Georgia Hall is ready to begin her 2023 season at the tournament where she stormed to her second LET title last year.
The English superstar recorded a sensational five-shot victory around Royal Greens Golf & Country Club after carding rounds of 69, 69, 68 and 71.
This year’s Aramco Saudi Ladies International presented by Public Investment Fund sees a five-fold increase in the prize fund from US$1m to US$5m, which sees parity with the men’s PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers.
Hall has made some changes in the off-season with different clubs in the bag and has been working hard ahead of her season-opener.
“It’s been really nice,” said the Major champion. “I had two to three months off. It’s been a little bit more of a hectic off-season for me.
“I had a few changes club-wise, so I’ve been testing a lot. I’m not someone who likes to change. I have just been working hard at that really, and I feel I’m happy with my full bag. I’m excited to start here in Saudi this week.”
Wind is always a factor, especially when playing in the afternoon, but in the 2022 edition Hall was peerless when tackling the strong gusts.
With a world-class field in attendance including 12 of the top 20 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Hall is ready for her game to be tested.
“I think it’s going to be very windy again,” said Hall, who finished 10th in the 2022 Race to Costa del Sol.
“It is one of the windiest weeks that I’ve been here, which is nice. I think it’s a good test. I will definitely work on my low shots, especially off the tee as well. It’s a very strong field this year and will be harder to win for anyone. I’m really excited to get going tomorrow.
“I think this week is actually the best I’ve seen the condition of the course. Some tees have been pushed back, so I think scores may not be as low as previous years.”
Hall will be teeing it up in round one at 11.56 am alongside American Lexi Thomspon and Japan’s Nasa Hataoka.
The Solheim Cup winner has an exemplary record around Royal Greens but is enjoying the pressure that comes with that.
She added: “I wish I can say now that I’m going to do the same thing as last year, but I will obviously try my best and I do really like the golf course.
“I’ve had good results here, not just winning, but in previous years playing well. I like the weather conditions, so of course I feel quite confident going into the event.
“Every time you defend, you obviously won the year before and it’s a really good feeling, and a feeling that a lot of players don’t get often because we have so many good players now on Tour that it’s very hard to win.
“I feel really good coming into this week. It’s nice to defend, maybe a little bit more pressure here or there, but I think pressure is really good and it means you care. I’m really going to enjoy the week and see what happens.”
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