What a difference a few months makes. In late November, the Ladies European Tour announced it was entering into a joint venture with the LPGA in hopes of revitalizing the struggling oversees professional women’s golf tour. Two months later, the LET announced its 2020 season schedule. The biggest feature: The LET will be competing for the most prize money the tour has ever played for. In 2020, the tour will compete for €18 million, which is €4.5 million more than in 2019.
There are seven new tournaments scheduled for 2020, bringing the total to 24 events, with 15 of them being played in Europe. One of the notable new events is the Scandinavian Mixed Hosted by Henrik Stenson and Annika Sorenstam. Men and women from the European tours will play against each other, on the same course, for the winner’s check. It will be played in June in Stockholm at the Bro Hof Slott Golf Course.
LET’s new joint-venture board is comprised of representatives from LET, the LPGA Tour, the R&A and the men’s European Tour, with LPGA commissioner Mike Whan serving as chairman. Suffice it to say, the group is pleased with the early success of their collaboration and hopeful for the future of the LET.
“It’s exciting to think what we can accomplish after a full year of working with our new Board,” Whan said. “We have a long way to go, but I’m so happy to say that this is the best position that European women’s professional golf has ever been in.”
