The Ladies European Tour kicked off its 2024 season earlier this month in Kenya and then moved on to Saudi Arabia followed by this week’s Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco.
The global tour doesn’t actually land in Europe until May, and the next stop on the schedule is a new one that might surprise a few fans: Clearwater, Florida.
While the Blue Bay LPGA takes place in China, the LET will host the Aramco Team Series presented by PIF March 8-10 at Feather Sound Country Club.
Last year, Aramco hosted a stop at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. Spain’s Carlota Ciganda, hero of last year’s Solheim Cup, won that event. Lexi Thompson and Nelly Korda are past Aramco Team Series event winners as well.
Here’s a look at the upcoming field next month, that includes two-time major winner Brittany Lincicome, who lives nearby in St. Petersburg, and British Open champion Sophia Popov, who is coming back from maternity leave.
One week after Alison Lee lost in a playoff on the LPGA, she ran laps around the field in Riyadh.
One week after Alison Lee lost in a playoff on the LPGA, she ran laps around the field in Saudi Arabia. Lee shot a mind-boggling 61-61-65 at the Ladies European Tour’s Aramco Team Series event at Riyadh Golf Club.
Lee smashed the LET’s 36-hole scoring record by six shots with her 22-under total.
She went on to beat the field by eight shots, finishing at 29-under 187, which matches the tour’s tournament scoring record. Spain’s Carlota Ciganda, the recent hero of the Solheim Cup, finished solo second after rounds of 65-63-67. Charley Hull finished third at 18 under.
“I made a lot of really good putts,” said Lee of her opening brilliance. “Statistically [this season], driver, greens-in-regulation, everything’s been really good. But I just haven’t been able to get that confidence in the putter and that’s been the biggest thing.”
𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥 𝗜𝗡 𝗥𝗜𝗬𝗔𝗗𝗛 🌟@alisonlee wins the @Aramco_Series in Riyadh & equals the LET low tournament scoring record on -29 🏆
On the LPGA, the American Lee lost in overtime last Sunday to Australia’s Minjee Lee at the BMW Ladies Championship. Alison has two other top-10 finishes on the LPGA this season.
Alison’s first professional victory came at the 2021 Aramco event at Sotogrande. A former No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, the 28-year-old former UCLA student turned professional in 2014 after winning the final stage of LPGA Q-School.
Lilia Vu, a two-time major winner who currently ranks No. 1 in the world, finished eighth in Saudi Arabia. Minjee placed sixth.
The LET’s Saudi-backed events remain controversial given the wide-ranging human rights abuses Saudi Arabia has been accused of, especially toward women.
“But yeah, like I said I’m really happy with my round.”
Alison Lee has had a record-setting start at the Aramco Team Series Riyadh in Saudi Arabia on the Ladies European Tour.
Lee, the 28-year-old American, finished second last week at the LPGA’s BMW Ladies Championship in Korea. This week, she’s well on her way to hoisting a trophy after posting consecutive 61s at Riyadh Golf Club.
With a 36-hole score of 22 under, Lee smashed the previous two-day tally set by Gwladys Nocera (2008 Goteborg Masters), Kylie Henry (2014 Ladies German Open), Anne van Dam (2018 Estralla Damm Ladies Open) and Emily Kristine Pedersen (2020 Tipsport Czech Ladies Open), which stood at 16-under. Her 61s match the lowest round in LET history, and in the opening round, she set a new record with eight consecutive birdies.
“If you told me at the beginning of the week I was going to shoot 22 under after two days I wouldn’t have believed you,” Lee said. “So I’m really happy with where I am right now. I made a lot of really good putts. Statistically [this season], driver, greens-in-regulation, everything’s been really good. But I just haven’t been able to get that confidence in the putter and that’s been the biggest thing.
“[But] this week I feel really good, the speed has been great. I’ve been able to putt very aggressively, especially out here which you need [to do] if you want to make birdies. I wish I could give you an answer as to why. I’ve been working really hard with my putting coach back home.”
