Añoreta Golf Club in Malaga – just one of some 70 courses on the region’s tourist board will help to promote through its sponsorship of the LET’s Race to Costa Del Sol in 2020

A NEW Ladies European Tour season starts on Wednesday night UK time – with the Geoff King Motors Australian Ladies Classic at Bonville Golf Resort, in New South Wales.

The first event on the 2020 Race to Costa del Sol – which is the official LET ranking from this season – offers a €250,000 bonus pool to the top three finishers (see below)

The race begins in Australia with the first of 25 LET tournaments spanning 18 countries in a greatly enhanced schedule.

It concludes with the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open in Spain, in late November.

The new era begins at Bonville Golf Resort, situated halfway between Sydney and Brisbane on the beautiful Coffs Coast.

An international field of 151 competitors will play on the “Favourite Golf Course” Down Under from 2016-19, according to Golf Australia magazine’s poll.

Defending champion Marianne Skarpnord will be joined by fellow 2019 tournament winners Diksha Dagar, Annabel Dimmock, Esther Henseleit, Nuria Iturrioz, Céline Herbin, Meghan MacLaren, Christine Wolf and Anne van Dam – as well as many of the LET’s rising stars who came through December’s Qualifying School.

It will tee up a fortnight of competition Down Under, with the Women’s New South Wales Open taking place at Dubbo Golf Club the following week.

The action then moves to the other side of the Indian Ocean for the Investec South African Women’s Open, at Westlake Golf Club, followed by the Saudi Ladies Championship, at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club, where Graeme McDowell won on the European Tour at the start of this month.

The main European leg of the schedule begins with the Jabra Ladies Open at Evian Resort Golf Club, in early May, followed by the La Reserva de Sotogrande Invitational at La Reserva Club de Sotogrande and then the Mithra Belgian Ladies Open in Naxhelet.

The Lalla Meryem Cup, which is co-located with the men’s Hassan Trophy at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam, will be followed by an innovative mixed field event, the Scandinavian Mixed hosted by Henrik Stenson and Annika Sorenstam at Bro Hoff Slott Golf Club.

European Tour and Ladies European Tour members will go head-to-head for the first time on the same course, competing for one prize fund and one trophy at the club just outside Stockholm.

The players will remain in Europe for the Dutch Ladies Open at Rosendaelsche Golfclub and the Estrella Damm Mediterranean Ladies Open at Club de Golf Terramar.

The Evian Championship, which has been played as the fifth major since 2013, will take place in mid-July.

After everyone catches their breath for a week, a new event will be played in the United Kingdom in early August, alongside the Tokyo 2020 women’s Olympic Golf Competition.

LET bosses have promised to reveal the details of the event shortly. The UK swing continues with a fortnight in Scotland and the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club,

That will be followed by the AIG Women’s British Open, the final major of the year, at Royal Troon.

The European odyssey continues with the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open at Golf Course Karlstejn, the Creekhouse Ladies Open at Kristianstads Golfklubb, the VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open at Golfpark Holzhäusern and the Lacoste Ladies Open de France at Golf du Médoc, in Bordeaux.

The action then moves to Asia for the Ladies European Thailand Championship at Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club, the Hero Women’s Indian Open at DLF Golf and Country Club – and a new event in the Philippines – before moving on to the Middle East for the Omega Dubai Moonlight Classic at Emirates Golf Club, and then Africa, for the second Magical Kenya Ladies Open, at Vipingo Ridge.

The LET then returns to Europe for the season finale at the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open – one of the most popular stops of the year, where the winner of the season-long competition will be crowned.

•You can follow live scoring in the first LET season event of 2020 – the Australian Ladies Classic – by clicking here.

Race to Costa Del Sol’s €250k pool

THE Race to Costa del Sol will offer an additional bonus pool of €250,000, split between the top three finishers.

The player who tops the Race to Costa del Sol rankings will receive an additional €125,000, with the second highest finisher receiving €75,000 – and €50,000 for the third placed player following the season-long race.

The winner will also receive a seven-year exemption for the LET.

The Race to Costa del Sol will showcase the tourism excellence of both the Costa del Sol and Andalusia while providing a tremendous incentive for LET members.

Costa Del Sol Tourist Board promotes golf

IN 2020, the Costa Del Sol Tourist Board became a partner of the Ladies European Tour by sponsoring the Order of Merit, which will be called the Race to Costa del Sol.

The Costa del Sol Tourist Board is dedicated to the promotion of golf in the region, and provides advice and support to its partners throughout the golf industry.

