Anna Nordqvist and Georgia Hall, the reigning and former British Open champions, have described this week’s Aramco Saudi Ladies International as “one of the headline events” in women’s golf, as they get set for Thursday’s tee-off at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club near Jeddah.
The event will be the first Ladies European Tour event to feature three Arabic golfers as Moroccan pair Ines Laklalech and Lina Belmati will make their professional LET debuts alongside compatriot Maha Haddioui in the $1 million competition.
That diversity, says Nordqvist, is one of the reasons the LET continues to grow and attract the biggest names in golf including the likes of Carlota Ciganda, Bronte Law and Emily Kristine Pedersen this week.
Nordqvist said: “I think that’s what’s so great about the Ladies European Tour. There are players from all over the world – some girls from Australia, you even see players coming over from the US to compete all over the world. we are playing Saudi, Dubai, we were just in Kenya a couple of weeks ago, then going to South Africa, then to Thailand.
“So I think the diversity and everything about the Tour, it’s a place where a lot of people feel like home, and it’s a very friendly atmosphere. That’s why I enjoy coming back and playing on the Tour because I like the atmosphere.”
The LET offers a record prize purse of nearly $30 million for its 2022 season, more than double what was on offer in 2019.
Hall said: “I think it’s fantastic. It’s definitely what the LET needs and it definitely wasn’t like that when I was on the LET five, six years ago. I’m really happy for the girls, and that’s why you get LPGA players coming over, because they want to compete in these events and play on this Tour.
“I think [the Aramco Saudi Ladies International] is one of the headline events for the LET – and rightly so. The setup is really good, [and the course] not too short distance-wise. We get looked after incredibly well. We just really enjoy coming here. That’s why we keep coming back.”
