The Ladies European Tour is a professional golf tour for women which was founded in 1978. It is based at Buckinghamshire Golf Club near London in England. Like many UK-based sports organisations it is a company limited by guarantee, a legal structure which enables it to focus on maximising returns to its members through prize money, rather than on making profits for investors. The tour is run by a board of directors and a Players' Council. Most of the players on the tour are European, with members from more than 40 countries internationally. The tour operates tournaments across five continents.
The U.S.-based LPGA was founded in 1950, but women's professional golf was slower to get established in Europe. In 1978 the Women's Professional Golfers' Association (WPGA) was formed as part of Professional Golfers' Association of Great Britain and Ireland. A tour was established the following year with Carlsberg as the main sponsor, supporting 12 36-hole tournaments, with several other tournaments including the Women's British Open on the schedule.[1][2] For the first two seasons, the majority of tournaments were held over 36-holes; in 1981, that increased to 54-holes. Total prize money on the tour was planned to rise to £250,000 in 1981, from £80,000 in the inaugural season,[3] but several tournaments and pro-ams were lost after sponsors withdrew.[4]
Carlsberg ended their sponsorship after the 1981 season,[5] and despite initial optimism,[6] the tour experienced further problems during its fourth season in 1982 as several more events were cancelled. The circuit was left with just ten tournaments, from which few players could make a living, and the future of the WPGA was being questioned.[7]
In 1988 the tour members decided to form an independent company, the Women Professional Golfers' European Tour Limited. This new company moved away from the PGA's headquarters at The Belfry and set up its own headquarters at the Tytherington Club in Cheshire. In 1998 the Tour changed its name to European Ladies' Professional Golf Association Limited and again in July 2000 to Ladies European Tour Limited. In 2008 the tour relocated to offices at the Buckinghamshire Golf Club, which is just outside London.[8] In 2010, the LET Access Series (LETAS) was launched as the official development tour.
In January 2020, the Ladies European Tour entered into a joint venture arrangement with the LPGA Tour, with the stated aim of "increasing playing opportunities for female golfers in Europe". The board of directors of Ladies European Golf Venture Limited, which assumed control of the tour, includes high level representatives from the LPGA Tour, European Tour, and The R&A. The 2020 season is the first edition of the Race to Costa Del Sol.
Tournaments
Unlike in men's golf, the European and American tours do not share a common set of majors, although the Women's British Open and The Evian Championship are currently recognised as majors by both organisations.
The Ladies European Tour organises the Solheim Cup when in Europe and in 2011, the Tour received a boost when the European side won for The Cup for the fourth time on home soil at Killeen Castle in Ireland. The success continued when Europe earned an historic first away victory at Colorado Golf Club, winning The Cup for the fifth time in 2013.
A record 26 official money events were scheduled for the 2008 season, which also saw the introduction of a new team competition called the European Ladies Golf Cup. Also, for the first time in several years, the LET scheduled an event opposite one of the LPGA's majors, with the ABN AMRO Open held opposite the LPGA Championship. The schedule dropped to 23 official money events in 2009, but increased to 25 for 2010. In both years, the Ladies Open of Portugal was scheduled opposite the LPGA Championship.
The 2016 schedule featured 21 events including the Olympic Golf Competition in Rio de Janeiro (the biennial Solheim Cup, held in odd-numbered years, is also an official LET event but will next be played in 2017 in Iowa).[9] The total of events has been in steep decline since 2016; the peak was 28 in 2008. The two richest events by far are the two European Majors: The Evian Championship (historically the Evian Masters) and the Women's British Open. In 2016, 10 other events (in Australia, China, Morocco, England, Scotland, Germany, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Japan and Dubai) had prize funds in excess of €450,000, with the remainder having prize funds of between €200,000 and €400,000. Total prize money from the 2016 events passed €14 million.
Individual LET tournaments have purses fixed in a mixture of Australian dollars, British pounds, euro, New Zealand dollars and U.S. dollars, so year on year changes in the total prize fund reflect exchange rate fluctuations as well as prize fund movements in constant currencies.
The Order of Merit is awarded to the leading money winner on the tour, though for some years in the past a points system was used. The Player's Player of the Year award is voted by the members of the Tour for the member they believe has contributed the most to the season on the Tour. The Rookie of the Year (known as the Bill Johnson Trophy from 1999 to 2003 and now the Ryder Cup Wales Rookie of the Year) is awarded to the leading first-year player on the Order of Merit rankings.
^Individual events counting towards the Order of Merit only. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland counted separately.
