Getting Along: LPGA Tour & LET Collaborate On Scottish Open

While the European Tour and PGA Tour go their separate ways to the benefit of no one, the LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour are joining forces to co-sanction the Scottish Open.

Beth Ann Nichols writing for Golfweek.com on the co-sanctioning of the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open, also projects a pretty robust LPGA Tour schedule announcement soon.

The tour won’t be announcing its 2017 schedule for another week or so as several details still need to be ironed out. But expect another packed summer, featuring 34 or 35 events, and an increase in overall money. The U.S. Women’s Open purse, for example, will increase by $500,000 to $5 million, Whan said.

“There’s internal competition to keep up,” Whan said of the financial rise. When the 2011 schedule featured 23 official events, top players were guaranteed to show up. Now, they must be enticed.

The Scottish Open marks the second new international event the LPGA has announced this week.

Here is the full press release with quotes from one of pro golf's best supporters, Martin Gilbert:

LET and LPGA to co-sanction Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open

A ground-breaking co-sanctioning agreement between the LET and LPGA has been reached that will see Dundonald Links host both the 2017 men’s and ladies’ Scottish Opens whilst elevating the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open to the highest prize fund event on the Ladies European Tour outside the Majors.

The initial three-year deal, brought together by the LET and the LPGA in partnership with title sponsor, Aberdeen Asset Management and key partner, VisitScotland, will see the event transition from a Pro-Am format to an individual stroke-play event with a stellar field and strong global media exposure.

With a full 156-strong player field and a prize fund of US$1.5m, the enhanced 72-hole Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open will sit on both the LET and LPGA schedules and underlines Scotland’s commitment to growing women’s golf as it looks towards hosting The 2019 Solheim Cup at Gleneagles. It also draws on the strong support of Aberdeen Asset Management across all levels of the game, giving equal prominence to both men and women whilst helping to ensure live footage from both the men’s and ladies Scottish Open’s is beamed to golf fans around the globe.

Taking place the week before the Ricoh Women’s British Open at Kingsbarns in 2017, the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open will kick off a superb two weeks of links golf in Scotland. The back-to-back stretch of events echoes the successful strategy employed by the men’s Scottish Open taking place the week before The Open – an approach proven to be a competitive advantage for those players competing in both championships.

The men’s and ladies’ Scottish Open’s will be played at the same venue within a three-week period for the first time in Scottish Open history - a great accolade for the Kyle Phillips designed course at Dundonald Links in Scotland, the ‘Home of Golf’.

Paul Bush, Director of Events with VisitScotland, said: “Scotland is known around the world as the home of golf and host of the world’s greatest golf events so it is entirely fitting that the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open stands proudly alongside these world-class tournaments on both the LET and the LPGA. The huge success of the men’s Scottish Open taking place the week before The Open provided the inspiration for us to achieve similar success with the Ladies Scottish Open ahead of the Ricoh Women’s British Open and these outstanding two weeks will now rival anything the world of golf has to offer. This historic agreement underlines Scotland’s commitments to women’s golf as we look forward to The 2019 Solheim Cup and I would like to pay tribute to both the LET and the LPGA, alongside our partners at Aberdeen Asset Management, for the vision to make this a reality.”

Martin Gilbert, Chief Executive of Aberdeen Asset Management said: “This is huge stepping stone for the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open to rank alongside the biggest tournaments across both tours. It has been our vision to grow the event to a point where it becomes a staple on the world’s best players’ calendars whilst continuing to expose the Aberdeen brand in key markets. This deal, with live TV on both the Golf Channel and Sky Sports will continue to do that and we would like to thank all of those that have come together to make it happen.”
 
 Ivan Khodabakhsh, Chief Executive Officer of the Ladies European Tour, said: “The Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open is one of our most highly anticipated events and we are pleased to partner with VisitScotland, our fantastic tournament sponsor Aberdeen Asset Management and the LPGA to enable our Members to compete for a significantly increased prize fund. With world class women’s golf from across the continents, the event will generate huge interest, beyond the borders of the golf community, which will help to set the perfect stage for The 2019 Solheim Cup at Gleneagles.”
 
LPGA Commissioner, Mike Whan, said: “Given Scotland’s rich history in golf, I am excited that the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open will provide an opportunity for the best players in the world to spend two consecutive weeks in Scotland. This tournament will be a great lead-in to the RICOH Women's British Open, and give our global fans a great two-week viewing experience from the UK. We look forward to strengthening our partnership with the LET, Aberdeen Asset Management, and VisitScotland to bring the world’s leading professional women golfers to our Scottish fans and spectators.”

The 2017 Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open will take place at Dundonald Links, North Ayrshire from 27th - 30th July.  Further information on the event will be available in due course and you can follow the event at www.ladiesscottishopen.com #AberdeenLSO.