Reigning champion Emily Kristine Pedersen from Denmark successfully defended her team title with a playoff victory in the Aramco Team Series Jeddah on Friday. Meanwhile, Slovenian teenager Pia Babnik bagged the individual honors.
Pedersen saw off Lydia Hall from Wales over two extra holes at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City to secure the title for Team Pedersen, which also included Solheim Cup star Hannah Burke, from England, Krista Bakker, from Finland, and Ahmed Al-Subaey, the team’s amateur player.
Team Hall — which also included Becky Brewerton, from Wales, Luiza Altmann, from Brazil, and amateur Victor Green, a former NFL star — and Team Pedersen finished tied on 51-under after 54 holes on the Red Sea coast.
The captains could not be separated on their first playoff attempt down the par-five 18th, but then Hall found the water while going for the green in two the second time around.
Pedersen, whose tee shot left her perfectly placed in the middle of the fairway, capitalized by landing her approach within 10 feet of the pin before holing her eagle putt to claim the $150,000 top prize for her team.
“It means a lot to win again,” said 25-year-old Pedersen, whose victory last year was in the Saudi Ladies Team International, the event that proved to be the precursor to the Aramco Team Series, which was launched this year. “
I came back to Saudi Arabia hoping to get a win again and its just amazing to do it. I obviously love it around here, so it’s just great. We had a lot of fun as a team and it was a big team effort.—Arab News
