Former World No.1 and two-time Major champion Lydia Ko has heaped praise on Golf Saudi’s Ladies First initiative as she gets set to play the Saudi Ladies International presented by Public Investment Fund from November 4-7.
Inspired by the tournament – the Kingdom’s first ever professional women’s golf event – more than 1,000 new of women golfers across the country registered to learn golf for the first time as part of Golf Saudi’s Ladies First Club.
“I support what Golf Saudi are doing in growing women’s golf and showing women empowerment,” said Ko. “The whole world is moving in that direction which is great to see, and I enjoy being a part of that. I was delighted to hear that over 1000 girls had taken up the game following last year’s edition, so hopefully we’ll see them numbers increase after this week.”
Ko is widely known as a worldwide player having played in various tournaments across the globe, but this is her first visit to the Kingdom. With no prior course knowledge, the Kiwi is hoping to get a helping hand from last year’s champion, Emily Kristine Pedersen, when playing tomorrow’s first round.
“This is obviously my first time here and my first at this golf course,” she said. “The course is really nice. It has a good blend of tougher holes and some holes that are getable. That afternoon wind is a huge factor around this golf course but at the same time it cools the temperature down, so I’m for the wind!
“I hope it suits my game. I’m playing with Emily (Pedersen), and it definitely, suits her game after her stunning results here last year. I’ll try and get some pointers from her along the way! Some holes are going to be play extremely difficult while others are going to play a lot easier because they’ll become shorter. I just have to play strategically, but at the same time, aggressively.
“We go to many different countries, and continents. Obviously this is my first time in this part of the world and we’re able to experience different cultures, and try different foods. I feel like I am pretty open and adventurous in those kinds of things, so I love traveling and think it’s a really cool perk of playing on tour.”
One of the countries Ko is keen to get another taste of is the UAE after missing out on all the delights the Emirate has to offer due to the pandemic.
“I visited Dubai for the first time last year for the Moonlight Classic, but didn’t get the chance to see much of the Emirate due to the covid protocols in place at the tournament,” she said. “I know it’s a really cool place, with so many greats restaurants and fun places to go. Hopefully I’ll be able to return there one day to experience Dubai for what it is.”
Ko gets her first round underway alongside Pedersen and Charley Hull at 8:18am GST tomorrow.
