What Golf Saudi’s Aramco Team Series event in New York means for LPGA

Lexi Thompson won for the first time in three years at the Aramco Team Series event at Trump Golf Links Ferry Point. The victory certainly meant plenty to Thompson, who last won at the 2019 ShopRite LPGA Classic and has suffered a number of heartbreaking losses.

But what does it mean for the LPGA?

It’s a complex question.

There are six events on the Ladies European Tour schedule that are sponsored by Golf Saudi and the Public Investment Fund (PIF). The Aramco Team Series and it’s $1 million purses have no doubt added a significant amount of money to the LET schedule, where it’s tough to make a living. Only 29 players have made over 100,000 euros so far this season, and that’s without travel costs and other team/caddie expenses.

The Aramco events are not official LPGA events, but the LPGA did enter into a joint venture with the LET in 2019.

From a financial standpoint, it’s lucrative for LPGA players to compete in Aramco events, even if the purses are smaller than those on the LPGA. Organizers offer appearance fees to LPGA players, a rare occurrence in the women’s game. The events also carry world ranking points.

Several of the top stars who competed in the Aramco event in New York did not compete in the LPGA event that preceded it in California, nor will they be in the field at this week’s BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea or two weeks later in Japan.

It’s worth noting that with the Taiwan event gone from the schedule, there’s a week off between the events in South Korea and Japan, making it a tough Asian swing.

Still, some of the big names at Aramco won’t be playing on the LPGA again until the Pelican Women’s Championship in mid-November. That’s a six-week break from the LPGA.

.@eamonlynch, @GolfweekNichols and @ToddLewisGC discuss the Saudi-backed Aramco Team Series, and the potential for further Saudi involvement in the women’s game #GolfToday 🏌️‍♀️⛳ pic.twitter.com/dhio5tPkwF

— Golf Today (@GCGolfToday) October 17, 2022

LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman has made it clear that they’re interested in a women’s tour. LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan has said that she will meet with LIV. What comes of those conversations remains unknown, but it’s clear from the field in New York – and many previous Aramco fields – that LPGA stars are comfortable taking money from Saudi Arabia. In some cases, they’re comfortable enough to wear the Aramco and Golf Saudi logos.

Last week at Ferry Point, Lexi…