The LET Access Series (LETAS) is a professional golf tour for women and the official development tour to the Ladies European Tour .
61-743: Launched in 2010, the LET Access Series provides players with an opportunity to compete and progress on to the LET . Eligible for membership are all female professional golfers and amateurs over 18 with a handicap of 2 or better. As one of the eight major women's tours (along with LPGA , JLPGA , KLPGA , LET , WPGA , Epson Tour and China LPGA Tour ) performances on LETAS carry Women's World Golf Rankings points. By 2014 over 250 professionals and 200 amateurs competed. The season consisted of 16 tournaments in 12 countries with prize funds of €30,000 – €50,000, and saw 11 winners from 8 countries. In 2020,
122-495: A bonus. The bonus pool was increased to $ 5 million in 2014 with the top 15 players earning part of the pool. 2019 saw further changes: in 2018 the top 10 finishers on the Race to Dubai shared the bonus pool of $ 5 million, but as of 2019 the sum was split between only the leading five finishers. Whoever topped the standings received an additional $ 2 million compared with the $ 1.25 million won by Francesco Molinari in 2018. In addition,
183-455: A decade after winning bidding, and guaranteed the purses for those tour events. Since 2000, with the exception of 2012, the season has actually started late in the previous calendar year, but the seasons are still named by calendar year, rather than for example 2005–06, which would reflect the actual span of play. All of the events up until late March take place outside Europe, with most of these being co-sanctioned with other tours. From then on,
244-552: A great deal of difference to the end-of-season rankings. The following year, in 1999, the World Golf Championships were established with the three individual tournaments, also offering substantially more prize money than most European events, added to the European Tour schedule. Since the minimum number of events that a player must play to retain membership of the European Tour was eleven, the addition of
305-590: A legal structure which enables it to focus on maximising returns to its members through prize money, rather than on making profits for investors. The tour is run by a board of directors and a Players' Council. The U.S.-based LPGA was founded in 1950, but women's professional golf was slower to get established in Europe. In 1978 the Women's Professional Golfers' Association ( WPGA ) was formed as part of Professional Golfers' Association of Great Britain and Ireland. A tour
366-764: A number of tournaments were postponed or cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Source: The top players on the LETAS Order of Merit earn LET membership for the Ladies European Tour . A few dozen players finishing in positions get to skip the first stage of the qualifying event and automatically progress to the final stage of the Lalla Aicha Tour School . Source: Winners of three or more LETAS events, ordered chronologically. Ladies European Tour The Ladies European Tour
427-522: A share. This system continued until 1998, after which renewed emphasis was placed on maximising prize money in individual tournaments. In 1989, the tour visited Asia for the first time for the Dubai Desert Classic . By 1990, there were 38 events on the schedule, including 37 in Europe, and the start of the season had moved up to February. A first visit to East Asia for the Tour occurred at
488-498: Is a golfer-controlled organisation whose primary purpose is to maximise the income of tournament golfers . It is a company limited by guarantee and is run by a professional staff but controlled by its playing members via a board of directors composed of 12 elected past and present tour players and a tournament committee of 14 current players. The Chairman of the Board is Eric Nicoli , who replaced David Williams in 2023. The chairman of
549-536: Is a professional golf tour for women which was founded in 1978. Most of the players on the tour are European, with members from more than 40 countries internationally. Despite its name, the tour also has tournaments in Africa, Asia, North America and Oceania. The organization is based at Buckinghamshire Golf Club near London in England. Like many British-based sports organisations it is a company limited by guarantee ,
610-638: Is also an official LET event but will next be played in 2017 in Iowa). The total of events has been in steep decline since 2016; the peak was 28 in 2008. The two richest events by far are the two European Majors: The Evian Championship (historically the Evian Masters) and the Women's British Open . In 2016, 10 other events (in Australia, China, Morocco, England, Scotland, Germany, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Japan and Dubai) had prize funds in excess of €450,000, with
