London to stage one of four new $1m ladies' team events

One of four new $1 million team tournaments on the Ladies European Tour this year is to be held in the UK.

Emily Pedersen, Michele Thomson, Casandra Hall and amateur Matt Sleby with the trophy after Team Pedersen won the Saudi Ladies Team International. Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in November. Picture: Tristan Jones.

The new Aramco Team Series will visit London, as well as New York, Singapore and King Abdullah Economic City, near Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia.

The four tournaments, which are being sponsored by Aramco along with Golf Saudi, will form an important part of a record-breaking 2021 LET schedule, which is set to be announced in the coming weeks.

Teams of four will compete in the tournaments, each one played over 54 holes. Captains will recruit one fellow Tour pro through a draft system.

Another Tour professional will be selected at random, while all teams will include one amateur player. Prize money for the winning team will be split between its three pro members.

The concept proved a big hit as part of the inaugural Saudi Ladies International in November, when Scotland’s Michele Thomson was on a winning team captained by Emily Pedersen. The success earned Thomson a £25,000 pay-day.

LET CEO Alexandra Armas said: “Today marks the beginning of a new journey in the history of the Ladies European Tour.

“This brand-new Aramco Team Series takes golf and the sport to a whole new level and I am incredibly excited by all four events.

“Last November, the LET made history in bringing the first-ever professional women’s golf event to Saudi Arabia, and this announcement only builds on that.”

The new investment makes Saudi Arabia, where a men’s European Tour event is being staged for the third year running this week, one of the biggest backers of the women’s game in Europe.

His Excellency Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Chairman of the Saudi Golf Federation and Golf Saudi, said: “This is fantastic news for global sport, for women’s golf and for Saudi Arabia.

“We are committed to building the women’s game and promoting female participation in sport in Saudi Arabia.

“I hope this series inspires people of all cultures and backgrounds to take up the sport and generate enthusiasm for the great game of golf.”

The first of the four tournaments will take place in New York, followed by London and Singapore before culminating in a season finale at the Royal Greens and Country Club in Jeddah.

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