Georgia Hall won the Aramco Saudi Ladies International by five shots at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in Jeddah.
Hall fired earlier rounds of 69, 69 and 68 to enter the final day with a five-shot cushion, an advantage she maintained to the end with a closing 71 to finish on 11 under. Victory earned the Hampshire player a second Ladies European Tour title to go with her Women’s Open victory back in 2018.
Georgia Hall closed with a 71 for a five-shot win in Saudi Arabia
Hall, who made five birdies and four bogeys en route to a commanding win, said: “Sometimes it’s not always easy taking such a big lead into the last day – it puts a little bit more pressure on you, but I was really happy with the way I conducted myself today.
“The front nine played a little bit easier today, as there was less wind than we’ve had, so I tried to take advantage of that to get me further ahead, and that kind of settled me. To lead all week is very special. I think the first round really was very important as that really set me up for the rest of the week. It’s fantastic to get a win under my belt so early in the season. I really love this place and love the golf course.”
Sweden’s Johanna Gustavsson and Czech rookie Kristyna Napoleaova finished in a tie for second place on six-under-par – five shots behind winner Hall. It has been an amazing week for Napoleaova, who was a former footballer for AC Sparta and only began playing golf in 2016.
“It’s like a dream. I didn’t expect even to get into the event and what happened this week, I feel is like a fairy tale,” said the 25-year-old. “It was an absolutely incredible week. I’m so grateful to be here. I can’t wait to come back again. I think everyone wants to win and I hope one day any time soon it will come for me too.”
Denmark’s Emily Kristine Pedersen, who won this event in 2020, finished in fourth on five-under after a final round of 67, while Spain’s Carlota Ciganda was one shot further back in fifth. American Kelly Whaley produced a spectacular final day performance equalling the course record of 63 and setting an LET tournament record of eight consecutive birdies. The 24-year-old catapulted herself up the final leaderboard as she finished in a tie for sixth place on three-under.
Whaley said: “It is the best round I’ve ever had in a tournament. 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 birdies, I said, ‘okay, you’re in it now. You can’t stop.’ I was just 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.”
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