Ko and Thitikul primed to reprise 2021 battle at Aramco Saudi Ladies International

KAEC, Saudi Arabia: World number one Lydia Ko and number four Atthaya Thitikul are primed to reprise their 2021 battle at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International.

Both Ko and Thitikul will start their seasons at the $5 million Aramco Saudi Ladies International powered by Public Investment Fund this week and are “amazed” by the progress made with the matching prize fund for the men’s and women’s events.

Both players held the number one spot at different times last year, and both have fond memories of this event from when the two stars battled it out in the final round of 2021, in which Ko came away victorious.

Ko said, “It’s the start of a three-week stretch for me, so I’m excited to get my 2023 started and get back to where I have a lot of great memories to reflect back on from 2021.

“I think, it’s going to play a little tougher this week with the wind, but I’m excited. This is probably one of the biggest events in Saudi Arabia, so hopefully, all of us that came over can put on a good show for the people and inspire more juniors to pick up the game and dream of maybe playing in the future.”

Thitikul, who finished in second place behind Ko in 2021, added, “My memories of 2021 are of me and Lydia Ko on the last round. I think I had a really good final round, but I couldn’t beat her that time. For this event, I would say that is an incredible memory for me.”

The Thai teen sensation has followed closely in Ko’s footsteps throughout her golf career. Thitikul took the title of golf’s youngest-ever champion away from Ko when she won her first professional golf tournament at 14. She became the second youngest golfer to reach the top of world rankings last year at just 19 years of age. Ko still holds onto that spot, reaching