Tag: Aramco Team Series

Nelly Korda, Lexi Thompson, Brooke Henderson among big names at Saudi-backed Aramco event at Trump Ferry Point

Golf Saudi backs six of events on the LET schedule.

The stars will be out in New York this week as the Aramco Team Series heads to Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point. Nelly Korda, Jessica Korda, Lexi Thompson and Brooke Henderson headline the Ladies European Tour event on U.S. soil. The LPGA does not have a tournament this week and heads next to South Korea.

Charley Hull, who recently won on the LPGA in Texas, clinched last year’s Aramco event in New York at Glen Oaks Club. The Englishwoman is among the field of 78 that includes fellow past and current Solheim Cup players such as Leona Maguire, Carlota Ciganda, Anna Nordqvist, Madelene Sagstrom, Catriona Matthew and Dame Laura Davies.

Also in the field is Sweden’s Maja Stark, the LPGA rookie who earned her card via victory at the ISPS Handa World Invitational. Stark has won three times on the LET this season.

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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 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.

Former World No. 1 Nelly Korda won the Aramco Team Series event at Sotogrande in Spain in August while big sister Jessica won the team portion. The series consists of five events, with the final being held next month in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In New York, the 54-hole individual stroke play event will take place alongside the 36-hole team event, with each tournament having a purse of $500,000.

Golf Channel will air the event live on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It will also be streamed on GolfChannel.com and the NBC Sports app.

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Report: Aramco Team Series event headed to Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point

The event is scheduled for October 13-15.

The Aramco Team Series is headed to Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point in the Bronx, according to a report in The New York Times.

The New York City-owned golf course is managed by former President Donald Trump’s family business, and has agreed to host the Saudi Arabia-backed tournament in October.

A city official, who was “familiar with the matter but not authorized to publicly discuss it,” confirmed that the women’s golf tournament, part of the Aramco Team Series, was approved to be held by the Eric Adams administration.

Much like LIV Golf, the Aramco Team Series is funded by the entities associated with the Saudi government. The country has been accused of wide-ranging human rights abuses, including politically motivated killings, torture, forced disappearances and inhumane treatment of prisoners. And members of the royal family and Saudi government were accused of involvement in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist.

According to The New York Times, city officials determined that they could not “unreasonably withhold approval” for the event under the city’s contract with the Trump Organization, according to another city official who was familiar with the matter.

A Freedom of Information request filed by the Times showed that Adams, a Democrat, held at least two meetings this year to discuss a potential tournament, according to a copy of his chief of staff’s daily schedules.

LIV Golf already has held a tournament at Trump Bedminster in New Jersey and is scheduled to host another at Trump Doral in Miami in October.

The Aramco Team Series touts the sovereign wealth fund as its’ “presenting partner,” and its title sponsor, Aramco, is Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant.

The women’s team series previously held an event in New York last year at Glen Oaks Clubs in Nassau County. Nelly and Jessica Korda have been among the leading LPGA players to participate. At an Aramco event last week in Spain, Nelly won the individual competition while Jessica was on the winning team.

“Aramco stepped in and they are providing an opportunity for us to compete,” England’s Bronte Law said at an event near London in June. “I think that shouldn’t go unheard.”

The Aramco Team Series website includes an event in New York City scheduled for October 13 through 15, but the venue is listed as “coming soon.”

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Nelly Korda wins Aramco Team Series event at Sotogrande in Spain

It’s the first win for Nelly Korda since returning from injury.

Nelly Korda has another trophy she can add to her collection.

Korda, the third-ranked female golfer in the world, won the individual title Saturday at the Aramco Team Series event at Sotogrande in Spain. A final round 5-under 67 was enough to capture the title by three shots. She finished at 13 under and won $73,955.

The Aramco Team Series features team and individual competition and has five events this year. The first two were in Bangkok and London. The next is in New York. The event is co-sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour. It’s Korda’s second LET victory.

Jessica Korda led heading into the final round, but a 77 on Saturday landed her in a tie for second with Pauline Roussin and Ana Pelaez Trivino. Jessica’s team won the team competition, which concluded Friday, at 33 under.

“I haven’t won this year, so it feels nice to get a win under my belt, but I’m also very sad as it wasn’t the day Jess was expecting,” Nelly said. “I guess we were hoping for a bit more of a battle going down the stretch, but it’s golf and that sometimes happens.”