671-652: Is awarded to the leading money winner on the tour, though for some years in the past a points system was used. The Player's Player of the Year award is voted by the members of the Tour for the member they believe has contributed the most to the season on the Tour. The Rookie of the Year (known as the Bill Johnson Trophy from 1999 to 2003 and now the Ryder Cup Wales Rookie of the Year) is awarded to
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#1732801286129732-580: Is substantially higher. There is also much more variation in prize funds between tournaments on the European Tour than on the PGA Tour. Even though the prize funds of many European Tour events have increased rapidly since the late 1990s, especially with the introduction of the Race to Dubai and the Rolex Series , on occasion the European Tour has failed to attract as many leading players to its events as in
793-537: Is the first edition of the Race to Costa Del Sol. Unlike in men's golf, the European and American tours do not share a common set of majors , although the Women's British Open and The Evian Championship are currently recognised as majors by both organisations. The Ladies European Tour organises the Solheim Cup when in Europe and in 2011 , the Tour received a boost when the European side won for The Cup for
854-702: The DP World Tour Championship, Dubai was cut to the top 50 golfers on the Race to Dubai list, the prize fund was kept at $ 8 million but the winner's share was increased to $ 3 million. This was designed to increase interest and player participation in the event. In November 2021, the Race to Dubai was renamed the DP World Tour Rankings in line with the tour being retitled as the DP World Tour. However, in November 2022,
915-897: The French Open , which was first included in 1970; the Italian , Spanish , German and Swiss Opens, which were included in 1971; and the Dutch Open , the Madrid Open and the Lancia d'Oro tournament, which were included for the first time. As such the 1972 season is now officially recognised as the first season of the PGA European Tour. For several years, the British PGA and continental circuits continued to run separately, each with their own Order of Merit. Following
976-565: The HSBC Champions , previously a European Tour event co-sanctioned by three other tours, to World Golf Championships status. The minimum increased to 13 in 2011, but beginning in 2013 team events such as the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup were allowed to count towards the minimum. In 2016 the 13-event minimum was changed to five events, not counting the four majors and four WGCs; while this change did not affect players eligible for all
1037-634: The PGA Tour , had been administered by the PGA of America since the 1930s. However even into the 1960s and 1970s, the majority of tournaments in Europe were still organised separately by the host golf club or association, or a commercial promoter. In 1972 The Professional Golfers' Association created an integrated "European tour" with the inclusion of eight major tournaments in Continental Europe on their Order of Merit schedule. These tournaments were
1098-755: The PGA Tour of Australasia in 1996, and most extensively to the Asian Tour . In 1998, the European Tour added the three U.S. majors – the Masters Tournament , the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open – to its official schedule. The leading European Tour players had all been competing in them for many years, but now their prize money counted towards the Order of Merit (a year later for the Masters Tournament), which sometimes made
1159-701: The Vardon Trophy awarded by the PGA of America . The table below shows the top 10 career money leaders on the European Tour. Due to increases in prize money over the years, it is dominated by current players. The figures are not the players' complete career earnings as most of them have earned millions more on other tours (especially the PGA Tour) or from non-tour events. In addition, elite golfers often earn several times as much from endorsements and golf-related business interests as they do from prize money. As of 10 December 2023. The European Tour Golfer of
1220-594: The 1980s an increasing number have been held in other parts of the world; in 2015 a majority of the ranking events on the European Tour were held outside Europe, though this included both Majors and World Golf Championship events that are ranking events for multiple tours. Europe-based events are nearly all played in Western Europe , with the most lucrative of them taking place in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, France and Spain. The PGA European Tour
1281-587: The 1981 season, and despite initial optimism, the tour experienced further problems during its fourth season in 1982 as several more events were cancelled. The circuit was left with just ten tournaments, from which few players could make a living, and the future of the WPGA was being questioned. In 1988 the tour members decided to form an independent company, the Women Professional Golfers' European Tour Limited. This new company moved away from