The Costa del Sol has been recognised as a “top European Golf Destination” by IAGTO (International Association of Golf Tour Operators) and is the exclusive destination in continental Europe of PGA Germany.

The Costa del Sol is the leading destination for golfers who seek a wide variety of quality golf courses and ideal golfing weather through 12 months of the year.

With more than 70 golf courses, many of which were conceived by masters of golf course design, the Costa del Sol enjoys worldwide prestige.

Many top-level championships have provided unforgettable days of competition on its courses – from the Ryder Cup, to the World Golf Championship, the Estrella Damm Masters and the LET’s Andalucia Costa del Sol Open de España.

Golfers of all levels visit this unique destination, year after year, to enjoy the golf, and explore all that this unique destination offers including top class restaurants, a vibrant nightlife, great shopping and a wide range of hotels, apartments and villas with an astounding array of services, combined with the legendary sights of Andalusia.

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Costa del Sol and Andalucia’s Tourism organisation representatives with Ladies European Tour officials announcing the new LET Race to Costa del Sol and a bigger prize fund for the 2020 Open de España Femenino, at Marbella’s Aloha Golf Club. Picture by TRISTAN JONES

NEXT year’s Ladies European Tour Order of Merit will be branded the Race to Costa Del Sol while the season-ending Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España Femenino, will see its prize fund increase from €300,000 to €600,000, it was announced today (Tuesday).

AFTER much speculation about the Ladies European Tour’s future since the Solheim Cup – amid reports of takeover talks with the LPGA – the major new sponsorship deal backed by the Spanish government’s Tourism departments has been agreed with the LET.

With continuing debate over the disparity of the prize money on offer in the women’s game compared to the male counterparts on the European Tour – who have played for $7.5million just for the winners of the last three events on the Race to Dubai – the doubling of a whole LET prize fund is still small beer when one player can win €2.7million alone by winning the final Rolex Series event of the season.

But in addition to the increased prize money at the final event of next year’s new Race to Costa del Sol, there will be a bonus pool for the top three LET players, with €125,000 going to the winner of the 2020 Order of Merit.

The players who finsh second and third on the money list will receive €75,000 and €50,000 respectively, in what is definitely a much-needed shot in the arm for those players looking to play on the world stage.

This year’s Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España Femenino is being played at Aloha Golf Club, in Marbella, starting on Thursday.

It was at Aloha this week, that the Ministry of Tourism of the Junta de Andalucía, Turismo Costa del Sol, Acosol – Commonwealth of Municipalities of the Costa del Sol Occidental, and the municipalities of Benahavís and Marbella, unveiled their support for the new funding.

The Race to Costa del Sol will showcase the tourism excellence of both the Costa del Sol and Andalusia while providing a major incentive for the LET players.

Since the LET’s chief executive Mark Lichtenhein stood down in September, the women’s professional game in Europe has been in the hands of Alexandra Armas, who previously served as the LET’s executive director and chief executive, between July 2005 and December 2012.

The outgoing chief executive, who has worked in senior roles at the European Tour over the past two decades, helped overhaul the LET’s governance procedures to bring them into line with other professional sports, and review the Tour’s business model for 2020 and beyond.

Lichtenhein also helped bring in new tournaments, including new LET and LET Access Series events in Spain, France and the Czech Republic in 2019.

There has also been new formats tournaments with the 2019 Jordan Mixed Open featuring LET, Challenge Tour and Staysure players, plus the Dubai Moonlight Classic played under the lights in the United Arab Emirates.

The London recruitment firm seeking Lichtenhein’s successor has a brief to find a leader who can address the issue of increasing prize funds across the LET schedule and increasing the number of tournaments.

The new chief executive will be also responsible for leading the LET’s involvement in the 2023 Solheim Cup – working with the next so far un-named European host.

The LET declined to discuss reports in national newspapers about talks with the LPGA about strengthening the Ladies European Tour – but leaving it as a probable “feeder” tour with more of its top players like Georgia Hall and Charley Hull heading to the States and the Far East, where the LPGA is growing its own schedule.

But LET chairwoman Marta Figueras-Dott did praise the outgoing chief executive’s work in September.

She said: “There has been a significant transformation in the professionalism of the LET under Mark’s guidance.

“This has been a key stage in our development. I am delighted Mark will always have a link to the Ladies European Tour as one of our honorary members.”

•For live scoring at this week’s Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España Femenino click here.

Former Ladies European Tour chief executive Mark Lichtenhein at the Solheim Cup – his replacement will need to work closely with the 2023 host venue. Picture by TRISTAN JONES

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