^Individual events counting towards the Order of Merit only. Excludes team events and qualifying school.
References
^Ryde, Peter (18 May 1978). "Quality will decide if new WPGA acorn grows into mighty oak". The Times. p. 12. Retrieved 24 September 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
^Mair, Lewine (31 October 1978). "Women's professional tour becomes a reality". The Times. p. 8. Retrieved 24 September 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
^Plumridge, Christopher (9 December 1980). "Women's circuit is booming". The Guardian. London, England. p. 21. Retrieved 24 September 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
^Hennessy, John (17 March 1981). "Bleak prspect of drop in prize money for women". The Times. p. 11. Retrieved 24 September 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
^"Sponsors sought for Balgownie". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 16 February 1982. Retrieved 25 September 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^Jacobs, Raymond. "Faldo well on the way towards a 'safe' figure". Glasgow Herald. Retrieved 25 September 2020 – via Google News Archive.
^Hennessy, John (17 August 1982). "A year when women have a slim chance of survival". The Times. p. 16. Retrieved 25 September 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
^"About the Ladies European Tour". Ladies European Tour. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
^ (Press release). Ladies European Tour. 7 December 2013. Archived from the original on 29 October 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
^. Ladies European Tour. 7 December 2013. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
^ abc. Ladies European Tour. 20 December 2012. Archived from the original on 8 January 2013. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Ladies European Tour news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2011 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Ladies European Tour is a professional golf tour for women which was founded in 1978 It is based at Buckinghamshire Golf Club near London in England Like many UK based sports organisations it is a company limited by guarantee a legal structure which enables it to focus on maximising returns to its members through prize money rather than on making profits for investors The tour is run by a board of directors and a Players Council Most of the players on the tour are European with members from more than 40 countries internationally The tour operates tournaments across five continents Ladies European TourCurrent season competition or edition 2023 Ladies European TourSportGolfFounded1978CEOAlexandra ArmasCountriesBased in Europe Schedule includes events outside Europe in Oceania Asia Africa and the United States Most titlesLaura Davies 45 RelatedcompetitionsEuropean TourOfficial websitehttp ladieseuropeantour com Contents 1 History 2 Tournaments 3 2023 schedule and results 4 Past tour schedules 5 Order of Merit and seasonal award winners 6 Notes 7 References 8 See also 9 External linksHistory EditThe U S based LPGA was founded in 1950 but women s professional golf was slower to get established in Europe In 1978 the Women s Professional Golfers Association WPGA was formed as part of Professional Golfers Association of Great Britain and Ireland A tour was established the following year with Carlsberg as the main sponsor supporting 12 36 hole tournaments with several other tournaments including the Women s British Open on the schedule 1 2 For the first two seasons the majority of tournaments were held over 36 holes in 1981 that increased to 54 holes Total prize money on the tour was planned to rise to 250 000 in 1981 from 80 000 in the inaugural season 3 but several tournaments and pro ams were lost after sponsors withdrew 4 Carlsberg ended their sponsorship after the 1981 season 5 and despite initial optimism 6 the tour experienced further problems during its fourth season in 1982 as several more events were cancelled The circuit was left with just ten tournaments from which few players could make a living and the future of the WPGA was being questioned 7 In 1988 the tour members decided to form an independent company the Women Professional Golfers European Tour Limited This new company moved away from the PGA s headquarters at The Belfry and set up its own headquarters at the Tytherington Club in Cheshire In 1998 the Tour changed its name to European Ladies Professional Golf Association Limited and again in July 2000 to Ladies European Tour Limited In 2008 the tour relocated to offices