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#17328012861291342-543: The 1992 Johnnie Walker Classic in Bangkok. This has since proven to be one of the most notable initiatives in the history of the tour, as East Asia is becoming almost its second home. Shortly afterwards the tour also made its debut in the former Soviet Bloc at the 1994 Czech Open , but much less has come of this development as participation in golf in the former Soviet region remains low and sponsors there are unable to compete financially with their Western European rivals for
1403-529: The European Tour loses money in non-Ryder Cup years, makes a tidy profit in years the event is played in the United States (where the PGA of America, not the PGA Tour, owns the event and reaps the majority of the income), and then hits the lottery in years the tournament is staged in Europe. Earlier this year, Golfweek reported that the European Tour made more than 14 million pounds in pre-tax profit in 2010,
1464-610: The Hong Kong Open. The winner of the Race to Dubai also receives a ten-year European Tour exemption, while the winner of the Dubai World Championship receives a five-year exemption. The reduction in prize money, announced in September 2009, was due to the global economic downturn . In 2012, the bonus pool was reduced to $ 3.75 million with the winner getting $ 1 million and only the top 10 golfers getting
1525-939: The LET scheduled an event opposite one of the LPGA's majors, with the ABN AMRO Open held opposite the LPGA Championship . The schedule dropped to 23 official money events in 2009, but increased to 25 for 2010. In both years, the Ladies Open of Portugal was scheduled opposite the LPGA Championship. The 2016 schedule featured 21 events including the Olympic Golf Competition in Rio de Janeiro (the biennial Solheim Cup , held in odd-numbered years,
1586-414: The PGA Tour as a second step. When Continental Europe produced its first global golf stars in the 1970s, such as Seve Ballesteros , and especially when Europe began to notch wins over the United States in the Ryder Cup in the mid-1980s, there was widespread optimism about the future standing of the European Tour relative to the PGA Tour. This has ebbed away as leading players continued to base themselves in
1647-416: The PGA would determine which tournaments were to be included for the Order of Merit. By the post- World War II period prize money was becoming more significant, with sponsors being attracted by the introduction of television coverage, and as such it was becoming more feasible for professional golfers to make a living by playing alone. In the United States a formal organised tour, which later became known as
1708-723: The PGA's headquarters at The Belfry and set up its own headquarters at the Tytherington Club in Cheshire . In 1998 the Tour changed its name to European Ladies' Professional Golf Association Limited and again in July 2000 to Ladies European Tour Limited. In 2008 the tour relocated to offices at the Buckinghamshire Golf Club , which is just outside London. In 2010, the LET Access Series (LETAS)
1769-477: The United States and several major European countries, such as Germany and Italy, have not regularly produced high-ranked golfers, as was formerly anticipated. Nonetheless, the number of European countries which have produced winners on the European Tour and PGA Tour has increased, with notable golfing depth developing in the Scandinavian countries. However, since the late-1990s more young golfers from around
1830-517: The Year was an award handed by a panel comprising members of the Association of Golf Writers and commentators from television and radio. The award was created in 1985 and lasted until 2020, when it merged with the Players' Player of the Year award in 2021. The European Tour Players' Player of the Year was inaugurated in 2008, with the winner being determined by a vote of tour members. In 2017
1891-829: The agreement, the PGA Tour acquired a 15% stake in European Tour Productions, the Scottish Open gained a new title sponsor and became co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour, and two regular PGA Tour tournaments also became co-sanctioned by the European Tour: the Barbasol Championship and the Barracuda Championship . There was also a new sponsor and increased prize fund for the Irish Open . In June 2022, in response to
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1952-669: The award was renamed as the Seve Ballesteros Award in honour of the legendary Spanish golfer . From 2021 onwards, the Seve Ballesteros Award merged with the Golfer of the Year award, creating one singular honour voted for by the players. The Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award is named after the English three-time Open Champion Sir Henry Cotton . Originally chosen by Henry Cotton himself,
2013-614: The emergence of LIV Golf , the tours announced that the PGA Tour were increasing their stake to 40% and further changes to the tour, including increased prize funds and leading players in the DP World Tour Rankings gaining PGA Tour cards for the following season. The European Tour is considered the second most important tour in men's golf, behind the United States–based PGA Tour , but retains significantly higher standing than other leading golf tours around