Lee had a putt for 60 on the closing hole, but her birdie attempt came up just short. However, a tap-in for 61 and a six-shot lead over Carlota Ciganda made for the best 36-hole stretch of her career.
“With five holes left, I kind of knew right then and there, ‘OK, let’s try and make a charge here,'” Lee continued. “Unfortunately, I left my putt short on 16, so I was a little disappointed. And it was a tricky putt I had [on 18]. I had to take it out pretty far to the left and let it break.
“But yeah, like I said I’m really happy with my round.”
Six of the top-10 players in the world are in Malaysia, where Nelly Korda feels somewhat at home.
As the LPGA and LET tours enter the last leg of their respective seasons, the best players in the world are split this week between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.
The LPGA returns to Malaysia for the first time since 2017 at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club for the inaugural edition of the Maybank Championship. A total of 78 players will compete for a $3 million purse, one of the largest on tour outside of the major championships. The winner will receive $450,000. This is the third of four stops on the LPGA’s Asian swing.
Meanwhile over on the LET, the fifth and final event in the Aramco Team Series presented by PIF will be held at Riyadh Golf Club in Saudi Arabia. The field of 84 will play in a two-day team event alongside amateurs. The top 60 professionals and ties then advance to the final round to determine the individual stroke-play winner.
The LET’s Saudi-backed events remain controversial given the wide-ranging human rights abuses Saudi Arabia has been accused of, especially toward women.
Here are five things to note about the two fields:
During the first round of the Aramco Team Series event in London at the Centurion Club on the Ladies European Tour, Hull made birdie on Nos. 3 and 5 before disaster struck.
She stumbled her way to a quintuple-bogey 10 on the par-5 sixth and was all of a sudden 3 over for her round.
To her credit, she came back swinging.
Hull immediately made birdie on No. 7 and added another at the ninth to go out in 1-over 38. After making the turn, she made four straight birdies on Nos. 12-15 before adding two more on 17 and 18. Her 5-under 68 is one of the most impressive scorecards you’ll ever see.
“I just lost two balls on a birdie-able par-5. I hit my first tee shot out of bounds and then hit my fourth shot out of bounds. But then to make 10 birdies to shoot five-under was pretty fun,” she said after her round.
“It was a birdie-able par-5, if I’d have made a birdie, I’d have been 11 under. But I felt confident even after I made the ten. I birdied the next couple of holes, so it was good.”
After the morning wave, Hull was in a tie for first with Nelly Korda at 5 under.
The 2023 Ladies European Tour season begins this week with the Magical Kenya Ladies Open, the first of 30 events on a schedule that boasts a record-setting 35 million euros (roughly $38 million) in prize money. Meghan MacLaren, a three-time winner on the LET, is grateful for the perspective of what tour life was like only a short time ago, when the schedule was half that size and it was possible to finish 20th on the money list and still lose money.
Players voted in late 2019 for the LPGA and LET to form a joint venture partnership, with the goal of using shared resources to strengthen the struggling tour, increasing playing opportunities in Europe in particular.
“If we hadn’t had that partnership when COVID hit,” said MacLaren, “I think a lot of us know that things would be drastically different now, and the tour might not be operating at all, and I don’t think that’s a stretch to say.”
Of course, something else happened around that time to strengthen the LET: the investment of Aramco and the Public Investment Fund.
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In addition to this month’s Aramco Saudi Ladies International on the LET, which features a $5 million purse, there are five stops around the world in the Aramco Team Series. Total prize money for all six Saudi-backed events on the LET is $10 million.
With two majors accounting for $13.8 million in prize money, Saudi money represents more than 40 percent of what remains.
The LET now finds itself in a position to attract more players to its tour, players to its tour, which stands in stark contrast to a short time ago, when many fled to what’s now the Epson Tour seeking opportunities.
The minimum purse on the LET this season is 300,000 euros. Last season, there were 11 events with purses below that mark. MacLaren looks at the La Sella Open in Spain and its $1 million purse as a strong sign of positive momentum given that a sponsor outside of Aramco put up a seven-figure purse.
