- Team Wolf and Team Garcia finish the Team competition tied on 29-under-par and will contest a playoff tomorrow
- England’s Charley Hull holds a one-shot lead in the Individual competition
Team Wolf and Team Garcia finished tied at the top of the leaderboard at the conclusion of the 36-hole team event at the Aramco Team Series – Jeddah.
With both teams level on 29-under-par, they will playoff for victory at the conclusion of the third round tomorrow afternoon at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club.
It was Team Wolf – made up of Christine Wolf, Laura Beveridge, Alexandra Swayne and amateur Raghdah Alessawi – who set the early pace and they backed up yesterday’s round of -13 with a round of -16 on Friday morning.
“I’m super proud of the team,” said captain Wolf. “We’re all really excited for tomorrow. The girls played awesome today and made so many birdies and Raghdah contributed quite a bit today, so we had a good thing going.
“We all stayed positive, had good fun and really enjoyed it. We’re looking forward to the playoff tomorrow – it’s a first for all of us in the team event and it’s going to be exciting!”
It was a good day individually for Beveridge and Swayne, who each carded rounds of 67 and 68, respectively on day two.
And LET rookie Swayne, who sits on six-under in T7 heading into the final day, has been pleased with her performance thus far.
“It was surprisingly a lot of fun. I played college golf, and I played high school golf, and it doesn’t compare to what it is out here,” she said.
“Obviously these are my competitors, but I was really happy for them. I really enjoyed my group. We had a great time and I think it made a difference. Our amateur was just out there to have fun and play golf and I’m glad she was able to do that. She was helpful and a pleasure to be around.
“I’m just learning as a professional golfer that you have to not care and not have expectations and it’s taking me my entire rookie year to figure it out, so I’m really pleased with where I’m trending.”
While Team Garcia were one of the later tee times on the second day of the Aramco Team Series – Jeddah and sat in a tie for second place overnight.
The quartet of Nicole Garcia, Casandra Alexander, Tereza Melecka and amateur Sonia Bayahya followed up their first round of -16 with a second of -13 to be tied at the top.
And Captain Garcia, who won the Team event through a playoff at ATS – London in June, was pleased with her team’s efforts.
“It was great fun,” said Garcia. “We knew it was going to be tough. There was a lot of wind out there today, and this golf course is obviously designed for the wind.
“There was a couple of long holes, but I think my team was in good spirits and we really tried hard. It was tough to make the putts on these greens, but my team managed to pull it off so I’m really proud and especially coming down the last.
“It was nice to see, and we had good camaraderie the whole way through. It was a really fun week! I’ve been lucky with all the teams that I’ve had. The fact I was in a playoff in London gives me a lot of confidence in tomorrow, however we still haven’t decided who will play in the playoff. We’ll see what hole it is, and we’ll discuss it as a team and take it from there.”
Team Wikstrom and Team Kreuzer finished the competition in a tie for third place on 28-under-par with Team Gustavsson, Team Hull and Team Peláez Trivino were all one shot further back in T5.
Team Grechi finished in eighth place on 26-under, while Team Alonso and Team Ström rounded out the top 10 on 25-under.
In the Individual competition, England’s Charley Hull holds a one-shot lead heading into the final day after carding a bogey-free round of 65 (-7) to be nine-under-par.
The Individual champion from the 2021 Aramco Team Series – New York had a phenomenal front nine to make the turn in six-under and then finished with a flourish with a birdie on 18.
“It was a really, really good front nine,” said the Solheim Cup star. “I missed a three-foot birdie putt on five, I lipped-out on three for birdie and edged a hole on seven for birdie. So, I could have been nine-under but I’m not complaining.
“I think I’ve just put some good work in this year and now it’s all coming together. I wasn’t actually all that confident before I came out this week. I was feeling a bit anxious, but I feel better now. I’ve played some golf and I’m just enjoying it out here.”
Three players sit in a tie for second place with Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall, Slovenia’s Pia Babnik and Italy’s Virginia Elena Carta all on eight-under-par.
And defending champion Babnik was the only player able to match Hull on day two as she also produced a round of 65 (-7) with eight birdies and one bogey.
The two-time LET winner said: “I’m really happy. I played really well today. I was really frustrated with the bogey on eight, but overall, I am really happy with the round I played. I gave myself a lot of chances.”
South Africa’s Garcia and Spain’s Ana Peláez Trivino are in a share of fifth place on seven-under with one round remaining.
Six players sit in a tie for seventh place with Sweden’s Sofie Bringner, Germany’s Chiara Noja, Wales’ Chloe Williams, Finland’s Noora Komulainen, France’s Lucie Malchirand and U.S. Virgin Islander Swayne all on six-under.
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