By Georgia

KELLY WHALEY PRODUCED THE FINAL ROUND HIGHLIGHTS BUT NO ONE WAS GOING TO CATCH BATTLED HARDENED GEORGIA HALL

22 golfdigestme.com april 2022

By Georgia

GIVEN HER ONLY OTHER WIN on the Ladies European Tour came at a major championship, you may have expected Georgia Hall to take her Aramco Saudi Ladies International victory in her stride.

But as soon as the 25-year-old Englishwoman was greeted on the final green by Solheim Cup pal Emily Kristine Pedersen, herself a two-time Saudi champion, the waterworks flowed.

“I was fine after 18, and then Emily started crying, and it made me cry. I was just really proud of the way I played today,” the world No.25 said.

“It's fantastic to win in March, so early in the season. I really love this place and love the golf course.”

The 2018 Women’s British Open champion produced a measured final round 71 at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club to waltz away with a $135,547 share of the $1million Aramco Saudi Ladies International presented by Public Investment Fund prize purse. Hall eventually won by five strokes, the advantage she started Sunday with at King Abdullah Economic City.

By Georgia

PHOTOGRAPHS BY TRISTAN JONES/LET

CLOCKWISE FROM

ABOVE: Hall carded rounds of 69-6968-71 for a winning total of 11-under; Kelly Whaley with her course record equalling - and LET historic- final round scorecard.

IT'S FANTASTIC TO WIN SO EARLY IN THE SEASON.

I REALLY LOVE THIS PLACE

AND LOVE THE GOLF COURSE.

Hall’s one-under-par round started with two birdies in the first three holes to extend her overnight lead to seven shots, from where she never really looked back.

“That was the plan in my head,” said Hall. “The front nine is a little bit easier, a little bit less wind than we've had, so I tried to take advantage and hit some really good shots on the front nine to get me further ahead, and that kind of settled me.”

Despite four bogeys – on the 5th, 10th, 15th and 16th - the chasing pack never got closer than four shots. Hall – a runner up at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International in 2020 – sealed things with a birdie three on 17, rolling in a 15-foot putt.

“To lead all week is very special. I think the first round (69) really was very important for me. I played incredible that round. It really set me up for the rest of the week. Sometimes it's not always easy with a five-shot lead into the last day, it's a little bit more pressure on you, but I was really happy with the way I conducted myself today.”

Joint second place went to Swede Johanna Gustavsson and the former Czech Republic international footballer cum LET rookie Kristyna Napoleaova.

It was fairytale stuff for 25-year-old Napoleaova, who was competing in only her second event as an LET professional.

“To be honest, it's kind of like a dream,” said Napoleaova who had shared the halfway lead with Hall. “I didn't expect even to get into the event. Golf Saudi provided me with an invite, which was incredible. What happened this week is like a fairytale. It’s been an absolutely incredible week. I'm so grateful to have been here and can't wait to come back again.”

Napoleaova picked up $75,000, a cool $71,300 more than her maiden LET event. “To be fair, I had no idea what the prize money was. I’m glad I didn’t look because then I would have been like slightly nervous on the last hole, which I was anyway, so better not to know!”

The best round of the day came from breakout US golf star Kelly Whaley (above), who set a new LET record with an incredible eight birdies in a row, to finish joint sixth. The 24-year-old’s streak ran from the 4th to the 11th and set up a course equaling score of 63. It was the first time a player has bagged more than seven consecutive birdies in a regular-season LET event.

“It is the best round I've ever had in a tournament,” said Whaley who turned pro in 2019 and was competing in her first event outside the United States.

“My whole goal today was to just enjoy it and have fun, being my first international professional event. I've never had eight birdies in a row. That's something memorable for anyone.

“Once I made about four or five, I said, ‘Okay, you're in it now – you can't stop’. So, I just kept giving myself opportunities and it was a lot of fun. I think in these situations pressure can get to you, and it becomes almost daunting, but I really approached today trying to just enjoy every shot and find something about every hole that I loved, whether it be the view or just something else. It was just a really memorable day.”

And another thoroughly memorable week for Golf Saudi and the women’s game in the Kingdom.