NAPLES, Fla., November 18, 2016 – The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) announced today that it will co-sanction the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open with the Ladies European Tour (LET) next season, providing players with two consecutive tournaments in Scotland on the 2017 schedule.
The Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open will take place on July 27-30, 2017 at Dundonald Links in North Ayrshire. Brought together by the LPGA and the LET in partnership with title sponsor, Aberdeen Asset Management and key partner, VisitScotland, the event’s player field, purse and global media exposure will be greatly enhanced. The event will be held two weeks after the men’s Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open at the same venue.
With a full 156-player field and a $1.5 million purse, the elevated 72-hole event 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 prominence to both men and women whilst ensuring that live footage from both the men’s and ladies’ Scottish Open’s is beamed to golf fans around the globe.
The following week the LPGA will then make its way from the West to the East Coast of Scotland for the RICOH Women’s British Open at Kingsbarns Golf Links in St. Andrews. The back-to-back stretch of events echoes the successful strategy employed by the men’s game with the Scottish Open taking place the week before The Open - an approach proven to be a competitive advantage for those players competing in both championships.
Martin Gilbert, Chief Executive of Aberdeen Asset Management, said, “This is a 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.”
“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,” said LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan. “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 U.K. 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.”
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.”
Paul Bush, Director of Events for 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.”
Designed by Kyle Phillips, the highly-acclaimed Dundonald Links will also host the men’s Scottish Open in 2017. It will mark the first time that the Ladies Scottish Open and the men’s Scottish Open will be held at the same venue within a three-week period.
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