at the Buckinghamshire Golf Club which is just outside London 8 In 2010 the LET Access Series LETAS was launched as the official development tour In January 2020 the Ladies European Tour entered into a joint venture arrangement with the LPGA Tour with the stated aim of increasing playing opportunities for female golfers in Europe The board of directors of Ladies European Golf Venture Limited which assumed control of the tour includes high level representatives from the LPGA Tour European Tour and The R amp A The 2020 season is the first edition of the Race to Costa Del Sol Tournaments EditUnlike in men s golf the European and American tours do not share a common set of majors although the Women s British Open and The Evian Championship are currently recognised as majors by both organisations The Ladies European Tour organises the Solheim Cup when in Europe and in 2011 the Tour received a boost when the European side won for The Cup for the fourth time on home soil at Killeen Castle in Ireland The success continued when Europe earned an historic first away victory at Colorado Golf Club winning The Cup for the fifth time in 2013 A record 26 official money events were scheduled for the 2008 season which also saw the introduction of a new team competition called the European Ladies Golf Cup Also for the first time in several years the LET scheduled an event opposite one of the LPGA s majors with the ABN AMRO Open held opposite the LPGA Championship The schedule dropped to 23 official money events in 2009 but increased to 25 for 2010 In both years the Ladies Open of Portugal was scheduled opposite the LPGA Championship The 2016 schedule featured 21 events including the Olympic Golf Competition in Rio de Janeiro the biennial Solheim Cup held in odd numbered years is also an official LET event but will next be played in 2017 in Iowa 9 The total of events has been in steep decline since 2016 the peak was 28 in 2008 The two richest events by far are the two European Majors The Evian Championship historically the Evian Masters and the Women s British Open In 2016 10 other events in Australia China Morocco England Scotland Germany Abu Dhabi Qatar Japan and Dubai had prize funds in excess of 450 000 with the remainder having prize funds of between 200 000 and 400 000 Total prize money from the 2016 events passed 14 million 2023 schedule and results EditMain article 2023 Ladies European TourPast tour schedules EditIndividual LET tournaments have purses fixed in a mixture of Australian dollars British pounds euro New Zealand dollars and U S dollars so year on year changes in the total prize fund reflect exchange rate fluctuations as well as prize fund movements in constant currencies Year Rankingtournaments Countries a Total purse b 2022 34 22 5 375 000 US 24 700 0002021 23 152020 24 18 17 834 0002019 20 132018 15 9 11 486 8882017 16 112016 21 15 14 063 1492015 20 14 12 638 0132014 23 18 11 502 8402013 22 17 10 870 6182012 24 19 11 806 6802011 25 20 11 182 5002010 25 21 11 055 5252009 21 16 9 940 3582008 28 21 11 647 8142007 24 18 10 563 9502006 20 16 9 674 5362005 18 14 7 875 2552004 15 10 7 298 2452003 14 10 7 442 1622002 14 10 7 626 724Order of Merit and seasonal award winners EditThe Order of Merit is awarded to the leading money winner on the tour though for some years in the past a points system was used The Player s Player of the Year award is voted by the members of the Tour for the member they believe has contributed the most to the season on the Tour The Rookie of the Year known as the Bill Johnson Trophy from 1999 to 2003 and now the Ryder Cup Wales Rookie of the Year is awarded to the leading first year player on the Order of Merit rankings Year Order of Merit Player of the Year Rookie of the Year Lowest stroke average2022 Linn Grant 3624 91 pts Linn Grant Linn Grant Maja Stark 69 272021 Atthaya Thitikul 3591 96 pts Atthaya Thitikul Atthaya Thitikul Leona Maguire 69 502020 Emily Kristine Pedersen 1249 35 pts Emily Kristine Pedersen Stephanie Kyriacou Emily Kristine Pedersen 70 402019 Esther Henseleit 743 06 pts Marianne Skarpnord Esther Henseleit Carlota Ciganda 69 082018 Georgia Hall 667 73 pts Georgia Hall Julia Engstrom Carlota Ciganda 69 312017 Georgia Hall 368 935 Georgia Hall Camille Chevalier Anna Nordqvist 68 182016 Beth Allen 313 079 Beth Allen Aditi Ashok Shanshan Feng 68 802015 Shanshan Feng 399 213 Nicole Broch Larsen Emily Kristine Pedersen Shanshan Feng 69 782014 Charley Hull 263 097 Charley Hull Amy Boulden Suzann Pettersen 70 252013 Suzann Pettersen 10 518 448 Lee Anne Pace Charley Hull Suzann Pettersen 68 