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Team Jessica Korda prevails under the lights at Aramco Team Series event in New York

The Aramco Team Series came to a thrilling end under the lights on Saturday night.

The Aramco Team Series came to a thrilling end under the lights on Saturday night as six-time LPGA winner Jessica Korda’s team claimed the title after a two-hole playoff at Glen Oaks Club in Long Island, New York.

Korda’s team included Karolin Lampert, Lina Boqvist and amateur Alexandra O’Laughlin. The four combined to reach 41 under in the 54-hole team event that carries points for World Rankings and the Race to Costa del Sol, a season-long race that determines the LET’s top golfer.

The team captained by Sophia Popov, the 2020 AIG Women’s British Open winner, forced extra holes late in the day. Popov’s team included Magdalena Simmermacher and Hayley Davis as well as amateur Cody Crowell.

Scores: Aramco Team Series, New York

In the playoff, Popov and Korda both played the lit-up 17th hole. They first tied with bogey before Korda won it for her team on the next trip down the hole.

Jessica Korda, Aramco Team Series
Jessica Korda during the playoff at the Aramco Team Series. (Photo submitted)

“It is so nice to share this win with a team. It’s such an individual sport so this is different and really cool,” Korda said on behalf of her team.

“Today we really came together, and it was one of our best days, especially on those last six holes. We were just having fun, hyping each other up.”

It wasn’t just the format that marked a first for Korda but the ending, too. The Solheim Cup star said she’s never played under lights.

“It was so hard to see out there, so I really didn’t know how hard to hit it. I was just praying it was going to be somewhere up there.

“Sophia and I are great friends and playing anything against any of your best friends is tough. But golf is golf and friendship is more important.”

In addition to the team competition, the Aramco event also considering an individual leaderboard. Charley Hull finished at 12 under and topped 36-hole leader Nelly Korda for her first win since 2019.

“I’m delighted,” said Hull. “It’s good confidence for the rest of the season. Four birdies to start with was good – I felt like I could have birdied every hole on the front nine today.

“Because of the conditions it was one of the best rounds of my life today, probably ever. The last hole was a tricky shot – it sat down a bit, but I played it perfectly.”

The last of this year’s four Aramco Team Series events will be played at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City, near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in November.

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Nelly Korda, Lexi Thompson among LPGA stars set to compete in Golf Saudi’s Aramco Team Series in New York

With the LPGA off this week, a number of the game’s biggest stars head to Long Island for the LET’s Aramco Team Series.

With the LPGA off this week, a number of the game’s biggest stars head to Long Island, New York, for the Ladies European Tour’s Aramco Team Series.

This marks the third stop in the four-tournament series that was introduced this year. Nelly Korda, Lexi Thompson, Jessica Korda, Danielle Kang and Lizette Salas are among the American players in the field.

European Solheim Cup stars Charley Hull, Anna Nordqvist, Sophia Popov, Emily Kristine Pedersen and captain Catriona Matthew will be on hand as well, Oct. 14-16 at Glen Oaks Club.

Three pros and one amateur will compete for a share of $800,000, along with an additional $200,000 purse for the leading individual scores. Other sponsor invites include Cheyenne Woods, Anne Van Dam, Bronte Law, Lindsay Weaver, Alison Lee, Gabi Ruffels and Angel Yin.

The event carries points for World Rankings and the Race to Costa del Sol, a season-long race that determines the LET’s top golfer. The first two stops in the series were in London and Sotogrande.

The tournament uses an NFL-style draft system in which each captain picks their first player before being randomly allocated a third professional and competing amateur.

The final stop of the series will be next month in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Golf Saudi owns the Aramco Team Series.

Last year, several of the LPGA’s biggest stars traveled to Saudi Arabia for the country’s first women’s golf events. Pedersen won back-to-back events in Saudi Arabia to claim the Race to Costa del Sol title.

Top male players drew criticism for teeing it up in the men’s Saudi event in 2019 and 2020, particularly in the wake of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.

Dustin Johnson, who ultimately won the inaugural event, said, “It’s my job to play golf.” Justin Rose, who competed in 2019 but not in 2020, added, “I’m not a politician, I’m a pro golfer.”

While some of Saudi Arabia’s discriminatory laws against women have relaxed in recent years – women can now drive cars and travel abroad without permission from their male guardian – it remains one of the most gender-segregated countries in the world.

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