Alexandra Armas, CEO of Women’s European Tour, confirmed that they will continue to use new and unique approaches to elite golf tournaments to raise the bar for the women’s game.
Armas, who is entering her third year in a row as General Manager of the Women’s European Tour, said: “It’s a really impressive growth. After overcoming the pandemic, we have been looking to partner with partners who are moving the tour forward while ensuring the strategic commitment of the Tour players, which has been helped by our partnerships with Gulf Saudi Arabia and Aramco.”
She added, “Joining the Thai Championship this year helps raise the level of the tour by increasing its prize money. a level of hospitality that raises standards at all levels. For many players, these tournaments are like big tournaments.”
The tour will be an exceptional year in its history as this year’s schedule includes 34 tournaments across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In addition to kicking off the season with two back-to-back championships in the US and Australia last week.
The 2022 season is also expected to be a busy one as no tournament is expected to be canceled on the calendar and it is expected to be crowded with fans, reflecting the return of the Women’s European Tour stronger after the pandemic halt.
As part of the first series of Saudi Aramco Team Championships, 4 tournaments were held in the UK, Spain, the United States of America and Saudi Arabia with a total prize pool of one million dollars for each tournament.
The unique tournament system also brought a new form and concept to golf, giving female players the unique opportunity to compete alongside their female counterparts in 36 teams of 4. (player or player) of the amateur category is added in the same way.
Supported by Saudi Golf and Saudi Aramco, Alexandra Armas introduced the system as a proposal as it was the first time it was implemented in the professional round of golf at these tournaments, giving amateur and golfers the ability to influence the results of a team that includes professional players.
In the first edition of the series, international players participated in the tournaments, such as the fifth racket of the world from Thailand Ataya Titicol, Swedish Anna Nordqvist, Englishwoman Charlie Hall and her compatriot Georgia Hall, Americans Nelly Korda and her sister Jessica, as well as Lexi Thompson.
Following the great success of the first edition, the Aramco Team Championship Series is gearing up for the launch of the 2022 season under the auspices of the European Women’s Golf Tour, where the series, which returns in its second edition, will see an increase in the number of tournaments and the amount of financial prizes. This will be the series’ first stop on the Asian continent, which was added for the first time this year, with Thailand confirmed as the fifth country to host one of Aramco’s team championships. The tournament will take place at the Country Club Stadium in Bangkok from 12 to 14 May.
This year’s edition will see an update to the tournament system, where team competition will take place over two days, during which the winning team will be crowned, with the best individual scores and finalists competing on the third day to determine the player who wins the individual prize.
“When we introduced the concept of the Saudi Aramco Championship Series to the teams, we wanted to innovate and do something new, and the Women’s European Tour team is looking for ways to engage our fans to get them to watch golf more regularly. creative ideas and different ways of doing things can help,” said Armas.
Regarding the appeal of the series to fans, Armas said: “The Saudi Aramco Championship Series is appealing to golf enthusiasts and fans, as well as their next generation. in 3 editions to additional rounds to determine the title. We are very excited to start the 2022 season in Thailand.”
For his part, Mr. Majed Al Sorour, Vice Chairman and CEO of the Saudi Arabian Golf and Golf Federation, said: “We had the desire to participate in the Saudi Aramco Championship Series for teams from the very beginning, and the tournament won the admiration of the players and allowed us to develop women’s golf as it provided the opportunity for the tour. The European Women’s Championship will hold its first tournament on the territory of the United States of America through the championship in New York.”
He added: “Expanding the series into new territory in 2022 with the Bangkok Championship is a very important step. We look forward to seeing these five tournaments continue to play a role in the development of women’s golf.”
It is worth noting that the Saudi Aramco Team Championship series kicks off in Thailand in the middle of next month, followed by a series of tournaments at the Centurion Club in London (June 16-18) and La Reserva Club in Sotogrande, Spain (August 18-20), and from there to New York during Period C (October 13-15) and the stadium to be determined at a later date, prior to the conclusion of the series in the Kingdom in Jeddah (November 9-11) at the Royal Green Club and Stadium.
