Georgia Hall has entered this month’s Brokenhurst Manor Women’s Open, which has been organised by fellow LET player Liz Young. Picture by TRISTAN JONES

WOMEN’S British Open winner Georgia Hall will make a short trip from her Dorset home to Brokenhurst Manor, when the New Forest club hosts its Women’s Open, later this month.

The new event – which has also attracted entries from LET winners Meghan MacLaren and Wentworth’s Annabel Dimmock – is the brain child of Brokenhurst pro Liz Young and club head pro Jason MacNiven.

Hall, who won her first Major two years ago at Royal Lytham, and the other LET stars are to take part in the behind-closed-doors event on June 18.

Young, who joined the LET in 2009 after a successful spell playing American college golf, said: “The aim is to find a way to put on a tournament for women’s professionals, so that we can be competitive again – and have the chance to earn a little money in these uncertain times

She is also very keen to to boost the profile of the women’s game and is hoping either the BBC or Sky Sports will cover the event, which has the unofficial backing of the Ladies European Tour.

“It is so important that women’s sport is visible,” Liz added. “There was controversy a few weeks ago over the first golf in the US being men’s only.

“Because golf is a sport that can be played safely now it is key that the women get exposure, too.”

Among the other players who have paid the £125 entry fee which will enable the organisers to offer a prize fund are Wales’ Amy Boulden and Gabriella Cowley, from Essex.

Liz Young who has organised the Brokenhurst Manor Women’s Open. Picture by TRISTAN JONES

Could Brokenhurst Open be on TV?

THE organisers believe the Brokenhurst Manor Women’s Open can help meet the lack of live sports for TV viewers to watch.

Most women’s team sports have seen their regular season in the UK curtailed, and the cricket season unable to start yet because of the COVID-19 crisis.

Young said: “I know people would love to watch live sport because there is so little. I would say to the likes of BBC and Sky that this a professional event with some big names, it is going to be good to watch.

“It would also be an opportunity for people who are new to women’s golf to see just how good our game is.

“That is why it would be amazing if we could get this on television.”

The event will adhere to government guidelines.

“Caddies must be from the same household as the player,”added Young, who has an advantage on that front as she is married to Jon Young, the former Hampshire county player, who has also been her regular caddy.

Liz said: “The great thing about this event is that you have a Major winner like Georgia, and then girls who have won multiple times on the LET – but anybody could win. That is what is great about golf.”

While not an officially sanctioned LET event, it is open to any female professionals in the UK, with Young keen to get as many female professionals involved as possible.

Brokenhurst Manor in the New Forest will stage its Women’s Open on June 18

LPGA planning return in July

THE LET and LPGA members who enter will get a chance to knock off some rust from their clubs before a return of the big two tours.

Both are still hopeful the AIG Women’s British Open will take place at Royal Troon, from August 20-23.

The other European women’s Major – the Evian Championship – has already been rescheduled to tee off at the Evian Resort on the French side of Lake Geneva, on August 6.

The Evian was moved back from July when the Women’s Olympic Golf tournament was cancelled.

The two tours having the two biggest events in Europe staged within three weeks will help the American-based LPGA players – and the best players from Asia – travel to the UK for the Women’s Open if there is a 14-day quarantine requirement.

The LET has so far called off three events in May, and two more in July, including events, in Belgium, Morocco, Spain, and Sweden.

And the two events which were planned before the original Evian date – the Dutch and Mediterranean Ladies Opens were also postponed.

The LPGA is now scheduled to return in the third week of July after the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational was withdrawn from the revised 2020 schedule, on May 15.

Revised LPGA 2020 schedule

Key: Major championships in bold

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Winning Solheim Cup captain Catriona Matthew (left) and 1999 Open Champion Paul Lawrie (right) with Scottish Golf club buisness manager Iain Evans, during the Zoom call

MORE than 300 people from across Scotland came together for an exclusive Zoom panel call with Major champions Paul Lawrie and Catriona Matthew.

