RIYADH: England’s Charley Hull stormed to victory at the Aramco Team Series in Riyadh on Saturday, closing with a 66 to secure her first tournament win since 2022.

Hull’s 18-under-par performance gave her a three-stroke lead over Denmark’s Nicole Broch Estrup, marking her sixth professional win and her fourth on the Ladies European Tour.

Hull attributed her success to her sharp play and solid putting. 

“I felt really sharp, I played very solidly today,” she said. “I made a bogey on the par five 17th and the par three, but that was just two three putts. So quite long putts, in all fairness, and they got away from me a little bit, but felt like I held my game together pretty well. And 18-under for three days is a pretty good score.”

Starting the final round two strokes behind Slovenia’s Pia Babnik, Hull quickly took control with an aggressive approach, sinking birdies throughout the front nine. 

Her momentum was especially evident on the par-5 fifth hole, where she drove close to the green, setting up a perfect chip that left her with a simple tap-in birdie.

“I was actually chatting to someone who was quite close to me before I started, and he said, get off to a fast start, try and get ahead,” Hull shared. “That's what I did — and it’s a good job I listened to them.”

Hull maintained her lead despite bogeys on the 14th and 17th, closing with a steady par on the 18th. Her friends Georgia Hall and Annabell Dimmock were there to celebrate as she sank her final putt, capping off a flawless week in Riyadh.

She now turns her focus to the final events of the LPGA Tour in the US before preparing for a major campaign in 2025. 

“I’m going home for a week, before I head back to America for the last two events in the LPGA Tour, which is the ANNIKA event, and then the CME Group Tour Championship. I like the Tour Championship golf course. I won there in 2016, so I’m looking forward to them too, and then home for Christmas, I can’t wait.”

The Aramco Team Series in Riyadh, one of five $1 million LET events hosted by Golf Saudi this season, capped off an impactful year for golf in Saudi Arabia. 

Golf Saudi CEO Noah Alireza praised the tournament, saying: “What an incredible week of golf we’ve enjoyed here in Riyadh — and what fitting and deserving champions we have in both Charley Hull and Team Tamburlini.”

Alireza also highlighted the event’s local influence, noting the participation of ten Saudi amateur players and the success of Golf Saudi’s Go Golf initiative, which has brought 58 new Saudi players into the game. 

“All of these are landmark moments as we continue to grow golf in Saudi Arabia. I’d like to thank all the players and partners who helped make this an unforgettable week of golf and we look forward to the return of the Aramco Team Series presented by PIF next year.”

RIYADH: Al-Hilal may have relinquished their 100 percent start to the 2024-25 Roshn Saudi League season, but for defender Kalidou Koulibaly, the Capital Derby was another display of the title-holders’ championship mettle.

Not even a minute had elapsed on Friday night when Al-Hilal went behind to chief rivals Al-Nassr, the hosts ahead through Anderson Talisca’s 55-second finish to send the majority of the 25,000-plus crowd at Al-Awwal Park wild in celebration.

Al-Hilal, to that point with eight wins from eight to begin the season where they left off last term, were in an instant in danger of their mammoth unbeaten RSL run coming to an end.

But, as champions do, they rallied. Indeed, they could have nicked a ninth successive win had a late claim for a penalty gone their way. However, as the middle of three marquee matches in the RSL’s inaugural Derby Week came to a close, Jorge Jesus’ side would settle for Sergej Milinkovic-Savic’s headed equalizer 13 minutes from time.

A gripping encounter, which included three disallowed goals and no shortage of competitive spikiness, ended in a 1-1 draw — and a share of the spoils.

“A good game against a nice team who were prepared,” Al-Hilal defender Koulibaly said. “They made a lot of difficulties for us, but the draw was fair because, as I said, they make a lot of trouble for us. But we always believed we could score this goal, and we scored it. So, we can be happy tonight.”

Al-Hilal, who last season enjoyed a record-breaking title triumph, thought they should have been granted the opportunity to win the derby in the closing stages, when they appealed vigorously for a penalty following a coming together between striker Aleksandar Mitrovic and Al-Nassr goalkeeper Bento.

Yet, following a VAR review, the initial decision of no infringement was upheld. Koulibaly, though, preferred to focus on the positives. Namely, his side’s formidable strength of character.

“I don’t like to speak about (the decision),” the former Napoli and Chelsea center-back said. “I’m a defender and when it’s a penalty it’s a penalty. We are not happy because it’s not for us this time, but the most important is the mentality of the team to come back.”

With the draw, Al-Hilal’s undefeated streak in the RSL stretches to 45 matches and all the way back to the tail end of the 2022-23 season. This campaign’s winning run halted, they still remain right where they want to be — after nine rounds, they are perched at the RSL summit, one point ahead of second-placed Al-Ittihad and six out in front of Al-Nassr, their great cross-city competitors, in third.

“For you we lost two points, but for us it’s OK,” Koulibaly told reporters. “We are used to seeing Al-Hilal always win but today was a tough game. We draw and we can feel OK. It’s difficult to win every game, to try to win every game. But we can happy also because it was against a strong team, and we were away from home.

“We were behind from the first minute, but we showed good character. I’m proud of my team.”

Asked what he would promise the Al-Hilal fans, many of whom chanted and cheered on their team from behind the goal in which Milinkovic-Savic secured the point, Koulibaly said: “We promise to continue like this. We are making a good performance in league, we are getting through some tough games. We will continue to work to build on our work.”

For now, Koulibaly said it did not matter that Matchweek 9 concluded with the capital club’s lead at the top reduced to a solitary point. Although, the RSL title race is undoubtedly heating up.

“We just look for Al-Hilal,” the Senegal international said. “We don’t look for anyone else.”