Lexi Thompson picks Dame Laura Davies to team up for the Aramco Team Series event at Centurion Club.
Lexi Thompson has admitted she “can’t wait” to ally with Dame Laura Davies after picking her at the captain’s draft for the Ladies European Tour Aramco Team Series - London event, starting tomorrow at the Centurion Club.
The star duo are joined by Spanish professional Elia Folch, while an amateur will complete their quartet for the innovative $1million event in which two tournaments run alongside one another.
The main focus is the team title with two players’ scores from each of the 54 holes counting towards their overall tally. Also, all of the 108 professionals have an individual crown to target. See the full team list here.
World number nine Thompson and fellow star Davies are sure to provide a series of highlights and fun over the next three days. Thompson said:
“I’m really looking forward to being paired with Laura. Just playing this event, it’s a great honour to be here.
“I’ve played with Laura quite a bit and she’s just an amazing person – but what a game. She will pull off some shots that we’ll never see – that’s the amazing part.
“I want to play well, but at the same time I just want to enjoy myself. And I know she will as well.”
Strong Scottish connection
Solheim Cup captain Catriona Matthew is used to handing out the picks but was on the receiving end at Tuesday’s draft when fellow Scot Carly Booth selected her.
Booth, Matthew and Norway’s Stina Resen will be joined by an amateur to try and aim for the top of the team leaderboard. Booth said:
“There’s a lot of obvious reasons I picked Beany, being a little bit of a mentor and someone that I looked up to growing up. She’s inspiring, she’s a Solheim Cup captain winner, many Solheims behind her. We get on very well as well, so it’s going to be a great week.”
Only one thing on Geogia's mind
England’s Georgia Hall has clear objectives as to what she wants to achieve this week. The 25-year-old said:
“The goal is to win both! That’s my only goal. If you play well individually and are right up there, then you’ve got a good chance of doing well in the team (event), I think.
“I’ve been playing well the last few events, so yeah – I’m quite confident and I love playing at home.”
Hall opted for fellow English golfer Gabriella Cowley, the two time Rose Ladies Series winner this season, at the draft and they will team up with Sweden’s Filippa Moork.
2018 AIG Women’s Open winner Hall added:
“I’m really excited for this event. It’s an event I’ve been looking forward to for a very long time. I get to play not far away. I’m so used to getting on a plane for 10, 11 hours, so that’s really nice. And it’s nice to play on an English golf course and to play something different.”
Can the amateurs handle the pressure?
Minjee Lee is another big name at the star-studded event set to tee it up at Centurion Club. The Australian plays mainly on the LPGA Tour but loves her visits to the Ladies European Tour.
The World number 14 plays alongside Hayley Davis and Katja Pogacar this week and she had a few words of advice for those lucky golfers who’ll have the rare chance to play with some of the biggest stars of the women’s game.
Lee said:
“They might be a little nervous playing with three professionals – so maybe just have fun. If they have questions, we’re really happy to answer them – we don’t bite! As long as we keep them relaxed, I think they’ll be relaxed.
“I think it’s a pretty cool format – something that has not been done before. It will just be a cool opportunity and a different experience. I think it’s just a great experience for the amateurs and for us as well. Something different. It brings a lot of interest – it’s really good.”
Embracing the unique format
Rising Indian star Diksha Dagar is another to embrace the team format, having played in the Saudi Ladies Team International under the same format last November. She said:
“This week’s going to be very exciting. I played last time in Saudi and it was fun. We enjoyed it as a team – ‘let’s make more birdies, let’s win this tournament!’ If the weather is good, hopefully they’ll be good scoring (this week).”
Next month, the Aramco Team Series will move on to Sotogrande in Spain (August 5-7). The third event will be staged in New York (October 14-16) before heading to Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in Saudi Arabia (November 10-12). of each event.
For more information, visit aramcoteamseries.com