The final round of the Ladies European Tour Aramco Team Series is upon us, and two players who have high hopes for the tournament at Riyadh Golf Club are ready to roll on Friday morning.

Australia’s Minjee Lee comes into the event on the back of impressive wins in Ohio and South Korea on the LPGA Tour in the past month.

She will line up in a field that includes world No. 1 and two-time 2023 major winner Lilia Vu and Solheim Cup hero Carlota Ciganda.

There is another golfer in the field that — despite her young age of 17 — the best players will be wary of, as Dubai-based star Chiara Noja returns to Saudi Arabia to defend the title she won in Jeddah 12 months ago.

Minjee Lee. LET

Lee is not one to back away from a challenge however.

“I had a little bit of a slow start to the beginning of the year,” she told media at Riyadh Golf Club on Thursday afternoon. “But I have had two wins in the last three starts, so I’m feeling pretty good with my game. I got a lot of confidence from the first swing and obviously coming off BMW [Korea] last week. I feel pretty good to be here.

“I played the back nine yesterday. I’ve actually been here before, but I don’t really remember a lot of the holes. I was here a couple years ago, so maybe it’s very different, but a few of the holes I kind of remembered. But the course is in great condition. And I think the wind is a lot of its defence. So hopefully the wind is blowing and we have a good challenge ahead of us.”

One year on from that epic playoff against her childhood idol, Charley Hull, Noja is also on a high with fond memories of her victory in Saudi last year at the age of 16, and is fighting fit again after a recent shoulder problem.

“It’s been a good season, obviously shame with the injury last few weeks,” Noja said. “It’s really nice to be back, obviously a good opportunity to try to kind of reminisce. It is a little bit different a golf course this week but it’s really beautiful. I’m looking forward to defending.

“Obviously, Royal Greens is right by the sea. So the winds kind of always pretty steady direction. I feel like you kind of know which way it’s gonna blow, whereas I feel like both times I’ve played Riyadh it’s kind of blown a little differently. But golf-wise, it’s a similar layout. You know, it kind of plays similarly. So it should be a good week.”

Once again, Noja is balancing her studies and golf career as she is finishing off her GCSEs, and had to make a sprint for Saudi after her latest test.

“Yeah, I had my exam yesterday,” she said. “So it’s been a busy few days. I had biology. And then when I get back, it’s chemistry. I flew out last month to play two rounds here. So I kind of got a little bit of a feel for the course. Obviously, it’s a little different. When I was here, the 10th tee was somewhere completely different. But that’s the Middle East for you. They get things done very quickly.

Reflecting on her rise since turning professional at the age of 15, Noja was smiling again. “I mean, I was definitely dreaming,” she said. “I didn’t think it was gonna be reality. I mean, it’s really cool being able to sit next to these people [press conference partners Lee, Ciganda and Vu]. So I’m really looking forward to playing this week and having a strong field and obviously, yeah, it’s these tournaments usually have strong field. So it’s really great to sort of be able to compete against the best in the world.”

Back to Lee, and she got to see another UAE-prospect up close during practice on Wednesday — 13-year-old Maya Palanza Gaudin, who is competing as an amateur and the youngest player in the field this week.

“I got to play with her the last three holes that I played,” Lee said of her young (13!!) playing partner. “I also played with Pia [Babnik] and Virginia [Elena Carta]. Maya was actually really good. I had only heard a few things about her. She has a really great story and she won the [Augusta] Drive, Chip & Putt. She was driving pretty, like really quite long. She did it really straight, and chipped it amazing. And she I think she parred all three holes. So she’s just gonna do pretty well this week.”

High praise indeed from the two-time major winner…

Main image: Chiara Noja. Neville Hopwood