2074-770: The example set in the United States, and having been threatened with a breakaway, in 1975 the PGA agreed to amend their constitution giving the tournament side more autonomy with the formation of the Tournament Players Division . In 1977 the Tournament Players Division joined with the Continental Tournament Players Association to become the European Tournament Players Division , and the following year it
2135-488: The following month, both through sponsor's exemptions on the main European Tour and on the developmental Challenge Tour. It is a route that has been successfully followed, most notably by multiple major winner Brooks Koepka . It has been claimed that the finances of the European Tour depend heavily on the Ryder Cup. Days before the start of the 2014 Ryder Cup , American golf journalist Bob Harig noted, In simple terms,
2196-550: The fourth time on home soil at Killeen Castle in Ireland . The success continued when Europe earned an historic first away victory at Colorado Golf Club , winning The Cup for the fifth time in 2013 . A record 26 official money events were scheduled for the 2008 season, which also saw the introduction of a new team competition called the European Ladies Golf Cup . Also, for the first time in several years,
2257-406: The last time the Ryder Cup was staged in Europe. A year later, when there was no Ryder Cup, it lost more than 2.2 million pounds. Harig also added that the PGA European Tour extracts significant concessions from Ryder Cup venues. The owners of the 2006 and 2010 venues (respectively Sir Michael Smurfit and Sir Terry Matthews ) committed to hosting European Tour events at their venues for more than
2318-752: The leading first-year player on the Order of Merit rankings. European Tour The European Tour , currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group , is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe . The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged 50 or older) and the developmental Challenge Tour ;
2379-405: The limited number of slots available on the main tour each summer. However, the second-tier Challenge Tour has visited Central and Eastern Europe somewhat more frequently. In 1995, the European Tour began a policy of co-sanctioning tournaments with other PGA Tours , by endorsing the South African PGA Championship on the Southern African Tour (now the Sunshine Tour ). This policy was extended to
2440-401: The majors and WGCs meant that players could potentially become members, or retain membership, of the tour by playing just four other events. Players such as Ernie Els and Retief Goosen have taken advantage of this to play the PGA and European Tours concurrently. For the 2009 season, the minimum number of events required for members was increased to twelve; this coincided with the elevation of
2501-424: The majors and WGCs, it made it easier for players not eligible for these to retain European Tour membership while playing a full PGA Tour schedule. The minimum was reduced from five to four in 2018. In November 2021, the tour was retitled as the DP World Tour as part of a sponsorship agreement with Dubai-based DP World . In November 2020, the tour entered into a "strategic alliance" with the PGA Tour. As part of
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2562-423: The overall pattern from one year to the next. Occasionally tournaments change venue, and quite often change name, particularly when they get a new sponsor, but the principal events have fixed and traditional places in the schedule, and this determines the rhythm of the season. In 2009, the Order of Merit was replaced by the Race to Dubai, with a bonus pool of US$ 7.5 million (originally $ 10 million) distributed among
2623-459: The past, with even some of the top European players staying away. For many players, the European Tour is seen as a stepping-stone to the PGA Tour. During the late twentieth century, the European Tour was traditionally the first overseas move for outstanding players from non-European countries, particularly in the Commonwealth , long a major source for elite golfers, such as Greg Norman , Nick Price and Ernie Els . These players tended to move to
2684-441: The remainder having prize funds of between €200,000 and €400,000. Total prize money from the 2016 events passed €14 million. Individual LET tournaments have purses fixed in a mixture of Australian dollars, British pounds, euro, New Zealand dollars and U.S. dollars, so year on year changes in the total prize fund reflect exchange rate fluctuations as well as prize fund movements in constant currencies. Source: The Order of Merit
