How An Amateur Golfer Produced The Winning Moment In A Professional Event
Amateur LuJain Omar Khalil provided the winning moment on Saturday evening at the Aramco Team Series - Tampa
The Aramco Team Series provides professional female golfers with the opportunity to secure both team and individual accolades, with the first two days deciding which quartet picks up the team element.
Made up of three professionals and an amateur, the format works by the two best scores of the four counting towards the team score. This means that anyone could have the winning moment and, at the most recent Aramco Team Series event in Tampa, Florida, that was exactly the case, as LuJain Omar Khalil was forced to produce the pivotal moment for her side!
Captained by Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, Khalil was faced with a putt on the 18th green to give her four ball the victory at Feather Sound Country Club. Thankfully, for the 18-year-old amateur, she was able to convert for a four with a shot, to give her side the victory and the professionals a share of over $100,000.
Retaining the team title after her 2023 win, Roussin-Bouchard, whose team included Celine Herbin and Meghan MacLaren, added another title to her CV, whilst Khalil claimed a second successive team title having been part of Team Ciganda at the Aramco Team Series – Riyadh in October 2023.
“I am extremely proud,” reflected Roussin-Bouchard. “It's been a blast, honestly. There was an amazing atmosphere. Everyone was cheering on one another, and it was just a very good balance in the team. We had each other's back no matter what. We had some tough times especially with the wind, but it didn't get a hold of us. Honestly, I couldn't be more proud of the golfers, the way they handled everything.”
Roussin-Bouchard fired a 68 to help her team on Saturday
Speaking about her amateur's performance, the Frenchwoman added: “It was all about those last two holes; they were very stressful. It’s a team effort and LJ (LuJain) did well. She got very, very stressed out on that last putt, she worried she was going to lose it, but we're proud of her, a real credit to the team.”
The individual portion of the event finishes on Sunday and, currently, a number of big names are in contention, such as Charley Hull, Lexi Thompson and Carlota Ciganda.
