INNOVATION 47 TOUR NEWS
Strong supporter T
HE new sponsor for the Ladies European Tour’s 2012
Order of Merit is ISPS Handa. ISPS Handa was founded
by Japanese philanthropist Dr Haruhisa Handa in 2006 to support charitable causes throughout the sporting world. Te Ladies European Tour
Order of Merit will now be known as the ISPS Handa Order of Merit and at the end of the season there will be a bonus of 20,000 euro for the top ranked golfer, to be awarded by Dr. Handa. ISPS Handa has also sponsored
the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open, the ISPS Handa New Zealand Women’s Open (February), and the ISPS Handa Ladies British Masters, taking place from 16-18 August, just after Te Olympic Games and before the Paralympic Games. ISPS chairman Dr Haruhisa
Handa said: “ISPS is delighted to become title sponsor of the Ladies European Tour’s Order of Merit... It seemed a natural progression to extend our relationship with women’s professional golf. “Te ISPS Handa Order
of Merit acts as an important benchmark for the players and will offer an ideal opportunity for ISPS to further promote our mission for golf to become a Paralympic sport.” LET executive director
Alexandra Armas said: “ISPS Handa has become a loyal and generous supporter of the LET in recent years and we are delighted to be associated with them and their exciting mission for Paralympic golf.”
YOUNG PLAYERS GBD present for key LET Order of Merit announcement. Alexandra told GBD: “We
are starting a really exciting new season with some great events and we thank excellent sponsors, like ISPS Handa and all our other supporters, for working with us to help our players and our team reach their potential.” Midori Miyazaki, ISPS Handa’s
executive director of international affairs, told GBD: “Tis is exciting because Dr Handa is highly impressed with the Ladies European Tour and respects the work of Alexandra and her team greatly. We look forward to seeing some fine new players improving their positions in the ISPS Handa Order of Merit.”
After a mutually successful six
year association, Henderson Global Investors’ sponsorship of the LET has ceased. Henderson is taking a new marketing direction and a new strategic approach. Richard Wilson, marketing
director at Henderson Global Investors, said: “We have been delighted to work with the Ladies European Tour for so many years and hope that the Tour continues to grow and develop, particularly following the recent Solheim Cup victory for Europe. We are proud of what has been achieved in the last six years of our sponsorship and we wish everyone at the LET and who plays on the LET the best of luck for the future.” GBD •
www.ladieseuropeantour.com
Midori Miyazaki, ISPS executive director of international affairs (left) and Alexandra Armas, executive director of the Ladies European Tour, making the new Order of Merit sponsor announcement at Buckinghamshire Golf Club.
Growth of Access Series
The Ladies European Tour Access Series continues to flourish in 2012 with a schedule that incorporates a minimum of nine tournaments in six different countries across Europe. The third LET Access Series campaign begins in France with the
Terre Blanche Ladies Open at Golf de Terre Blanche in Domaine de Terre Blanche from March 14-16 and culminates with the final event at Golf Club Escorpion in Valencia, Spain, in November. There are six new tournaments on the LET Access Series this year.
They include the GolfStream Ladies Open taking place at Kiev Golf Club on May 22-24, which will be the first ever professional women’s golf tournament in the Ukraine. The Access Series will also visit Finland for the Women’s Bank Open at Hill Side Golf Club in Helsinki from August 9-11, which, with a prize fund of €30,000, will be the joint-most lucrative event on the schedule. Another new tournament is the Fourqueux Ladies Open at Golf de
Fourqueux, Paris, France, from 13-15 September. There will be a new event in the south of Sweden, which is co- sanctioned between the LET Access Series and Nordea Tour. The Ljungbyhed Park PGA Ladies Open from May 15-17 at Ljungbyhed Golf Club, will carry a purse of €30,000. A group of 100 girl golfers will follow the on-course tournament
action on the final day of the Ljungbyhed Park PGA Ladies Open, which will mark the start of a camp organised by the Swedish Golf Federation national team, in which Liselotte Neumann has been involved. The remaining two new additions to the schedule, which are co- sanctioned between the LET Access Series and Banesto Tours, will take place in Spain. The first of these new tournaments will take place at Golf Club La Peñaza in Zaragoza from 19-21 April with another in Valencia in the middle of November. There will also be three visits to France with the second tournament of the season, the Dinard Ladies Open, returning to Dinard Golf, Saint Briac Sur Mer, on 12-14 April. The highly popular Azores Ladies Open will be played for the second
year at Golf de Batalha on Sao Miguel Island. The success of the LET Access Series in developing talent over
the last two years is demonstrated by its players’ results at the Ladies European Tour’s Final Qualifying School at La Manga Club in early January. Maria Beautell, Elena Giraud and Alexandra Vilatte all earned an exemption from Pre-Qualifying and went straight to the Final Stage thanks to their performances on the 2011 LET Access Series. They all gained their full LET cards for the 2012 season, along with a
number of other players who also competed on the 2011 LET Access Series. They included Marjet Van der Graaff, Elin Emanuelsson, Celine Palomar, Sahra Hassan, Charlotte Ellis, Clare Queen, Valentine Derrey, Hannah Burke and Carlota Ciganda. Tour director Di Barnard said: “We are delighted to deliver a minimum of nine tournaments on the Access Series in 2012 and are confident of adding more events later in the season. We are hugely encouraged by the tremendous support of the federations, venues and players whose superb efforts have contributed to the continued success of LETAS. “I am sure that our members will enjoy playing at these superb venues. The LET Access Series will continue to serve as a platform for elite players to develop and showcase their golfing talent as they gain much valued experience competing in a professional environment on the international tour.”
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