The Ladies European Tour doesn’t pay much attention to the “sports washing” by Saudi Arabia and in the latest offering from the Saudis, it was Lydia Ko shooting 23-under at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International.
Ko closed with 65 and beat runner-up Atthaya Thitikul by five shots. The 18-year-old Thitikul shot 66 and was five better than Carlota Ciganda and Alice Hewson.
The ladies played at the Royal Greens Golf Club, the site of the men’s championship that will be held in early 2022.
It was Ko’s second win this year. “When I was out there I was just trying to play the best golf I can,” said Ko. “I knew a lot of the top names were playing well and this is a golf course where there’s a fair amount of birdies, so I just tried to have my share of them, have fun out there and enjoy the experience at Royal Greens.
“It helps going into the final round and you have a four-shot cushion, as we could possibly shoot the same score but I still have those shots from the last three days. I birdied the first hole then holed two really good putts for par on two and three and I think that kind of set my momentum and I just tried to not look back and keep going forward. I’m delighted to have won.”
Ko will travel back to the U.S. for this week’s stop on the LPGA Tour at the Pelican Championship in Belleair, Florida.
Ladies Saudi International Scoreboard:
Thomas Pieters Captures Portugal Masters:
The Portugal Masters turned in Thomas Pieters favor Sunday in a matter of about 15 minutes down the stretch at the Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Club.
Pieters was on the par five 17th, tied with Mathieu Pavon and Nicolai Hojgaard, twin brother of Rasmus.
Pavon took himself out of it when his second at the par five found the water. Up ahead, Hojgaard’s drive at 18 was up against the lip of a bunker. His second came up well short and he failed to get up-and-down for par, dropping him back to 17-under.
Pieters hit a sensational second into 17, leaving himself just 20-feet for eagle. He two-putted to get 19-under then shut the door on Pavon when he holed a 15-foot par-saving putt on the 72nd hole. He closed with 68.
It was Pieters’ fifth European Tour win in 171 starts. His last victory had come two years ago at the Czech Masters. “It felt like a long time between victories,” the 29-year-old Pieters said. “It’s hard. I was happy to come up to the 18th with a two-shot lead.”
