Photo by Tristan Jones/LET

By Matt Smith
Only 12 short months ago, a Dubai-based 15-year-old school student took her first step into a brave new world in professional sport.

Last October, Chiara Noja took the decision to become a professional golfer and set out on the Ladies European Tour Access Series in her quest to secure the playing rights on the LET proper in 2023 that come with claiming one of the LETAS Order of Merit top-six spots.

Fast-forward one year and, following a hectic schedule that took her around the world, Chiara is back in Dubai and in schoolkid mode, preparing for her GCSEs — with her LET card in hand.

While cramming and recovering from weeks on the road, the German teenager has been juggling her career as a pro, and the demands that come with that, with another life as a student looking for the best grades in her exams. 

After what has been an exhausting 12 months, and with mock exams going on following her visit to Ferry Point to compete in the Aramco Team Series — New York event, Chiara still has one competition circled on her 2022 calendar: the ATS finale at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in Jeddah from November 10-12. 

“Has it been 12 months?” Chiara asks Golf Digest Middle East, having taken time out from her studying for a quick chat. “That’s right! It was almost exactly a year ago I turned pro,” she confirms.

“It has certainly been a very busy year. It has flown by. I have spent five-and-a-half action-packed months on the road in total, but it was worth it.

“Thankfully I got a win early on at the Amundi [Czech Ladies Challenge in June] and that set me up nicely in the Order of Merit and gave me the confidence to keep up the standards. 

“I was also competing on the Aramco Team Series events thanks to my Golf Saudi backing, so it was quite exhausting.

“The LETAS kept adding events, and I told myself this is a marathon, not a sprint, and took the decision to take a break and select the events I wanted to play in.”

With her card safe, Chiara opted to skip the final three events of the LETAS season, opting instead to concentrate on her studies and the Aramco events in New York and Jeddah instead, knowing it would mean missing out on top spot in the LETAS Order of Merit. 

“It was a very good decision to take a break,” she insists. “Sure, I finished second in the Order of Merit and could have won it if I continued to play, but I was playing my ‘C’ game and it was better to recharge. The No. 1 goal was achieving playing rights on the LET 2023. My card was safe so taking a break was the right thing to do. 

“Honestly, winning the Order of Merit would have been the cherry on top of a great season, but going into it we knew what the aim was and we achieved that.”

She adds with a chuckle: “It was a lovely season — exhausting, but lovely.”

Reflecting on all those weeks of competition, it is clear in Chiara’s mind what the highlight was.

“The Aramco events. Definitely,” she says. “I got to be the kid again playing with the big girls, and I learnt so much. To play alongside the Kordas (LPGA star sisters Nelly and Jessica) and Lexi (Thompson, the Aramco New York champ and world No. 7) was amazing and an honour. 

“I finished T-11 in New York and that showed me how far I had come. On caddie came up and asked me: ‘How do you keep your concentration?’ But I am just soaking it all up and hoping to improve each event. 

“That result in New York really gave me confidence I can compete with the LET players next season. I have no goals other than getting some top 20s and maybe a few top 10s but I have no worries about keeping my card.”

Now, here comes the tricky part — being a 16-year-old student and an LET pro at the same time.

“Like I said, I have no worries about my card, I will just need to balance preparing for my GCSEs and choosing when to play on Tour. 

“My grades would be better without the golf, for sure, and my golf would be better without the studying. But being a full-time student and a golfer has definitely made life more interesting!”

Looking ahead to her final bow of 2022, the Aramco Team Series — Jeddah, Chiara can’t wait to get going.

“Royal Greens is like a second home to me, really, as I have played the Saudi International twice and also on the ATS last year. It is a challenging course to play, due to the wind, but I know it quite well by now.”

One thing that Chiara is not looking forward to is the possibility of stifling humidity in Jeddah at this time of year. 

“The Saudi International is played early in the year and the weather has been perfect, but the ATS last year was roasting and exhausting. Hopefully the weather gets a bit cooler by the time we arrive.”

Those appearances in Jeddah and at other events around the globe have been in part thanks to the support Chiara has received from Golf Saudi, for whom she is now an Ambassador, alongside the likes of Emily Pedersen, Anna Nordqvist, Anne Van Dam, Bronte Law and Carlota Ciganda.

“Even before I turned pro, Golf Saudi gave me incredible support and believed in me,” Chiara explains. “They managed to get me into a number of tournaments, and without those events I would not be where I am or be as good a player as I am now.

“They have been so positive in helping grow the game and are very clear in that vision — helping grow the game in the Kingdom and also globally, while encouraging women to take up the sport.

“Also the money they have invested in the shape of purses for events such as the Aramcos and Saudi International … without these events, the Ladies European Tour would not be what it has now become. 

“Then there is the way you are treated at these events. You get pampered, properly looked after — be it the travel, the courses, hotels, food … you get a little spoilt at these events.” Again, there is that chuckle.

“It is great to see these developments, especially in the womens’ game,” she continues. “It is so nice to be shown respect as an athlete.”

Looking further ahead, once school is completed, Chiara is planning to play it a bit by ear. 

“I don’t know really,” she admits. “Maybe I will look into the online courses that some of the other girls have done to get degrees. I like to be stimulated, so I will wait and see what takes my fancy as we go along. But right now, golf is the No. 1 focus.”