16-year-old German talent Chiara Noja named Golf Saudi ambassador

SOTOGRANDE: German golfer Chiara Noja — the youngest European golfer ever to win a professional tour event — has been announced as the latest Golf Saudi ambassador, following in the footsteps of icons of the women’s game including Anna Nordqvist, Anne Van Dam and Carlota Ciganda, all of whom have been named Golf Saudi ambassadors this year. Noja became a scratch golfer aged 11, before topping the European Rankings at both Under-12 and Under-14 levels, and has maintained her upward trajectory ever since, turning professional in October 2021, aged just 15.

She has enjoyed a stellar first year on the pro tour, making all the cuts at the Dubai Moonlight Classic, Aramco Saudi Ladies International, and the Aramco Team Series – Jeddah. In June, Noja secured her maiden professional victory at the Amundi Czech Ladies Challenge, nine strokes ahead of Sára Kousková, and rose to the top of the LETAS Order of Merit.

Majed Al-Sorour, the CEO and deputy chairman of both Golf Saudi and the Saudi Golf Federation, said: “Chiara immediately impressed me when I saw her play last year in Saudi Arabia. She put in two impressive back-to-back performances at both of our tournaments.

“To not only make the cut in the Aramco Saudi Ladies International and finish T40, but to do so with a shoulder injury, before following this up with a T26 in the Aramco Team Series (shows) her talent and bodes very well for both our new partnership, but also for the future of women’s golf on the Ladies European Tour,” he continued. “Having also both lived and played in the Middle East, she has the potential to become a role model for all young girls here in the region and help us with our long-term aims at Golf Saudi of developing the women’s game in the Kingdom.”