’s Marianne Skarpnord will all be hoping to gain more success this week.
Follow all the action on @LETGolf on Instagram and Twitter and Ladies European Tour on Facebook and YouTube – #RaiseOurgame #SaudiLadiesInt.
Q-SCHOOL WINNER THEN EXCITED TO EMBARK ON A NEW ADVENTURE
Nearly three months have passed since Gabriella Then stormed to victory on the final day of the LET’s Q-School and the American cannot wait to begin her season.
The 26-year-old produced a final round of 67 (-6) to claim a four-shot win at La Manga Club and give her LET status for 2022, just months after picking up a golf club again.
Then stopped playing golf in August 2019 after failing to make it through the first stage of LPGA Tour Q-Series and got a marketing job in skincare.
But at the start of 2021 she thought about playing again and after victories on the Cactus Tour she headed to LET Q-School, where the rest is history.
“I am thrilled to be playing on the LET this year, it’s a whole new experience! I’m looking forward to learning more about the world and the different cultures,” said Then.
The 2011 PING Junior Solheim Cup winner will make her LET bow at this week’s Aramco Saudi Ladies International – a new destination for her.
But this season will be full of new places and locations as Then had only previously played golf outside the U.S. at the 2011 Solheim Cup in Ireland and last year’s Q-School.
After heading back home, the USC graduate has been making sure that she is ready and equipped for life on Tour and a long stretch of events.
“I have been training in southern California since Q-School and spending lots of time with friends and family. I have been playing golf every day and enjoying the off season,” she continued.
“I have been working on my swing over the past few months, trying to get it more consistent and ready for a season-long trek.
“In terms of preparation, I have been playing a lot and practicing how to play under pressure. I have also been preparing in the gym to get my body ready for the season.”
With a strong field assembled for this week, Then is raring to make her LET debut at Royal Greens and believes she is prepared for the year ahead.
She added: “I’m so excited for my LET debut! I cannot wait to compete and meet new people on the Tour and experience everything outside of my comfort zone. I feel ready to get going, but time has also flown by since we were in Spain at the end of last year!”
Follow all the action on @LETGolf on Instagram and Twitter and Ladies European Tour on Facebook and YouTube – #RaiseOurgame #SaudiLadiesInt.
LAKLALECH READY TO START PROFESSIONAL LIFE AT ARAMCO SAUDI LADIES INTERNATIONAL
Two years ago, Morocco’s Ines Laklalech teed it up at the inaugural Saudi Ladies International as an amateur and this year she will return as a professional having earnt her LET card.
The 24-year-old, who is from Casablanca, first heard about golf when she was 10 and her dad had a lesson at the local club.
Laklalech went with her father to the Royal Golf d’Anfa and practised all summer long to try and hit it as far as she could.
“My dad had his lesson, and I was hitting next to him, at first it looked very easy, and I didn’t understand how people were struggling with it,” she said.
“But it was a challenge for me, and I was seeing little boys at the other end of the range hitting it far, so my challenge was that by the end of the summer I would be among their group. I ended up going every day that summer.
“By the end I ended up being quite good at golf and managed to get into the boys’ group and beating them. They had played for one or two years, and I had played for three months, and I started beating them. That competitive side really got me into the sport.”
After joining the national team at the age of 12, Laklalech played in the African Championship and the World Amateur Championships twice before heading to study at Wake Forest.
But the Moroccan decided college life wasn’t for her as she didn’t believe she would end up with golf as her career, so she left and went to the UK, studying Management Science at UCL in London.
During that time, Laklalech stopped playing golf and it was only when she returned home after graduating that the new Technical Director in the Moroccan Federation saw her play golf and encouraged her to get back involved in the sport.
“I had to start again, replay, and find my old sensations, and that’s what I’ve done for the last two years until now,” she continued.
“In 2019 I played the European Championship, French Championship, Austrian Championship, but I didn’t have a crazy amateur career with loads of wins, because I was more focused on my studies and didn’t think I would have a professional career.
“Because of Covid I didn’t get to play many of these tournaments, and played maybe 15 tournaments in those two years, but I got a decent experience from these two years and my background to be able to make it on the LET after getting my card at Q-School in December.”
Laklalech secured her place on the LET for 2022 at Q-School by finishing T15 in the Final Qualifier at La Manga Club, while she was still an amateur and turned professional afterwards.
Now the UCL graduate is ready to make her professional debut on the LET and playing in an Arabic country at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International present by Public Investment Fund makes it more special.
She explained: “I’m very happy to be playing the Aramco Saudi Ladies International, it was the first LET event I played in 2020 and I made the cut. It was a great tournament and experience before, I loved it, particular because it’s in an Arab country that makes it even more special.
“It’s amazing seeing such a strong field. I wouldn’t have thought you could play competitive golf in Saudi before, especially a women’s event. Seeing a professional golf event in Jeddah is really good for the future of golf and women in general in the Arab world.
“In 2011 I went to Meccah with my family for the week, which was a lot different than travelling with the LET because it was a spiritual trip. It will be my third time in the country and I’m excited to play here again because the course is great, and the windy conditions can make it very interesting.”
Read the full story on the LET website here.
FORMAT
108 players, 72 holes, stroke play, cut to top-60 professionals and ties after 36 holes.
PURSE
USD $1,000,000