Both Paul and Catriona contributed to discussions on a number of topics including junior golf in Scotland – their individual career highlights – and how they are adapting to challenges posed by the current COVID-19 outbreak.

Matthew, the only Scottish woman to ever win a Major after victory at the 2009 Ricoh Women’s British Open at Royal Lytham, went on to lead Europe to victory at the Solheim Cup in September.

Meanwhile Lawrie, who survived the carnage on the last day of the 1999 Open at Carnoustie to come from 10 shots back to lift the Claret Jug, was named as Europe’s captain the Junior Ryder Cup in Wisconsin, in September – if the biennial clash against the USA gets the go-ahead.

The 30-minute call was the second in a series of events being delivered by the governing body to help club managers and golfers in dealing with the disruption facing the golf industry during the coronavirus pandemic.

The conversation, which can be watched back in full online here, was another huge success with a retention rate of 96 per cent, according to the organiser.

Iain Evans, who is Scttish Golf’s club business manager, said: “I would like to say a massive thank-you to our excellent panellists, Paul and Catriona for providing all of our attendees with fascinating insight into their illustrious careers and all things golf in Scotland.

“We know that these are uncertain and challenging times for everyone involved in our great game and it was a pleasure to be able to bring two of Scotland’s greats together to answer questions from golf club managers and golfers across Scotland.

“Our Zoom panel calls are providing some really valuable insights and we are delighted we can continue to embrace digital technology during this period to bring people from across our golfing community together.”

Details of the next Zoom panel call will be issued to all affiliated golf club in the coming days.

A Scottish Golf spokesman said: “We look forward to welcoming everyone online again soon.”

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The R&A has revealed they are drawing up contingency plans for the 149th Open at Royal St George’s, in Sandwich, in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Picture by ANDREW GRIFFIN

THE R&A are working on contingency plans in case the Open at Royal St George’s – and the Women’s British Open at Royal Troon – are unable to be played on their planned dates.

R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers ruled out the need to cancel the 149^th Open Championship at Sandwich this early – even though many major sporting events around the world have been scrapped this month because of the coronavirus outbreak.

But he did not rule it might become necessary in the coming weeks if the situation in the UK continues to worsen.

So far the season’s first two Majors – next month’s Masters and May’s United States Professional Golfers’ Association Championship – have been postponed.

And the R&A said in a statement released on Thursday afternoon: “We are undertaking a comprehensive evaluation of our plans to stage the 149th Open at Royal St George’s, and the AIG Women’s British Open at Royal Troon, which are four and five months away respectively.

“This includes examining a range of scenarios for staging the championships, with our focus on proceeding as planned, as well as considering other contingency options available to us.”

R&A chief Mr Slumbers said: “Our absolute priority is to ensure the safety of players, fans, officials, staff and all involved in our championships and that will be at the forefront of our thinking as we monitor developments.

“We have some time before we start building the infrastructure at both venues and so we are keeping the scheduled dates in place for The Open and AIG Women’s British Open at this point.

“We recognise that this is a rapidly changing situation and we will keep everyone informed of any changes to our plans.

“These are difficult times but we are bearing in mind our responsibility for what’s right for golf and most importantly for society.”

The Open is due to be held from July 16-19, while the Women’s British Open is due to be played at Royal Troon, from August 20-23.

R&A Student Finals & Girls U16s off

THE R&A has announced that its recently-created Student Tour Series Finals, and the Girls U16 Amateur Championship – scheduled to be played at Fulford, at the end of April – have both been cancelled.

And while no other amateur events run by the R&A – including the Amateur Championship at Royal Birkdale, and the Women’s Amateur, at Kilmarnock (Barassie) both scheduled for June, and the British Boys, at Moortown, in August – are under review.

The R&A statement said: “We have contacted all those involved. We will keep the status of the rest of the amateur championship season under review.

The R&A’s move comes in a week which was seen the 2020 Masters postponed – the first time Augusta National Golf Club has been forced to make such a decision since 1945 at the end of the Second World War.