What’s more, the schedule has a better logistical flow.
There are three years left on the LPGA-LET joint venture contract, and the possibility of the LPGA merging with the LET has been a point of conversation for many months now. It was expected that LET players would vote late last year on the merger, but that never happened.
The two sides, it would seem, are still working out the details of what a potential merger would look like.
“So at this point we didn’t ask for a vote on the merger. We went on a tour, a listening tour, to hear from the LET players and things that have worked well for them, things that they need, areas of investment that they still are looking for and then talked to our LPGA players,” said LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan, when asked about the matter last November at the CME Group Tour Championship.
“For us, we just want to make sure that there are clear pathways for women’s golf, and that the best players in the world can make a living and live their dreams through golf.”
Players on both tours are interested in understanding more about the long-term vision for both tours. It’s important to many LET players that their tour retains its identity. That its future potential with sponsors – like Aramco, for example – isn’t at all curtailed by the LPGA.
One veteran player said that after Marcoux Samaan and another tour official came over to speak with LET players in separate meetings last year, many had their minds eased about financial concerns. Some remain skeptical, she said, but it would seem that more would vote in favor of a merge.
An LPGA official said there’s nothing new to update on the matter since the CME; multiple requests by Golfweek to speak to LET officials went unanswered.
LET CEO Alexandra Armas (courtesy Aramco Team Series)
LPGA players want to know more details, such as the number of cards that would go to top LET players and where those players would they rank on the LPGA priority list compared to Epson Tour graduates.
South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai got her start on the LET and believes the competition on that tour now is as strong, if not stronger, than the Epson Tour.
“They’ve got to test themselves and still try to keep (their card) over here,” said Buhai. “That’s the hard part. But you’ve proven that you can play and compete at a high level; I don’t see why not.”
Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom, who is a member of both tours, said last November at the CME she believed both sides are looking for more communication.
“Until we know what it would mean,” she said, “it’s really hard to make up your mind.”
MacLaren looks at the fracturing that has taken place in men’s golf and feels it would make sense for the women’s tours to be more closely aligned.
“God help us if there’s a LIV women’s tour,” said Liz Young, an LET veteran and board member. “I just don’t think any tour is strong enough to fight that.”
Young would also like to see the LET and LPGA merge, citing that her No. 1 goal as a board member is to make it easier for players to make a living.
“Hopefully we can get to that point where we can be as one,” said Young. “Because I think that’s the best for golf.”
Of course, what’s squarely in the middle of all of this is the question marks that surround doing business with the Saudis. The Aramco events remain controversial given the wide-ranging human rights abuses Saudi Arabia has been accused of, especially toward women.
As it currently stands, the LPGA can somewhat distance itself from Aramco while being part of an alliance. But should the LET fall completely under the umbrella of the LPGA, some observers question if existing and future LPGA sponsors might choose to distance themselves from the LPGA because of Aramco’s large presence. And if so, how many?
On the other hand, LET players might wonder how much the LPGA could hold them back from bigger purses at Aramco events. Could the PIF pump so much money into the LET that it one day becomes the LPGA’s rival?
The flip side to that, of course, is that the LET becomes so dependent on Saudi money that it couldn’t survive without it. And there’s no telling how long the Saudis will want to remain so heavily invested in women’s golf.
It remains a time when there seem to be far more questions than answers, even from a philosophical standpoint.
“We’re constantly talking about hypotheticals,” said MacLaren.
Meghan MacLaren of England tees off on the 18th hole during the first round of the ISPS Handa World Invitational presented by AVIV Clinics at Galgorm Castle Golf Club on August 11, 2022 in Galgorm, Co Antrim, Northern Ireland. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
The 28-year-old Englishwoman has become one of golf’s most thoughtful players. MacLaren took a hard stance early on, skipping Saudi events over sportswashing concerns. Playing in Saudi Arabia, she said, didn’t fit with her values.
