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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Czechia’s Sara Kouskova capped off an impressive first year as a professional, which included three wins, by securing the top spot in the LET Access Series Order of Merit and Rookie of the Year standings.

The 23-year-old returned to Europe after graduating from the University of Texas in May, just in time to make her first professional appearance at the 2022 Czech Ladies Challenge being held at her home course in early June.

Kouskova launched her professional career with second place at Prague City Golf Club and followed that with 13th and 22nd placed finishes on the Ladies European Tour in Czechia and Germany, respectively.

“This season has been very long, but extremely rewarding, and I’m glad I chose to play on LETAS this season to earn my LET card for next year,” said Kouskova said, who clinched her first pro win at the 2021 Czech Ladies Challenge while still an amateur.

She continued: “Back in June, I knew that I could secure my card through LETAS, but actually winning the Order of Merit and Rookie of the Year was something I couldn’t even imagine back then and it’s just a cherry on top.”

The Czech rookie focused on the LETAS schedule in the second half of the season, clinching her first professional win at the Santander Golf Tour Malaga before getting back-to-back victories at the Elite Hotels Open in Sweden and the ASGI Lavaux Ladies Open in Switzerland.

“All three wins were a bit different, but all of them are very special to me. I have so many great takeaways from not only these events, but also those where I fought until the very last shot to be in contention.”

Kouskova also added three top-five and one further top-10 finish in her ten starts to claim both 2022 titles on the development tour.

“I think that more than just the results, it was important to gain all the experience and information in my first pro season. I want to utilise everything I’ve learned during the upcoming seasons when I’ll play with the best players in Europe and in the world.”

The top six in the Access Series Order of Merit have earned Ladies European Tour cards for next season. Joining Kouskova on the European women’s top tier tour will be Chiara Noja, Momoka Kobori, Patricia Isabel Schmidt, Lauren Holmey and Anna Magnusson.

England’s Amy Taylor missed out on winning a full Ladies European Tour card by just one spot, finishing in seventh place, less than 10 points behind Magnusson. The 21-year-old from Bawburgh Golf Club won last week’s Calatayud Ladies Open, and had five other top-10 finishes, but it wasn’t quite enough to earn her card.

Gemma Clews took ninth place during a season which saw the Delamere player enjoy an impressive 11 top-10 finishes from 17 starts.

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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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If you have even hinted to your phone or computer that you like golf, chances are you have seen a Blue Tees ad. Blue Tees Golf  comes at you hard and fast with marketing and promotion. Hype or fact?

To find out, we put the Blue Tees Golf Series 3 Max rangefinder to the test as part of our 2022 Best Golf Rangefinder review.

The ads for Blue Tees make it seem like you are a cool golfer as soon as you own one of these rangefinders. As is our mandate, we were more concerned about the accuracy, speed, optics and features. In our Blue Tees Golf Series 3 Max rangefinder review, we will give you all the details you need to determine if this product is for you.

Blue Tees Golf Series 3 Max Rangefinder Details

The Blue Tees Golf Series 3 Max rangefinder is compact, affordable and has some features we see in more premium-priced rangefinders. One of the first things you need to know is that it is a “slope” rangefinder and you can quickly toggle that function on and off so you can use this in your next competitive event.

The Blue Tees Golf Series 3 Max claims to be accurate to within one yard from as far away as 900 yards. With the Blue Tees Golf Series 3, you will get a built-in magnetic strip and it holds on to the cart well. The water-resistant casing is a bonus.

Another important feature is the display. Even if you have trouble seeing through laser rangefinders, this is a clear display with black or red text options to choose from.

Pros

• Very easy to use
• Accurate to within one yard
• Built-in magnetic strip
• Comes with extra batteries and a two-year warranty
• The slope function is easy to turn on and off
• Seven-times magnification
• Short vibrating pulse to confirm target is locked in

Cons

• Accuracy not as good as premium models
• Slightly cheaper-feeling housing
• If the slope is turned on, only one number shows
• Anything over 200 yards may need to be measured more than once

How We Test

As part of our 2022 Best Rangefinder test, we looked at 24 rangefinders and tested them for a total of 24 hours. The products were used to get both long and far distances. Our main categories for rating the rangefinders were accuracy, speed, optics, display, features and a total overall rating.

Blue Tees Golf Series 3 Max Rangefinder Review

The Blue Tees Golf Series 3 Max rangefinder did not fare as well as we had hoped in the 2022 Best Rangefinder test. With all the marketing and positivity behind this product, its overall finish of 14th out of 24 was disappointing.

Accuracy

Blue Tees was 18th out of 24 for accuracy. These days, accuracy within one yard is not good enough. However, the problem with the Blue Tees rangefinder is not the accuracy from 150 yards in but once you move out of that range. The pin-seeker technology does not grab the pin quite as well as it should and users have a hard time trusting the number. If you primarily use your rangefinder inside 150, this may not bother you.

Speed

The speed rating was 12th out of 24. This is nothing to be alarmed about as we certainly didn’t feel like we were waiting for yardage to load up. It’s just not really quick. When the slope is turned on, this rangefinder tends to be even a little slower.

Optics

The optics scored 14th out of 24. Again, not great. One of the significant issues goes back to the model’s inaccuracy. Players often look for better optics to have a clear view and genuinely know they have hit the pin. Blue Tees optics are clear; it’s not difficult to see through but they don’t improve any of the accuracy or confidence when we needed it to. The seven-times magnification is a great feature.

Display

The display scored eighth out of 24, the best category for the Blue Tees Golf Series 3 Max rangefinder. With the display, you can choose between black or red and you will only see one number at all times. For those who want info delivered cleanly and efficiently, Blue Tees will do the trick.

Features

The features ended up right in the middle of the pack with a 12 out of 24 for their final spot. Honestly, this is where the Blue Tees Golf Series 3 Max rangefinder should be. There is nothing overly unique about the unit but it’s also not lacking in any major way. There are just no significant bells and whistles that can move the Blue Tees up the list.

Overall

The final placement of the Blue Tees Series 3 Max rangefinder was 14th with a score of 86 out of 100. Compared to the top finisher, the Bushnell Pro XE at 94.5, the performance was not that great. Again, the Bushnell and the Blue Tees are different price points but you have to consider what matters the most. Most golfers would agree the most critical feature is accuracy.

Tester Feedback

Here are a few things we noticed about the Blue Tees and its performance during the testing.

• The case felt a bit lower in quality than other rangefinders.
• Magnetic cart mount works quite well.
• Compact size of the unit is nice and it is easy to hold steady in the hand.
• If there is a bush or tree behind the pin, the pin-seeker technology struggles.
• The clean display helped pre-shot routine be a little quicker, especially for those with vision issues.

My Golf Spy Feedback

Bottom Line

This is not the most accurate model on the market. It’s got good features, a clean and sleek look and a simple-to-read display. The Series 3 is about half the price of some top rangefinders on the market and that affects accuracy when you are looking at golf rangefinders. Bottom line: If you mainly use your rangefinder for yardages less than 150 yards, this is a good tool.

FAQ

Can you turn the slope off on Blue Tees rangefinders?

The slope is easily turned off and on when using the Blue Tees Series 3 Max so this model is appropriate for tournament play.

Are Blue Tees rangefinders rechargeable?

Blue Tees Series 3 Max rangefinders are not rechargeable and need CR2 batteries.

Is Blue Tees a cheap rangefinder?

Blue Tees rangefinders don’t cost as much as options like Bushnell or Nikon. Still, Blue Tees is not the cheapest rangefinder out there.

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