In their own words: Alexandra Armas

In her first column for The Golf Business, the new chief executive of the Ladies European Tour (LET) looks ahead to 2020.

A new decade brings a new-look Ladies European Tour and for the first time in history, LET members will play for a combined prize fund of almost €18 million (nearly £14 million) in 2020, an increase of €4.5 million (nearly £3.5 million) on 2019.

The 2020 schedule will feature 24 tournaments, including 15 in Europe, in addition to August’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

The 2020 LET schedule includes two new events in Sweden: the Scandinavian Mixed Hosted by Henrik & Annika and the Creekhouse Ladies Open. There are also new events in Saudi Arabia, Belgium, The Netherlands and Switzerland.

Credit: Tristan Jones

The significantly improved schedule demonstrates the immediate success of the new LPGA-LET Joint Venture, with a new board of directors working together to grow the opportunities for LET members, especially in Europe.

Chaired by LPGA commissioner Mike Whan, the board includes six directors from the LET (Marta Figueras-Dotti, Eleanor Givens, Catriona Matthew, Liz Young, Justin Abbott and Alastair Ruxton), four directors from the LPGA (Mike Whan, Liz Moore, Kathy Milthorpe and Mike Nichols), one from The R&A (chief executive Martin Slumbers) and one from the European Tour (chief executive Keith Pelley).

“The LET and the LPGA only began working together in September 2019, but we’ve been blown away with the results and the positive response from across the golf industry,” said Whan. “With overall purse increases and seven new events, our athletes will have more opportunities for success. It’s exciting to think what we can accomplish after a full year of working with our new board. 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.”

Victorious 2019 Solheim Cup captain Catriona Matthew OBE believes that the LET will hit new heights in 2020.

She said: “I committed myself to playing on the LET in Europe last year and I couldn’t be more excited about what’s been achieved to improve the schedule. This is a tour that existing players and those joining for the first time should be proud to be part of. I’ll be keeping an eye on some of the exciting young players coming through as we look ahead to retaining the Solheim Cup in Toledo next year.”

I want to thank all the federations who have shown their belief in our new team and vision, but also recognise the important contribution of our existing event promoters and sponsors, whose long-term support and commitment is immensely valuable to our organisation.

What we have achieved is incredible and this is just the start of a new direction for the LET.

For more information, visit ladieseuropeantour.com