The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Golf needs a strong Ladies European Tour – Steve Scott’s Tee to Green - p49
Whatever way you look at it, and despite the “strong rejection” in a statement from the board, the Ladies European Tour is in serious, serious trouble.
Five events have gone from the schedule this season, the fifth being the €440,000 Ladies European Masters, bound for Germany in September.
Already this year the Turkish Ladies Open, the Czech Open, the Buick Championship (a co-sanctioned event with the Asian Women’s Tour) and an event in Italy have been scratched. Reportedly, players have also been advised “not to make travel plans” for the Qatar Ladies Open in November.
When the women convene at Dundonald Links for the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open on July 27, it will have been more than three months since the European women played an event on their home continent.
That’s not too bad, I hear you say, the European Tour men play a lot outside Europe too. Only there’s been just one event – this week’s Ladies Thailand Championship – in all that time.
The missive sent to members by the LET player president Helen Alfredsson and leaked to the Times sounds almost desperate.
“Even though you will all feel sad, disappointed, upset, furious, angry ... I ask you please keep it inside the ropes,” writes the former Solheim Cup star.
“Try to be a team at this point and look professional. We won’t gain anything by using social media to vent the frustration, I beg you.” Begging did no good.
The Tour’s official explanation was that “political and economic disruption” was to blame for “unrelated events”.
One can understand that in the case of Turkey and Qatar matters are not as stable as they might be, but to lose a couple of events is unlucky. To lose five, maybe six, seems much more than careless.
The unnamed whistleblower, who one must assume speaks for the tour rank and file, is less easy on the tour management, pointing out that other women’s sports are thriving in the European marketplace and wondering how the directors are spending the 7% levy on players’ prize money.
Incompetence in management may be a point. As a players’ manager asked me rhetorically last week, didn’t they have the customary and binding legal agreements signed years in advance for these scratched events, as on the other major tours?
But whether it is incompetence, or whether it is a combination of unfortunate and uncontrollable events, or whether it is something else entirely, the game in Europe cannot just shrug its collective shoulders about this.
I heard more than one voice speak about market forces, and wonder aloud whether the product was attractive enough for sponsors (that was a man, obviously).
Well that might be the case in sexist old Scotland where a pitiful percentage of women play the game.
In Europe, where participation is much nearer 50-50, there clearly is a market for women’s golf.
And in any case if there isn’t, we should bloody well make one. Because I think it’s essential to the overall wellbeing of our sport that there is a thriving and well-supported women’s tour based in Europe.
Not just because the Solheim Cup dies without one. But because golf has no interest whatsoever in alienating or excluding half the population if it wants to continue to be a successful sport.
Yes, most women pro golfers of quality will gravitate to the LPGA in the USA. But they have to start somewhere, and if there’s no place for aspirational young girls like those taking part in the Scottish Girls Championship this week at Scotscraig to go, the participation levels are going to dwindle to a trickle.
It is surely not beyond the wit of us all to have a “Challenge Tour” level women’s tour on this continent. Many more “joint” agreements for tournaments, as done by forward looking sponsors like Aberdeen Asset in Scotland and the authorities in Morocco, would also help.
Whatever, pretending that this is all out of our control is not even a serious option. The women’s game isn’t even asking for equality here, they’re asking just for a fair shout.
Curry-ing favour with sponsors
Basketball and the NBA’s penetration into the UK is not as far advanced that most will know who Steph Curry is, and therefore the fuss about his invitation to play in an event on the Web.com Tour, the PGA Tour’s junior circuit.
Curry is a “transcendental” star (in the US at least) but has taken a pro’s slot in the Ellie Mae Classic in August. Cue outrage from some.
The tiny event now has more publicity than it can handle. Merely asking the Golden State Warrior (2.2 handicap) to play has already been wholly justified.
Comparing this to amateur ballers getting invited to play the NBA finals is beyond ludicrous.
This is not a major. So what if he shoots 80-80 or worse? It’s fun, the gate will be huge, and the sponsors are happy. Why would anyone but the irredeemably pompous have a problem with that?
To lose a couple of events is unlucky. To lose five, maybe six, seems much more than careless