Team Wolf triumphs in Singapore

17 March 2023 – Team Wolf triumphed at the Aramco Team Series presented by Public Investment Fund – Singapore, claiming a one-stroke victory with a superb final round of 14-under-par.

After starting the day one shot behind leaders Team Young, Christine Wolf, Casandra Alexander, Eleanor Givens and amateur Katsuko Blalock backed up their great opening round with another excellent day at Laguna National.

It was a fast front nine as the Team soared to a score of 26-under, and Alexander sealed it for the team when she rolled in the crucial birdie on 18 to seal victory on a total of 29-under-par.

Captain Wolf said: “We all knew we needed a birdie on the last few holes and thank God, the girls pulled through. They’ve all played really well for the whole two days, and I couldn’t be prouder!”

It was a first LET title for Givens, who recently returned to the game after a medical time-out.

“This is definitely the peak of the comeback so far,” said Givens. “I’m really pleased. When I saw I was on the team with these two – Christine is one of my best friends and I love playing with Cas – I thought straight away we could have a really good chance here. I was looking forward to it.

“We’ve had really good fun, I was really pleased with some of the shots I hit. I was a little bit up and down today but there was a lot of good and I’m looking forward to the final day of the tournament tomorrow as well. It’s a nice first win for me and nice to do it with these three beside me.”

Alexander has been in this situation twice – winning the inaugural event in Jeddah as part of Team Pedersen in 2020 and again in Jeddah in 2022 with Team Garcia.

The South African explained: “I didn’t make many putts all day and I didn’t hit it close, so I was happy to hit it close on the last hole. As you’ve seen with my past performances in the Aramco Team Series, I like to leave it till the last minute and left it again.

“I was definitely very nervous; my heart was beating really fast. It’s not very often that you play below par individual golf and still have fun. We had a really good atmosphere and had good conversation. It was just fun.”

Team Roussin finished in second place on 28-under-par after a second round of 16-under which saw them move up the leaderboard.

Team Spilkova, Team Gustavsson and Team Kang ended the competition in a tie for third place one shot further back with Team Simmermacher, Team Law and Team Young on -25 in T6.

In the Individual competition, South Africa’s Nicole Garcia shares the lead with France’s Pauline Roussin and American Danielle Kang on seven-under.

Garcia, who led after the first round, had another solid day carding a round of 70 (-2) which included three birdies and one bogey. “Today, I think my scrambling and keeping it together was what went well. I was hoping a few more putts would have dropped but I was still hitting some good iron shots,” said the Investec player.

“I’m excited but probably also nervous for tomorrow. I’m normally chasing on the final day, so it’s quite a nice position to be in, we’ll see tomorrow how I feel. My golf feels solid so I’m hoping that tomorrow if I can just keep the rhythm that it will go well.”

Major champion Kang signed for a 68, which included eight birdies including three in a row on holes 13 through 15.

“I’m just trying to focus on whatever the shot that was in front of me and try not though think about anything else,” said the American.

“It’s been a little bit of a difficult week, so my caddie and I’ve been just staying in our own zone, our own bubble, and I think we did a good job today.”

It was also a solid day for LET winner Roussin, whose 69 included five birdies and two bogeys on day two.

Three players sit in a share of fourth place two shots behind the leaders with Dutch star Anne Van Dam, Austria’s Emma Spitz and Sweden’s Linn Grant on five-under-par.

Five players are in a tie for seventh place on four-under-par including world number one Lydia Ko, Czechia’s Klara Davidson Spilkova, Denmark’s Nicole Broch Estrup, England’s Bronte Law and Germany’s Chiara Noja