Champion Lydia Ko returns to defend Aramco Saudi Ladies International crown

The Aramco Saudi Ladies International is returning for 2022, with a new date and the biggest early-season purse in what will be a record-breaking year for the Ladies European Tour (LET).

The ground-breaking event will tee off at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, King Abdullah Economic City, in just over two weeks’ time — March 17-20.

It returns with a $1 million purse and a superstar field led by defending champion, New Zealand’s Lydia Ko.

Major-winners Anna Nordqvist and Georgia Hall are also Saudi-bound, as are Solheim Cup stars Carlota Ciganda and Bronte Law, past-LET winners Marianne Skarpnord, Olivia Cowan, Pauline Roussin Bouchard, Steph Kyriacou and Anne van Dam, and the tournament’s 2020 champion, Emily Kristine Pedersen of Denmark.

The new date means the Saudi Ladies now occupies a far earlier spot on the LET calendar, taking place eight months sooner than last year in a season shake-up that will now see the Tour visit the Kingdom twice, latterly for the Aramco Team Series — Jeddah event, which returns in November.

With the Saudi Ladies and the Aramco Team Series expanding to five individual $1 million events in 2022, this year will mark a record season for the Ladies European Tour, where its biggest ever pool of prize-money will be up for grabs.

Alexandra Armas, Ladies European Tour CEO, said: “It’s great to be heading back to Saudi Arabia — and much earlier in our schedule.

“There’s no question that every event we’ve had to date at Royal Greens has been a huge success. The Saudi Ladies International is a week all our players look forward to enormously, with the quality of field and prize money adding an extra edge to what is a stunning course and venue for elite tournament golf.

“We also feel the impact of our members playing in Saudi Arabia and the good that’s doing for women’s golf. We all have fond memories of our landmark first event in 2020 which inspired more than 1,000 Saudi women and girls to sign up to learn the game for the first time over the tournament weekend. We are very proud and encouraged about what has been achieved so far and are motivated to continue inspiring more women and young girls into the game.”

Five-time LET tournament champion Marianne Skarpnord has played in both Saudi Ladies events to date. The Norwegian was also the individual winner in the debut Aramco Team Series event in London last year.

She said: “When the Saudi Ladies International first got added to the LET calendar two years ago, it was a big moment for us as players as it was a huge investment in the women’s game at a time when we really needed it.

“The events have since proved to be some of the very best on Tour, with Royal Greens a spectacular place to play golf, so we all now look forward to them for so many reasons.”