Thompson and Hall ready for challenge of Aramco Saudi Ladies International

KAEC: World number seven Lexi Thompson and defending champion Georgia Hall will compete in their first tournament of the 2023 season when they play in this week’s Aramco Saudi Ladies International Presented by Public Investment Fund (PIF).

The $5 million event returns to the world-renowned Royal Greens Golf & Country Club this week, and both Thompson and Hall expect a tough challenge over the next few days after yesterday’s practice rounds.

In addition to the trickier-than-usual course conditions at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club this year, both players are part of the event’s strongest field to date. They will have to take on some of the world’s best, such as world number 1 Lydia Ko and world number 4 Atthaya Thitikul if they are to capture the title and the biggest slice of the $5million prize fund.

Thompson, who will be competing in Saudi Arabia for the first time, said: “’I’m really happy to be here first off.

“It’s an amazing golf course and layout. I’ve heard that it plays quite a bit different in the afternoon, especially if it gets super windy and the course maybe dries out a little bit. But I played in the morning yesterday; get nine in probably today. But probably if it gets windy, flighting your shots properly and just to start it off getting in the fairway is always number one. The greens are a little tricky. There are quite some hills in them, so getting in the right sections and really thinking about those second shots going into the greens with the pin placements.”

Defending champion Georgia Hall is bracing for the challenge ahead – both the windy conditions and the stellar competition she’ll be up against: “I think it’s going to be very windy again, one of the windiest weeks that I’ve been