Have fun with it: Golf stars encourage Saudi females to try out the sport

JEDDAH: Some of the biggest names in women’s golf on Tuesday shared their experiences of the sport ahead of this week’s Aramco Saudi Ladies International, encouraging women and girls in the Kingdom to give it a go.

English Major winner Georgia Hall and three-time Major winner Anna Nordqvist are among those competing in the tournament, as well as three Moroccan professional players.

At a pre-tournament press conference, Hall advised Saudi women and girls to start playing golf and to have fun with it. After that, she said, they might consider taking up the sport and think of it differently.

“I started when I was seven years old and I just really enjoy trying to make contact with the golf ball and try and hit it as hard as I could,” she told Arab News. “That’s the advice I would give to start off, just you know, have a lot of fun with it.

“Golf can be a lot of fun as well, especially if you’re going with friends and you can make loads of little different games up. So, I think number one is just to have fun and see where you are with it. Because everyone’s different, wants to take up the game. Some find it easier than others. But yeah, I think, just have fun.”

The four-day tournament starts Thursday and runs until Sunday at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City, near Jeddah.

On Friday there will be a ladies’ day, a first for the tournament, with a free golf lesson and other activities on offer.

Nordqvist told Arab News: “I think it’s a fantastic opportunity just to obviously watch women’s golf. There are so many talents coming. There are so many good girls and they’re so shiny now. It’s a cool experience. And I think a lot of people might never be to a golf tournament in person and I think