By John Huggan
On the same day that the European Tour announced a new addition to its tournament schedule (the €1 million Kenya Savannah Classic March 23-26 will be the first half of an African doubleheader, one week after the Magical Kenya Open), the Ladies European Tour went 27 times better with the unveiling of a record-breaking 2021 program of events. A year on from the establishment of its joint venture with the LPGA, the LET will this year visit as many as 19 countries and offer total prize money in excess of €19 million.

Perhaps just as exciting for a circuit that has for so long operated under professional golf’s radar, more than 200 hours of live golf will be shown. Coverage will extend to more than double the number of tournaments in a season that gets underway at the rescheduled Investec South African Women’s Open from May 13-16. Europe will play host to most tournaments, 23 to be exact between June and September, as the LET visits Czech Republic, England, Finland, France, Spain, Scotland, Sweden and Switzerland.

Later in the year, the LET revisits India, Kenya and Morocco after having to cancel events in these countries in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as being provisionally set to play in Thailand and the Philippines for the first time in LET history.

“This is brilliant,” says Englishwoman Meg MacLaren, a two-time LET champion.

“This is easily the strongest schedule we have ever had. Having so many playing opportunities is really important, maybe even more so than the cash on offer. Plus, it’s nice to see so many events in Europe. We’re still a global tour, but this schedule will make it a lot easier for players to travel between events. And so much television coverage can only raise the profile of the players amongst the mainstream golf audience. Hopefully, this is just the bedrock for what is to come—bigger purses and more and more three-day events becoming four-day events.”

Still, not everything is straightforward. Part of the amped-up and revamped schedule is the Aramco Team Series. Funded by Saudi Arabian money and comprising four events in New York, London, Singapore and King Abdullah Economic City (near Jeddah) each tournament will carry a €830,000 prize fund. It is, however, the team aspect of each that provokes divergent opinions.

Last November at the Saudi Ladies Team International, Denmark’s Emily Pedersen led her four-strong side (three professionals and one amateur) to victory. The problem was not so much that the amateur scores counted towards the team total, but the fact that there was such a range in their abilities. Pedersen’s winning team had an amateur who was better than scratch and was making birdies to help the team score. Other teams had players who failed to count on even one hole. Hardly a level playing field and especially unfair when the money won was counting on the money list.

On a happier note, the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España will once again play host to the season finale, with the €600,000 event deciding the season’s Race to Costa del Sol. The Race will offer a bonus pool of €250,000 between the top three finishers on the official rankings: €125,000 for first, €75,000 for second and €50,000 for third.

“We are extremely excited to announce our record-breaking schedule for 2021 and thrilled to offer some good news to our membership after a difficult season last year,” said Alexandra Armas, LET chief executive officer. “The LET is dedicated to supporting our members and growing the game of golf to new and existing markets and we are proud to confirm the return of not only all postponed events but the addition of several new and innovative tournaments.”

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By Keely Levins
It took a while for Stacy Lewis to grab LPGA career win No. 13. Nearly three years to be precise. A lot has happened to the 35-year-old former World No. 1 between her victory at the 2017 Cambia Portland Classic and her triumph Sunday at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open. Most notably, she and her husband, University of Houston women’s golf coach Gerrod Chadwell, welcomed their first child, Chesnee, in 2018.

“It’s amazing,” Lewis said of winning for the first time as a mom. “The only disappointing thing is that she’s not here to take a picture with this [the trophy], but I have been trying to get a trophy from the day she was born. That’s been my goal. I just called them, got to FaceTime with them. My husband said she was hitting the TV screen with her plastic golf clubs when I made that putt. So it’s just pretty cool. I can’t wait to get home with them in a week or so and celebrate.”

Lewis shot a one-over 72 in the final round for a five-under 279 total at Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland. She then made 23-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to claim the title over Azahara Munoz, Cheyenne Knight and Emily Pedersen, who all made pars. The win came with its own milestone: The $225,000 first-place prize puts Lewis’ career earnings over $13 million, making her just the eighth player in LPGA history to reach the mark.

Heading into Sunday, Lewis was nervous about what lay ahead. Pace of play from her group on Saturday, which included Munoz and Jennifer Song, was troublesome for Lewis, who was worried that it would mess with her rhythm. And yet she was paired with both again on Sunday.

“Honestly,” Lewis said after her third round, sitting one shot back of Munoz in second place, “my biggest challenge is to figure out with that pace of play how I can get into a good rhythm and how to keep myself in a rhythm of playing golf and not feeling like you’re waiting so long in between holes and shots and different things.”

Lewis’ worries proved warranted as pace of play was an issue again in the fourth round (it took the group five hours and 16 minutes to complete 18 holes). They were put on the clock on the 11th hole, where Lewis made double bogey, her only double of the tournament, that erased a lead created by two early birdies in the round.

