Ladies European Tour: Chiara Noja, 16, snatched a stunning play-off victory in Jeddah, depriving Charley Hull of an Aramco Team Series championship.
At Royal Greens Golf and Country Club, Hull, the overnight leader, shot a four-under 68 on the final day to tie Noja for the lead at 13 under after the latter shot the day’s low score of 65.
In the playoff, the competitors went back to the par-five 18th, where they traded birdies before Chiara Noja won her first championship on the Ladies European Tour with a birdie on the second extra hole.
𝑪𝑯𝑰𝑨𝑹𝑨 𝑰𝑺 𝑨 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑴𝑷𝑰𝑶𝑵
16-year-old @thechiaranoja wins the @Aramco_Series Jeddah champion. Massive congrats Chiara🏆🌟 #RaiseOurGame | #BringTheEnergy pic.twitter.com/cKSMFE9QoM
— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) November 12, 2022
How Noja in Saudi Arabia astounded Hull
Noja started the round with back-to-back birdies, eagled the par-five fourth, picked up another stroke at the seventh, and then bogeyed the next par-three.
The German teenager rallied, making three birdies in a stretch of four holes around the turn, and took the lead when she holed a putt from 20 feet at the 16th hole. However, she faltered significantly after making a bogey at the next hole and failed to make a birdie at the par-five penultimate hole.
Hull had a level-par round at the halfway point but surged back into the race with four birdies in a five-hole stretch starting at the 13th. After 54 holes, she was tied with Noja.
Despite running off the back of the green with her approach shot on the second extra hole after nearly holing out from the rough for albatross, the Englishwoman holed from eight feet to match Noja’s two-putt birdie on the first extra hole.
Hull missed her birdie attempt from 15 feet because she was unable to get up and down, but Noja got to the putting surface in two strokes and made a two-putt for the victory.
Nicole Garcia fired a five-under 67 and finished third, one shot ahead of Virginia Elena Carta, who shot a final-round 69. Bronte Law and Lee-Anne Pace tied for fifth place at 10 under.
Team Garcia defeated Team Wolf, led by Christine Wolf, in a play-off to win the team tournament after Casandra Alexander made a birdie on the first extra hole. The teams tied after the first two rounds with scores of 29 under.
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