202012 Carlota Ciganda 11 251 290 Carlota Ciganda 11 Carlota Ciganda 11 Shanshan Feng 69 002011 Ai Miyazato 363 080 Caroline Hedwall Caroline Hedwall Suzann Pettersen 69 362010 Lee Anne Pace 339 518 Lee Anne Pace I K Kim Suzann Pettersen 69 752009 Sophie Gustafson 281 315 Catriona Matthew Anna Nordqvist Catriona Matthew 70 832008 Gwladys Nocera 391 840 Gwladys Nocera Melissa Reid Suzann Pettersen 68 602007 Sophie Gustafson 222 081 Bettina Hauert Louise Stahle Sophie Gustafson 70 962006 Laura Davies 471 727 Gwladys Nocera Nikki Garrett Annika Sorenstam 68 332005 Iben Tinning 204 672 Iben Tinning Elisa Serramia Laura Davies 70 352004 Laura Davies 777 26 pts Stephanie Arricau Minea Blomqvist Laura Davies 70 312003 Sophie Gustafson 917 95 pts Sophie Gustafson Rebecca Stevenson Sophie Gustafson 69 932002 Paula Marti 6 589 pts Annika Sorenstam Kirsty S Taylor Sophie Gustafson 70 592001 Raquel Carriedo 10 661 pts Raquel Carriedo Suzann Pettersen Catriona Matthew 70 082000 Sophie Gustafson 8 777 pts Sophie Gustafson Giulia Sergas Sophie Gustafson 71 211999 Laura Davies 204 522 Laura Davies Elaine Ratcliffe Laura Davies 70 501998 Helen Alfredsson 125 975 Sophie Gustafson Laura Philo Laura Davies 71 961997 Alison Nicholas 94 590 Alison Nicholas Anna Berg Marie Laure de Lorenzi 72 201996 Laura Davies 110 880 Laura Davies Anne Marie Knight Marie Laure de Lorenzi 71 391995 Annika Sorenstam 130 324 Annika Sorenstam Karrie Webb Annika Sorenstam 69 751994 Liselotte Neumann 102 750 n a Tracy Hanson Liselotte Neumann 69 561993 Karen Lunn 81 266 n a Annika Sorenstam Laura Davies 71 631992 Laura Davies 66 333 n a Sandrine Mendiburu Laura Davies 70 351991 Corinne Dibnah 89 058 n a Helen Wadsworth Alison Nicholas 71 711990 Trish Johnson 83 043 n a Pearl Sinn Trish Johnson 70 641989 Marie Laure de Lorenzi 77 534 n a Helen Alfredsson Marie Laure de Lorenzi 70 841988 Marie Laure de Lorenzi 109 360 n a Laurette Maritz Marie Laure de Lorenzi 72 301987 Dale Reid 53 815 n a Trish Johnson Dale Reid 72 701986 Laura Davies 37 500 n a Patricia Gonzalez Laura Davies 72 091985 Laura Davies 21 735 n a Laura Davies1984 Dale Reid 28 239 n a Kitrina Douglas Dale Reid 73 011983 Muriel Thomson 9 225 n a n a Beverly Huke 74 981982 Jenny Lee Smith 12 551 n a n a n a1981 Jenny Lee Smith 13 518 n a n a n a1980 Muriel Thomson 8 008 n a n a n a1979 Catherine Panton 4 965 n a n a n aNotes Edit Individual events counting towards the Order of Merit only England Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland counted separately Individual events counting towards the Order of Merit only Excludes team events and qualifying school References Edit Ryde Peter 18 May 1978 Quality will decide if new WPGA acorn grows into mighty oak The Times p 12 Retrieved 24 September 2020 via The Times Digital Archive Mair Lewine 31 October 1978 Women s professional tour becomes a reality The Times p 8 Retrieved 24 September 2020 via The Times Digital Archive Plumridge Christopher 9 December 1980 Women s circuit is booming The Guardian London England p 21 Retrieved 24 September 2020 via Newspapers com Hennessy John 17 March 1981 Bleak prspect of drop in prize money for women The Times p 11 Retrieved 24 September 2020 via The Times Digital Archive Sponsors sought for Balgownie Aberdeen Press and Journal 16 February 1982 Retrieved 25 September 2020 via British Newspaper Archive Jacobs Raymond Faldo well on the way towards a safe figure Glasgow Herald Retrieved 25 September 2020 via Google News Archive Hennessy John 17 August 1982 A year when women have a slim chance of survival The Times p 16 Retrieved 25 September 2020 via The Times Digital Archive About the Ladies European Tour Ladies European Tour Retrieved 17 December 2011 The 2014 Ladies European Tour Schedule Announced Press release Ladies European Tour 7 December 2013 Archived from the original on 29 October 2014 Retrieved 29 October 2014 Pettersen wins ISPS HANDA Order of Merit Ladies European Tour 7 December 2013 Archived from the original on 12 December 2013 Retrieved 7 December 2013 a b c Carlota Ciganda wins the LET s 2012 Rolex Rookie of the Year Award Ladies European Tour 20 December 2012 Archived from the original on 8 January 2013 Retrieved 7 February 2013 See also EditWomen s sports List of golfers with most Ladies European Tour wins Ladies European Tour records Women s World Golf Rankings Professional golf toursExternal links EditOfficial site of the Ladies European Tour Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ladies European Tour amp oldid 1149685679, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