However, Lewis focused on what she could control and was able to regain her rhythm, playing the last seven holes even par.

To deal with the situation, she made a promise with herself to not bring it up with her caddie. By not talking about it, she hoped she wouldn’t think about it as much.

“I stayed more in a rhythm of my game and kind of the way I was thinking about shots,” Lewis said. “I knew that was going to be the biggest challenge of the day, and overall, I felt like I did a really good job with it.”

Mark Runnacles
After nearly three years since her last LPGA title, Lewis had plenty to smile about on Sunday.

While excited about her victory (her first in a playoff after going 0-3 previously), Lewis is thinking about more than her own game when she verbalizes her concerns about slow play. She’s trying to help the tour overall. “I do think an effort needs to be made across the board to play faster, because obviously I wasn’t watching it on TV, but I’m sure it couldn’t have been fun to watch on TV,” Lewis said.

It was fun, however, for Lewis to be a winner again. Since returning to the tour in 2019 after having Chesnee, Lewis has struggled to find the game that helped her claim two major titles. She played 19 times last season, coming away with three top-10 finishes but missing eight cuts and falling to No. 96 in the Rolex Rankings.

But what she showed in Scotland hints that there’s more left in Lewis, who no doubt hopes career win No. 14 will come a tad bit quicker than No. 13.

The post Stacy Lewis grabs first title in nearly three years, winning four-woman playoff at the Ladies Scottish Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

At a press conference following the Ricoh Women’s British Open at Kingsbarns, non-playing U.S. skipper Juli Inkster added two captain’s picks—18-year-old LPGA rookie Angel Yin and 25-year-old Austin Ernst—to her 10 automatic qualifiers (see below). Europe’s Annika Sorenstam also named her four wild-cards—Anna Nordqvist, Emily Pedersen, Caroline Masson and Madelene Sagstrom—to complete her side.

Both captains made it clear how difficult it had been to arrive at their respective conclusions. Inkster omitted the likes of former U.S. Women’s Open champion Paula Creamer, as well as six-time Cup veteran Angela Stanford and five-time player Morgan Pressel.

“This has been a really tough day,” said Inkster, herself a nine-time Solheim participant. “I don’t know if there’s ever been so many people in the running for two captain’s picks. I could have gone a lot of different ways. But in the end I went with my gut, and who I thought deserved a chance to play. I hope it turns out OK. That’s all I can say.”

Noticeably absent from the European squad will be Catriona Matthew, who was looking to make her ninth appearance in European colors. The Scot will still make the trip to Iowa, however, as one of Sorenstam’s assistant captains.

“It is always hard to say ‘no’ to someone who lives for the Solheim Cup,” said Sorenstam of Matthew. “She was involved in the plans and knew the players we were talking about and that made it a bit awkward at times. But she has been strong and mature, and I am happy to have her on the team either way.”

UNITED STATES TEAM
Points List
Lexi Thompson, 3rd appearance (2013, ’15), 3-2-2 record
Stacy Lewis, 4th appearance (2011, ’13, ’15), 4-7-1
Gerina Piller, 3rd appearance (2013, ’15), 3-2-2
Cristie Kerr, 9th appearance (2002, ’03, ’05, ’07, ’09, ’11, ’13, ’15), 15-14-5
Jessica Korda, 2nd appearance (2013), 1-2-1
Danielle Kang, 1st appearance
Michelle Wie, 5th appearance (2009, ’11, ’13, ’15), 7-7-1
Brittany Lang, 5th appearance (2009, ’11, ’13, ’15), 5-6-3
Rolex Ranking
Brittany Lincicome, 6th appearance (2007, ’09, ’11, ’13, ’15), 5-11-2 Lizette Salas, 3rd appearance (2013, ’15), 1-3-2
Captain’s Picks
Austin Ernst, 1st appearance Angel Yin, 1st appearance

EUROPEAN TEAM
Points List
Georgia Hall (England), 1st appearance
Florentyna Parker (England), 1st appearance
Mel Reid (England), 3rd appearance (2011, ’15), 4-3-1
Jodi Ewart-Shadoff (England), 2nd appearance (2013), 2-1-0
Rolex Ranking
Carlota Ciganda (Spain), 3rd appearance (2013, ’15), 4-1-2
Suzann Pettersen (Norway), 9th appearance (2002, ’03, ’05, ’07, ’09, ’11, ’13, ’15), 16-11-6
Charley Hull (England), 3rd appearance (2013, ’15), 6-2-0
Karine Icher (France), 4th appearance (2002, ’13, ’15), 5-4-1
Captain’s Picks
Caroline Masson (Germany), 3rd appearance (2013, ’15), 2-3-2
Anna Nordqvist (Sweden), 5th appearance (2009, ’11, ’13, ’15), 8-7-1
Emily Pedersen (Denmark), 1st appearance
Madelene Sagstrom (Sweden), 1st appearance

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