The Aramco Team Series came to a thrilling end under the lights on Saturday night as six-time LPGA winner Jessica Korda’s team claimed the title after a two-hole playoff at Glen Oaks Club in Long Island, New York.
Korda’s team included Karolin Lampert, Lina Boqvist and amateur Alexandra O’Laughlin. The four combined to reach 41 under in the 54-hole team event that carries points for World Rankings and the Race to Costa del Sol, a season-long race that determines the LET’s top golfer.
The team captained by Sophia Popov, the 2020 AIG Women’s British Open winner, forced extra holes late in the day. Popov’s team included Magdalena Simmermacher and Hayley Davis as well as amateur Cody Crowell.
Scores: Aramco Team Series, New York
In the playoff, Popov and Korda both played the lit-up 17th hole. They first tied with bogey before Korda won it for her team on the next trip down the hole.
Jessica Korda during the playoff at the Aramco Team Series. (Photo submitted)
“It is so nice to share this win with a team. It’s such an individual sport so this is different and really cool,” Korda said on behalf of her team.
“Today we really came together, and it was one of our best days, especially on those last six holes. We were just having fun, hyping each other up.”
It wasn’t just the format that marked a first for Korda but the ending, too. The Solheim Cup star said she’s never played under lights.
“It was so hard to see out there, so I really didn’t know how hard to hit it. I was just praying it was going to be somewhere up there.
“Sophia and I are great friends and playing anything against any of your best friends is tough. But golf is golf and friendship is more important.”
In addition to the team competition, the Aramco event also considering an individual leaderboard. Charley Hull finished at 12 under and topped 36-hole leader Nelly Korda for her first win since 2019.
“I’m delighted,” said Hull. “It’s good confidence for the rest of the season. Four birdies to start with was good – I felt like I could have birdied every hole on the front nine today.
“Because of the conditions it was one of the best rounds of my life today, probably ever. The last hole was a tricky shot – it sat down a bit, but I played it perfectly.”
The last of this year’s four Aramco Team Series events will be played at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City, near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in November.
Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/2V95qPJ