The town of Augusta, whose population touches 200,000  but almost doubles during the week of The Masters, is believed to received a $120million boost.

The R&A recently revealed a series of financial grants from their Open Legacy Fund worth £100,000 to the town of Sandwich to help mark the 15th time The Open will have been contested at Royal St George’s – as well as once at neighbouring Prince’s Golf Club , in 1932.

And research estimates the arrival of the Claret Jug at the host club brings annually an estimated £100million in direct and indirect economic benefits to the area.

The R&A plans to invest £200million in developing golf over the next decade, with the profits from the two Majors under its control, vital to that work.

USGA cancel US Open regional qualifiers

THE USGA have cancelled the first regional qualifying rounds of the US Open, which is set to be held at Winged Foot, in New York, from June 18-21.

And fears are growing that the third Major event of the 2020 calendar, could be postponed along with the Masters and the USPGA, at San Francisco’s TPC Harding Park, from May 7-10.

With more severe restrictions currently in place to combat the coronavirus pandemic in the USA than in the UK, golf fans will be desperate that the US Open and Open Championship are able to go ahead on their original dates.

Talk of the Masters being rescheduled for October, continues, but with no confirmation from Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Riley yet, the difficulty of finding a date after the Ryder Cup is due to be held at Whistling Straits, in late September, remains.

The PGA Tour may have to persuade one of its sponsors of the early wrap around season events to stand aside and with the growing economic problems from the coronavirus epidemic, that could entail some very delicate discussions.

Italy’s Francesca Fiorellini – the 2019 R&A Girls U16 Amateur Champion at Fulford. The 2020 championship at the York club has been cancelled. Picture by THE R&A / GETTY IMAGES

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Dorset’s Women’s British Open Champion Georgia Hall has accepted an offer by The R&A to become one of its golf ambassadors. Picture by TRISTAN JONES

WOMEN’S British Open champion Georgia Hall will support The R&A’s drive to inspire more women, girls and families into playing golf by becoming its latest ambassador.

The R&A is investing £80million into women’s and mixed golf over the next 10 years to boost participation in the sport and the 22-year-old will undertake a wide range of promotional activities to enhance initiatives that encourage more women, girls and families to play golf.

Hall will play a key role in raising the profile of women’s and girls’ golf in support of the Women in Golf Charter, led by The R&A, which aims to inspire an industry-wide commitment to developing a more inclusive culture within golf around the world and to enable more women and girls to flourish and maximise their potential at all levels of the sport.

Georgia Hall said: “There is no better known body in golf than The R&A so I was extremely honoured to have been invited to be an ambassador for the organisation.

“I am passionate about helping to grow the game so it’s very natural for me to support The R&A’s great initiatives, particularly for women and children, over the coming years.

“The Women in Golf Charter is a great first step and I look forward to working with them on some exciting initiatives over the next few years”

By making her major breakthrough at Royal Lytham & St Annes last year, Hall became the first golfer in the history of the sport to win the Women’s British Open, the Women’s Amateur Championship and the Girls Amateur Championship.

The Dorset ace’s two-shot victory over Pornanong Phatlum on England’s Golf Coast elevated Hall into the top 10 of the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings as well as delivering a second Ladies’ European Tour Order of Merit title in a row after she topped the standings in 2017.

Hall, who is a member at Broadstone, also represented Europe in the 2017 Solheim Cup against the USA, in Iowa, and as an amateur golfer she played for Great Britain and Ireland in the 2014 Curtis Cup in St Louis.

R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers said: “Georgia is an influential role model for our sport and we are honoured that she has agreed to become an ambassador for The R&A and work with us to promote our activities in women’s and girls’ golf.

“She has shown that talent, hard work and determination can take you to the very pinnacle of our sport and she deserves enormous credit for her victory in the 2018 Ricoh Women’s British Open.

“We believe her achievements will inspire many women and girls into taking up golf and going on to enjoy playing as members of clubs with their families and friends.”

Hall will defend her title when the newly-sponsored AIG Women’s British Open is staged at Woburn, in August.

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