• 13 February 2025
• -
• 2 minutes read

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia [February 13, 2025] – Korea’s Somi Lee has taken the solo lead in the $5 million PIF Saudi Ladies International, scoring a sensational seven under par 65 in the first round at Riyadh Golf Club.

The 26-year-old raced to four under par on the front nine before dropping three crucial birdie putts in the last four holes to top the leaderboard, one shot clear from Germany’s Esther Henseleit and Annabel Fuller from England.

Continuing with the good form that gave her a top 15 finish in last week’s Founders Cup, Lee isn’t going to get ahead of herself. After her round she said: “I don’t want to think about what has passed. I just want to think about what’s coming and that’s my main focus.”

The PIF Saudi Ladies International has welcomed an innovative new format including a team element alongside individual competition for the 112-strong field featuring many of the world’s best women golfers.

A combination of Lee’s heroics, alongside a similarly stunning 67 from teammate and compatriot Minsun Kim, helped Team Lee – completed with France’s Nastasia Nadaud and Amy Taylor of England – reach a total of -17, which would be second only to Team Kyriacou.

The two-time Ladies European Tour winner was joined by Germany’s Olivia Cowan, Sara Kouskova from Czechia and Liz Young, who – in the words of their Australian skipper – “ham and egged really well!”

The 24-year-old also relied on a strong finish to support her team with four birdies in the last five holes. She added: “I wasn’t really doing much for the first 14 holes but I was able to turn it on the last few that will help us going into tomorrow.”

Teammate Cowan contributed an eye-popping eight birdies en route to the team including a near ace on the par-3 17th. Elsewhere, Thai 20-year-old April Angurasaranee made her first hole-in-one holing a well-struck 6-iron on the sixth hole to the delight of her fellow countrywoman and team captain Moriya Jutanugarn.

The PIF Saudi Ladies International features a unique format with 28 teams of four professional as the top two scores on each hole count towards the team score.

One of the tournament’s most significant milestones is its equal prize fund to the men’s event, the PIF Saudi International Presented by SoftBank, an important step forward for women’s golf.

Round two continues on Friday, February 14.