Now, she has committed to playing in the big-money Aramco Saudi Ladies International later this month. MacLaren said she didn’t come to the decision lightly, but as Saudi Arabia continues to bolster its presence in golf and other sports, she had to take another look.
“At some point you have to reconcile,” said MacLaren, “this is my competitive nature and my profession versus how do I want to live my life? What do I want to stand up for?
“You have a voice to a certain point, but also, the better golfer I am and the more recognizable golfer I am, the louder I can use that voice.”
So while she’s still wrestling with tough questions, MacLaren has decided that staying in the game – playing in the big events – is the best way for her promote change.
“At the end of the day, money is power,” said MacLaren. “We live in a world where that is the truth, and you can’t get around that. How you choose to use that money will say a lot about who you are as a person.”
To this point, LET players competing for Saudi money have received far less attention and criticism than what male players who joined LIV have faced. MacLaren said her honest answer is that people don’t care as much. The profile of women’s golf is so much smaller compared to men’s golf, she continued, noting that there aren’t 15 journalists at press conferences asking tough questions.
“In terms of how golf is covered,” she said, “I don’t think the exposure is the same, and therefore, the criticism isn’t to the same level.”
The 120-player field in Saudi will feature 60 LET players, 50 from the top 300 in the Rolex Rankings.
The Aramco Saudi Ladies International has announced that Lydia Ko is confirmed for the field in mid-February. The World No. 1 and newlywed won the event in 2021, though this year’s field will compete for a substantially larger purse. The $5 million prize fund is the largest in Ladies European Tour history outside of the majors.
The 2023 LPGA season kicks off later this month with the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona, where Ko has a home. The deadline to enter the TOC is 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 10, and so far, Ko, who is honeymooning, is not on the confirmed list.
The Saudi Ladies International will take place at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club from Feb. 16-19, ahead of the LPGA’s Asian swing featuring stops in Thailand, Singapore and China. There’s a one-month break on the LPGA schedule between the TOC and the Asian swing.
Lydia Ko poses for a photo with the Vare Trophy, the Rolex Player of the Year trophy and the CME Globe trophy after winning the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon Golf Club on November 20, 2022 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Ko won three times last season, including the CME Group Tour Championship in November, and rose to No. 1 once again after the season concluded. She married Jun Chung on Dec. 30 at the Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul, South Korea. It’s possible that the Saudi stop will be her first event in 2023.
“I remember my time at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International very fondly,” Ko said in a release, “having won the title here a few years back. I’m looking forward to returning to Saudi Arabia in a few months to build on my 2022.”
The 120-player field in Saudi will feature 60 LET players, 50 from the top 300 in the Rolex Rankings and a maximum of 10 sponsor invites. The winner will receive $750,000.
“I’m thrilled to see golf is moving in the direction towards equal prize money,” Ko continued, “it is something I believe all the ladies on tour have been striving hard for. I’m grateful to those backing the women’s game who have believed in us and are committed to taking the sport to the next level. We’re moving in the right direction, and I believe it’s only going to get much better from here for women’s golf.”
In addition to the Aramco Saudi Ladies International, the 2023 LET schedule also features the Aramco Team Series, comprised of five events staged across the globe. Winners of last year’s Aramco Team events include Manon De Roey, Bronte Law, Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson. The final event in the series takes place in Saudi Arabia.
The LET’s Saudi-backed events remain controversial given the wide-ranging human rights abuses Saudi Arabia has been accused of, especially toward women.
“Before we went out, my dad showed Charley a picture of me with her as a 10-year-old. It’s like a full circle, it’s a blessing.”
High school senior Chiara Noja won on the Ladies European Tour at the Aramco Team Series Jeddah, defeating her childhood idol, Charley Hull, in a playoff.
Noja, 16, carded a final-round 65 at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club to get to 13 under, while Hull birdied four of her last six holes. Noja, a powerful player who stands six feet tall, birdied back-to-back holes in the playoff to secure the title.
