The Aramco Team Series – Jeddah finished in dramatic fashion with both competitions ending in a playoff as Team Garcia and Chiara Noja claimed victory at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club.

In the Individual, it was Germany’s Noja who triumphed after a sensational final round of 65 (-7) to finish level with leader at the start of the day Charley Hull. The teenager then made a birdie on the first play-off hole putting pressure on Hull, but she duly rolled in her birdie putt. And the duo headed back down to 18 for the second time, but this time it was 16-year-old Noja who rolled in her birdie putt to clinch her maiden LET title.

“I don’t think it’s sunk in quite yet! I think the stress and happiness will come later this evening,” said the teenager, who finished second on the LET Access Series Order of Merit in 2022. It is hard work over a lot of years, and a lot of commitment and just trying not to back out of shots and commit to everything that I do and not be afraid to fail.”

Noja started the day brightly with back-to-back birdies before sinking an eagle on the fourth hole, and she finished her front nine with a bogey in-between two birdies to make the turn in 31 (-5). Two further birdies on 11 and 12 put the German rising star in pole position before she finished her round with a birdie on 16 and bogey on 17.

“This course, when you can go into par-fives in two, it is a massive advantage,” she continued. “I tried to take advantage of that this week, and it paid off. I  can’t even like begin to fathom what I’ve just done. I’m just going to try and relax tonight. Maybe have a burger, I don’t know, treat myself! Sleep. I think it’ll be the best night of sleep I’m probably ever going to get, and see how I feel tomorrow.”

South Africa’s Nicole Garcia had a great final day with an eagle putt on 18 to finish in third place on 12-under-par, Italy’s Virginia Elena Carta was fourth just one shot further back. England’s Bronte Law and South Africa’s Lee-Anne Pace finished T5 with Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall in seventh place, while Scotland’s Laura Beveridge, India’s Vani Kapoor and Slovenia’s Pia Babnik rounded out the top 10 on eight-under-par.

At the end of day two, Team Garcia and Team Wolf finished tied at the top of the leaderboard on 29-under-par each and both teams contested the playoff on Saturday afternoon. Team Garcia made up of South African duo Garcia and Casandra Alexander alongside Czechia’s Tereza Melecka and Moroccan amateur Sonia Bayahya chose Alexander to contest the playoff on 18.

For Team Wolf – the quartet of Austria’s Christine Wolf, Scotland’s Beveridge, Alexandra Swayne of the US Virgin Islands and Saudi amateur Raghdah Alessawi – it was the Captain who took the responsibility. The players went back down to 18 and Alexander managed to make the green in two, while Wolf chose to lay up and it was the South African who nailed her birdie putt for Team Garcia to win. And it is a second win in an Aramco Team Series event for each of the professionals with Garcia victorious in London earlier this year, Melecka in Sotogrande and Alexander in the inaugural Team event in 2020.

Speaking of her decision to elect her compatriot to play, Garcia said: “We’ve obviously had a few rounds together and we have known each other for a long time. Before we even knew we were in the playoff, we had spoken yesterday in the round and I said if we do get into a playoff, you know you’re in. It was already decided yesterday. It was a bit nerve-wracking but I kind of knew what I was going to have in from playing earlier,” said Alexander. “I went to the range and hit a couple and kind of had an idea what I was going to hit. I took a 7-iron and fluffed it a little bit. I still had a putt left-to-right, but a fluffed 7-iron was enough to get the job done.”

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Lexi Thompson ended a three-year winless run after holding her nerve to take the individual title at the Ladies European Tour’s Aramco Team Series in New York.

The 27-year-old American’s win at Trump Golf Links Ferry Point is her first since the ShopRite LPGA Classic in 2019.

In bright and breezy conditions in New York, Thompson held off the challenge Brooke Henderson and Madelene Sagstrom with a final round of 69 to finish three shots clear on 11-under-par.

Starting the final round of the 54-hole event with a two-shot lead after opening rounds of 71 and 65, Thompson took advantage of an early Korda bogey to birdie her first hole and build an early cushion that she maintained all day. Thompson’s putter remained hot all week and four birdies on the friendlier back nine eased her away from a chasing pack.

“I came into today just the way I played yesterday, just playing aggressive golf, and being kind of fiery,” she said. “I hit a great shot on No.1 to like six, seven feet and made it. I wanted to play fearless golf and not play away from pins, and commit to my shots. I hit some really good ones and I hit some iffy ones but with this wind and everything, you have to take the bad ones as best you can.”

Thompson’s win, with her brother on her bag, comes off the back of several top tens on the LPGA Tour this year with the hard work off the course paying off for the Floridian.

“I’ve been working extremely hard on my game,” the world no.4 said. “I felt like it was a matter of time, but I just wanted to put myself in contention in the final rounds and learn from the losses that I had and what I needed to work on, which I brought into today.”

Henderson, making her Aramco Team Series debut, found her best form of the week in the final round to make a late charge with a flurry of late birdies on the back nine in conditions that suited the supreme ball-striker. The Canadian carded a closing 68 for a tie of second on eight-under-par with Sagstrom.

Scotland’s Kylie Henry took fourth place with a best-of-the-day 67, while Annabel Dimmock faired best of the English continent with a share of seventh place on four under par. Charley Hull, fresh off her win on the LPGA Tour, could only finish in a tie for 58th, with her tournament hopes ended with an opening 10-over-par 82, which she followed up with rounds of 70 and 71.

The team event, which was decided the previous day, was won by Johanna Gustavsson, Jessica Karlsson, Karolin Lampert and New York college amateur Jennifer Rosenberg. They finished on -23 to win by two shots from Team Hewson (-21), with Team Maguire (-19) and Team Babnik (-19) in third respectively.

“It’s a win and it’s a team win, and it’s just great to celebrate with the others and have this kind of experience,” said Gustavsson, who captained the winning team. “The joy of winning is so much better when you share it. It’s just been great and having Jennifer with us, she’s got a bright future, turning pro soon, and I think we’ll see her again”.

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