The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Something great in the mix
I’m delighted to see the Ladies European Tour and the European Tour joining forces to try to build on the legacy of a wonderful Solheim Cup at Gleneagles.
The two tours have announced plans to join forces next year with stars of both set to join forces and compete in a new event.
That’s why I hope the inaugural Scandinavian Mixed is a huge success when it makes its debut on the schedule next June.
The tournament, which will be held in Sweden and hosted by major champions Henrik Stenson and Annika Sorenstam, will see men and women going head-to-head for the first time on the same course competing for one prize fund and one trophy.
The specifics beyond that have yet to be revealed but I’m certainly intrigued. Most important of all, however, is that we need to give the LET as much support as we can.
The US tours carry bigger prize funds which attract the leading players, and it has always been left to Europe to be creative in trying to maintain the strength and quality of our tournaments.
The gulf is particularly wide on the LET with the annual prize fund totalling £12million compared to the LPGA’s £55million.
LET chairman Marta Figueras-Dotti knows such a gap has made her tour effectively a feeder tour for the LPGA and that can make for a challenging environment.
The Solheim Cup drama at Gleneagles was one of the great sporting spectacles of 2019 as millions worldwide tuned in to watch Europe win the cup in the most dramatic of finishes.
But as wonderful as it was, there is no point in hosting a great event which has everyone talking and really promotes just how fantastic the women’s game is if we don’t try to capitalise on it.
There is no point in having these events if we can’t produce a legacy or show tangible growth afterwards.
The LET will always be the smaller pond compared to the LPGA but
“The gulf in prize funds is particularly wide between the LET and the LPGA”
that does not mean we cannot make it bigger.
Figueras-Dotti’s dream is to see 40 events held every year but she knows she won’t bolster the tour to that level overnight. This year there were 20 tournaments. Last year the number was 15.
It is going to take hard work, patience and some ingenuity. When you settle for what you have you cease to grow and when you stop growing you fall behind.
That’s why I’m wishing the Scandinavian Mixed nothing but success. Perhaps we cannot match the Americans but we can certainly offer a viable alternative.