Earlier in the week, Noja joked that she needed to win so that she didn’t need more school after accidentally bringing the wrong books to study in Jeddah.
“I don’t think it’s sunk in quite yet,” said Noja of her victory. “I think the happiness will come later this evening. Before we went out, my dad showed Charley a picture of me with her as a 10-year-old. It’s like a full circle, it’s a blessing.
“I’ve worked hard over a lot of years now to be able to not back out of shots and commit to everything that I do and not be afraid to fail.”
Before 16-year-old Chiara Noja defeated Charley Hull on the LET, she took a picture with her idol six years ago. (Courtesy LET)
The LET’s Aramco Team Series is comprised of five events staged across the globe. The Saudi-backed events remain controversial given the wide-ranging human rights abuses Saudi Arabia has been accused of, especially toward women.
Other Aramco winners this year include Manon De Roey, Bronte Law, Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson.
Noja first played on the LET as a 14-year-old amateur at the Dubai event. After a second-round 86 sent her spiraling, however, she later admitted on Instagram that back at the hotel, she couldn’t imagine going back on the course for the final round.
“I was unable to deal with the pressure,” wrote Noja, “and the fact that millions of people were watching on TV, and consequently had a complete meltdown.”
She’s come a long way since then, with a victory and five additional top-three finishes on the LET Access Series this season, finishing second on the Order of Merit to earn her LET card for 2023.
A couple weeks later, she’s already won on that tour. Noja said she hasn’t a clue what comes next.
“I can’t even begin to fathom it,” she said. “I’m just going to try and relax tonight. Maybe have a burger and sleep, probably the best night sleep I’m ever going to get and see how I feel.”
The Aramco events are not official LPGA events, but the LPGA did enter into a joint venture with the LET in 2019.
Lexi Thompson won for the first time in three years at the Aramco Team Series event at Trump Golf Links Ferry Point. The victory certainly meant plenty to Thompson, who last won at the 2019 ShopRite LPGA Classic and has suffered a number of heartbreaking losses.
But what does it mean for the LPGA?
It’s a complex question.
There are six events on the Ladies European Tour schedule that are sponsored by Golf Saudi and the Public Investment Fund (PIF). The Aramco Team Series and it’s $1 million purses have no doubt added a significant amount of money to the LET schedule, where it’s tough to make a living. Only 29 players have made over 100,000 euros so far this season, and that’s without travel costs and other team/caddie expenses.
The Aramco events are not official LPGA events, but the LPGA did enter into a joint venture with the LET in 2019.
From a financial standpoint, it’s lucrative for LPGA players to compete in Aramco events, even if the purses are smaller than those on the LPGA. Organizers offer appearance fees to LPGA players, a rare occurrence in the women’s game. The events also carry world ranking points.
Several of the top stars who competed in the Aramco event in New York did not compete in the LPGA event that preceded it in California, nor will they be in the field at this week’s BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea or two weeks later in Japan.
It’s worth noting that with the Taiwan event gone from the schedule, there’s a week off between the events in South Korea and Japan, making it a tough Asian swing.
Still, some of the big names at Aramco won’t be playing on the LPGA again until the Pelican Women’s Championship in mid-November. That’s a six-week break from the LPGA.
LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman has made it clear that they’re interested in a women’s tour. LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan has said that she will meet with LIV. What comes of those conversations remains unknown, but it’s clear from the field in New York – and many previous Aramco fields – that LPGA stars are comfortable taking money from Saudi Arabia. In some cases, they’re comfortable enough to wear the Aramco and Golf Saudi logos.
Last week at Ferry Point, Lexi Thompson was asked during a press conference if, given the backlash that has occurred with LIV Golf, LET and LPGA players should face similar scrutiny, especially given Saudi Arabia’s history of human rights abuses toward women.
