“This decision doesn’t change the respect I have for what the Aramco Team Series has done for the women’s game.”Īnna Nordqvist of Sweden poses with the trophy after winning the 2021 AIG Women’s British Open at Carnoustie. “I will always fight for women’s golf,” she wrote on Instagram. Nordqvist released a follow-up statement to those comments on Monday, noting that the Aramco team was fully supportive of her decision. “I wanted to do something for ladies’ golf and especially for the European Tour.” “It was never about money for me,” she continued. Nordqvist still plans to compete in this week’s event in Saudi Arabia and others on the LET schedule, citing her need to get in four LET events before August to be eligible for the Solheim Cup. ![]() “I need to think about myself and I haven’t felt good about this,” she said, adding: “I wasn’t really prepared to get such an incredible amount of hatred and mean comments from people who don’t even know me.” ![]() “It didn’t really turn out the way I thought it would,” Nordqvist told TT in an interview. Her decision to part ways, however, had to do with the backlash she received rather than any moral conflict. Nordqvist wore an Aramco Team Series hat when she won the 2021 AIG Women’s British Open at Carnoustie and had the Golf Saudi logo on her sleeve. She recently told the Swedish news agency TT that she had ended her sponsorship deal with the Saudis. Three-time major winner Anna Nordqvist was one of several female professionals personally sponsored by Golf Saudi. Thompson will not play in the LPGA events in Thailand and Singapore the following two weeks. 1 Lydia Ko and Lexi Thompson, who won an Aramco event last fall in New York. The Saudi Ladies International field will feature 15 of the top 30 players in the world, including No. 1 Lydia Ko won the 2021 Aramco Saudi Ladies International (courtesy Aramco) How you choose to use that money will say a lot about who you are as a person.” “We live in a world where that is the truth, and you can’t get around that. “At the end of the day, money is power,” said MacLaren. With two majors accounting for $13.8 million in prize money, Saudi money represents more than 40 percent of what remains. Total prize money for all six Saudi-backed events on the LET is $10 million. In addition to this week’s Saudi Ladies International, which features the same size purse the men played for earlier this month in Saudi, there are five stops around the world in the LET’s Aramco Team Series. “You have a voice to a certain point, but also, the better golfer I am and the more recognizable golfer I am, the louder I can use that voice.”Īs things currently stand, abstaining from competing in events backed by the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund would cripple an LET player’s chance to make a living and keep her card on that tour. ![]() “This is my competitive nature and my profession versus how do I want to live my life? What do I want to stand up for? ![]() “At some point, you have to reconcile,” said MacLaren. The winner at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City will receive $750,000. This week the three-time winner on the Ladies European Tour is one of 120 players who will tee it up in the Aramco Saudi Ladies International, which features a $5 million purse, the highest prize fund in women’s golf outside of the majors and the LPGA’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.Ĭonsidering that nearly a dozen events on the LET schedule last year featured purses below 300,000 euros, a non-major purse at $5 million offers a life-changing opportunity for many in the field, which features 60 Ladies European Tour players, 50 from the top 300 in the Rolex Rankings and 10 sponsor invites. The 28-year-old Englishwoman withdrew over concerns that the country was “sportswashing” its human rights record.Īs the presence of Saudi Arabia money continues to grow in women’s golf, however, MacLaren’s stance has evolved. Three years ago, Meghan MacLaren took a rare and bold stance against playing in the first women’s professional golf event ever held in Saudi Arabia, saying that competing in the Kingdom didn’t fit with her values. Top 50 Modern Courses in Great Britain & Ireland.Top 50 Classic Courses in Great Britain & Ireland.Mexico, Caribbean, Atlantic islands, Central America.
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