LETAS LADIES OPEN AT HAZLEMERE A LATE AUGUST HIGHLIGHT

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR
By BETHAN CUTLER

The LETAS Ladies Open is shaping up to be one of the major events of the English golfing season with the news that Italian Sophie Sandolo and Australian Karen Lunn have confirmed their participation in the field.

Lunn, winner of the 1993 Women’s British Open at Woburn and with nine official tournament wins on the Ladies European Tour, will be one of the favourites at the inaugural British tournament on the LET Access Series, to be played at Hazlemere Golf Club in south Buckinghamshire from Wednesday to Friday, August. 24 to 26. 

She will be joined by Sandolo, winner of the 2006 Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco, as well as England’s own Henrietta Zuel, who lives in London and won the Terre Blanche Ladies Open on the LET Access Series in March.

There are 39 British players competing, with 28 from England, five from Scotland and six from Wales.

Rugby’s Lauren Taylor, who is a member at nearby Woburn Golf Club, is likely to feature.  In June, the talented 16-year-old became the youngest ever winner of the Ladies' British Open Amateur championship at Royal Portrush links in Northern Ireland.

Local professional Victoria Harris, from nearby Maidenhead Golf Club and amateur Lucy Williams from Hertfordshire are also part of the 85-player field.  Golf has always been part of the Williams household as Lucy’s father, David, was a Tour player for 17 years and is now a tournament director and referee on the European Tour.

Meanwhile Hertfordshire’s Charlie Douglass is a full-time Ladies European Tour member along with Hampshire’s Elizabeth Bennett from the New Forest, Hampshire-born Danielle Montgomery and Glaswegian Clare Queen.

As well as the best of British talent, the event will attract some of the brightest burgeoning international stars who will travel from all around the globe to participate.  There are representatives from 21 different nations including those as far afield as Australia, South Africa and the United States as well as Europe.

The LETAS Ladies Open is the first and only event in the UK this year and a significant milestone for the tour which was launched in 2010 to help elite golfers develop their games in a professional environment. It will give British golf fans the unique opportunity to watch some of the world's leading elite female golfers with the support of The R&A.

Diane Barnard, Director of the LETAS, said: “It is a great boost for British golf and fantastic for the event to have such a mix of new and established players in the field for the inaugural tournament.  With the field having now taken shape, there will be a number of exciting players to watch and I urge all the local fans to come out to support the future stars of the Ladies European Tour.” 

Preceding the LETAS Ladies' Open will be a Pro-Am day, on Tuesday 23^rd August.  To book yourself a team to play with an elite woman golfer, contact the General Manager Chris Mahoney by e-mail on chrismahoney@hazlemeregolfclub.co.uk or by telephone: 01494 719300.

About the LET Access Series:
The LET Access Series (LETAS) launched in 2010 as the official feeder tour to the Ladies European Tour. The objective of LETAS is to provide greater playing opportunities for female professional golfers.  All female professional golfers and amateurs with a handicap of 3 or better are eligible for membership of LETAS, providing they are over 18 years of age. The top two players on the 2011 LETAS Ranking will earn membership of the Ladies European Tour for the 2012 season, while players in third to tenth positions will have the opportunity to progress to the final stage of LET Qualifying School, thereby skipping the first qualifying event.

If the top two players are already exempt for the Ladies European Tour then the cards will be available to the next best players inside the top 10 on the 2011 LETAS Ranking. If a player in third to tenth position is already exempt to Final Qualifying School for the 2012 Ladies European Tour season, then the next non-exempt player down to 25^th position on the 2011 LETAS Ranking will be offered a place at LET Final Qualifying School. See more information on the official website, www.letaccess.com.

About Hazlemere Golf Club:

Hazlemere Golf Club and Conference Centre is set in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the heart of the Chiltern Hills of South Buckinghamshire, close to Beaconsfield and High Wycombe, and just under 30 miles from Central London. The 18-hole golf course is home to the magnificent Red Kites who soar over this interesting and challenging par 70 course.