“I would say that without the support of Aramco, LET would not be as strong as it is today,” said Thompson. “And I think they are growing the game of golf in women’s golf, and I think that if you speak to any of the Ladies European Tour players, they are extremely grateful for this opportunity, and I think that’s what Aramco is trying to do. They are trying to grow the women’s game, and I support that fully.”
LPGA and LET players who are sponsored by Golf Saudi pose for a photo ahead of the New York event.
Both Thompson and Korda were also asked for their thoughts on becoming involved with LIV, should the opportunity present itself.
“I can only speak for myself, but my eyes are set on the LPGA,” said Korda. “That’s all speculation to me. I’m focusing on the LPGA Tour and what’s in front of me and with all the LIV stuff going on, that’s all speculation and I don’t focus on speculations.”
Added Thompson: “Exactly. All we are doing is focusing on the LPGA tour and what we are playing. No opportunities have been brought upon us or the tour, so I know Mollie said that she would have conversations, but that’s not in our control. We are just doing what we can on our tour.”
An open letter to the @LPGA Commissioner, Board of Directors, and Players — pleading them not to embolden MBS by potentially aligning with LIV Golf.
— Lina Alhathloul لينا الهذلول (@LinaAlhathloul) October 11, 2022
Prior to the start of the Aramco event in New York, activist Lina Alhathloul posted an open letter to the LPGA commissioner, board of directors and players, urging them to distance themselves from the Saudi regime.
In the letter, Alhathloul described the abuse her sister, Loujain, a prominent activist in Saudi Arabia, has faced – being kidnapped off the streets and deported back to Saudi Arabia where she was held in prison and tortured.
“Now, I understand that you might believe that your involvement with such a country could positively impact their fate, but given the present context,” Alhathloul wrote, “your participation in events hosted by the Crown Prince will only help rehabilitate him and cover up all the violations. In fact, I am sounding the alarm on the consequences of such events, which form part of the authorities’ strategy to use art, culture and sports to distract from the dire human rights situation on the ground.”
“I came into today just the way I played yesterday, just playing aggressive golf, and being kind of fiery.”
Lexi Thompson hoisted a trophy for the first time in three years at the Aramco Team Series in New York. The 27-year-old American star, who last won at the 2019 ShopRite LPGA Classic, closed with a 69 at Trump Golf Links Ferry Point to win by three over Brooke Henderson and Madelene Sagstrom.
“I came into today just the way I played yesterday, just playing aggressive golf, and being kind of fiery,” said Thompson.
“I hit a great shot on No. 1 to like 6, 7 feet and made it and I wanted to play fearless golf and not play away from pins by any means and commit to my shots. I hit some really good ones and I hit some iffy ones but with this wind and everything, you have to take the bad ones as best you can.”
Thompson played the team portion of the event with former NFL player Brice Butler.
“We had a good time the last two days,” she said. “I think what Aramco and Saudi Golf does for golf and women’s golf especially is growing and very honored to be here.”
Former No. 1 Nelly Korda carded an even-par 72 to finish solo fourth, four shots back.
“It’s really nice to see her win and it’s really good for golf for her to win as well,” said Korda. “She played really solid golf, and she’s been playing really solid golf this year. It was just around the corner.”
Thompson, like Korda and Henderson, will skip the next two events in Asia and return to the LPGA for the final two events in Florida. Thompson lost to Korda last year in a playoff at the Pelican Women’s Championship. She’s a former champion of the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, one of her favorite stops on tour.
The victory in New York serves as a significant confidence boost for the 11-time LPGA winner. Her only other victory on the LET came at the 2011 Dubai Ladies Masters.
“I have about two and a half, three weeks off,” said Thompson, “and I’m going to be working my butt off to keep on improving and hopefully finish strong in my last few events of the year.”
The Aramco Series carries points for World Rankings and the Race to Costa del Sol, a season-long race that determines the LET’s top golfer.
Golf Saudi backs six of the events on the LET schedule. The tournaments, backed by the Public Investment Fund, remain controversial given the wide-ranging human rights abuses Saudi Arabia has been accused of, especially toward women.
