Nelly Korda, Lexi Thompson among LPGA stars set to compete in Golf Saudi’s Aramco Team Series in New York

With the LPGA off this week, a number of the game’s biggest stars head to Long Island, New York, for the Ladies European Tour’s Aramco Team Series.

This marks the third stop in the four-tournament series that was introduced this year. Nelly Korda, Lexi Thompson, Jessica Korda, Danielle Kang and Lizette Salas are among the American players in the field.

European Solheim Cup stars Charley Hull, Anna Nordqvist, Sophia Popov, Emily Kristine Pedersen and captain Catriona Matthew will be on hand as well, Oct. 14-16 at Glen Oaks Club.

Three pros and one amateur will compete for a share of $800,000, along with an additional $200,000 purse for the leading individual scores. Other sponsor invites include Cheyenne Woods, Anne Van Dam, Bronte Law, Lindsay Weaver, Alison Lee, Gabi Ruffels and Angel Yin.

The event carries points for World Rankings and the Race to Costa del Sol, a season-long race that determines the LET’s top golfer. The first two stops in the series were in London and Sotogrande.

The tournament uses an NFL-style draft system in which each captain picks their first player before being randomly allocated a third professional and competing amateur.

The final stop of the series will be next month in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Golf Saudi owns the Aramco Team Series.

Last year, several of the LPGA’s biggest stars traveled to Saudi Arabia for the country’s first women’s golf events. Pedersen won back-to-back events in Saudi Arabia to claim the Race to Costa del Sol title.

Top male players drew criticism for teeing it up in the men’s Saudi event in 2019 and 2020, particularly in the wake of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.

Dustin Johnson, who ultimately won the inaugural event, said, “It’s my job to play golf.” Justin Rose, who competed in 2019 but not in 2020, added, “I’m not a politician, I’m a pro golfer.”

While some of Saudi Arabia’s discriminatory laws against women have relaxed in recent years – women can now drive cars and travel abroad without permission from their male guardian – it remains one of the most gender-segregated countries in the world.