Lydia Ko "Competing in February Saudi Ladies International"

Possibility of Missing the LPGA Tour Opener on January 19

World No. 1 Lydia Ko (New Zealand, photo) will participate in the Ladies European Tour (LET) event held in Saudi Arabia in February.

On the 11th (local time), the US Golf Channel reported, "Lydia Ko will compete in the LET Aramco Saudi Ladies International, which takes place over four days starting February 16 at the King Abdullah Economic City Royal Greens Golf Club." Sponsored by Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company Aramco, the tournament offers a total prize fund of $5 million (approximately 6.2 billion KRW), with the winner's prize being $750,000 (about 930 million KRW). This is the largest prize money offered in LET history outside of major championships.

Lydia Ko won this tournament in 2021. She said, "It is a place with good memories from two years ago," and added, "I am already looking forward to the tournament." She also commented, "It is desirable that the prize money for men and women is becoming similar," and "We are moving in the right direction."

On December 30 last year, Lydia Ko married Jung Joon, the only son of Chung Tae-young, Vice Chairman of Hyundai Card, at Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul. Lydia Ko has not yet registered to participate in the Hilton Grand Vacations Champions Tournament (total prize money $1.5 million), the opening event of the 2023 LPGA Tour season held over four days starting on the 19th in Orlando, Florida, so it is likely she will not participate.

There is no LPGA Tour schedule during the Aramco Saudi Ladies International tournament period, and the following week on February 23, the LPGA Tour Honda Thailand will be held in Thailand. This will be followed by the HSBC Women's World Championship (Singapore, March 2?5) and the Blue Bay LPGA (China, March 9?13), forming the ‘Asian Swing.’

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.