2745-483: The season stretched into November for the first time. In 1984, the PGA European Tour became independent of The Professional Golfers' Association. The following year, the tour became "all-exempt" with the end of pre-qualifying for tournaments. The European Tour has always been sensitive to the risk that its best players will leave to play on the PGA Tour for many reasons. The PGA Tour usually offers higher purses and European players want to increase their chances of glory in
2806-443: The second tier of men's professional golf in Europe. The tour's headquarters are at the Wentworth Club in Virginia Water , Surrey , England. The European Tour was established by the British-based Professional Golfers' Association through the 1970s, and responsibility was transferred to an independent PGA European Tour organisation in 1984. Most tournaments on the PGA European Tour's three tours are held in Europe, but starting in
2867-413: The three majors played in the U.S. by playing on more U.S.-style courses to acclimate themselves. In an attempt to counter this phenomenon, the European Tour introduced the "Volvo Bonus Pool" in 1988. This was extra prize money which was distributed at the end of the season to the most successful players of the year—but only golfers who had played in a high number of the European Tour's events could receive
2928-422: The top 15 players at the end of the season, with the winner taking $ 1.5 million (originally $ 2 million). The new name reflected the addition of a new season ending tournament, the Dubai World Championship , held at the end of November in Dubai. The tournament also had a $ 7.5 million prize fund (originally $ 10 million), and was contested by the leading 60 players in the race following the season's penultimate event,
2989-416: The tour announced that the Rankings would be reverted to the Race to Dubai, starting from the 2023 season. For the 2017 season, the European Tour launched the Rolex Series, a series of events with higher prize funds than regular tour events. The series began with eight events, each with a minimum prize fund of $ 7 million. The European Tour's money list was known as the "Order of Merit" until 2009, when it
3050-459: The tour plays mainly in Europe, and the events in its home continent generally have higher prize money than those held elsewhere, excluding the major championships, which were added to the tour schedule in 1998; three individual World Golf Championships events, added the following year, most of which take place in the United States; and the HSBC Champions, elevated to World Golf Championships status in 2009. There are generally only minor variations in
3111-402: The tournament committee is David Howell . The PGA European Tour is the lead partner in Ryder Cup Europe, a joint venture also including the PGA of Great Britain and Ireland and PGA of Europe that operates the Ryder Cup Matches in cooperation with the PGA of America . The PGA European Tour has a 60% interest in Ryder Cup Europe, with each of its junior partners holding 20%. In June 2023, it
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#17328012861293172-434: The winner was later selected by a panel consisting of the PGA European Tour, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and the Association of Golf Writers. It is currently given to the rookie who places highest in the Race to Dubai . The award was first presented in 1960, and thus predates the official start of the tour in 1972. There have been five years when no award was made. The European Challenge Tour Graduate of
3233-564: The world are starting their careers directly in the United States, often having attended college as amateurs, usually with golf scholarships , before turning professional. Conversely, some young American players have sought to kick-start their professional careers in Europe, having failed to qualify for either PGA Tour or its development tour. For example, former world number one amateur , Peter Uihlein , announced in December 2011 that he would not return for his final semester at Oklahoma State University and would begin professional play in Europe
3294-399: The world. This status is reflected by the minimum world ranking points available in each tours respective tournaments, and prize money available. The total prize money available on the European Tour is approximately half that of the PGA Tour. However, this includes the majors and World Golf Championships , which are the most lucrative on the schedule, so the difference for regular tournaments
3355-452: Was The Open Championship , which was introduced in 1860. Over the following decades, the number of golf tournaments offering prize money increased slowly but steadily. Most were in the United Kingdom, but there were also several "national opens" in various countries of Continental Europe . In 1901, The Professional Golfers' Association was founded to represent the interests of professional golfers throughout Great Britain and Ireland, and it
3416-434: Was agreed with the European Golf Association that the Continental Order of Merit would be discontinued. In its early years the season ran for six months from April to October, and was based entirely in Europe, mainly in Great Britain and Ireland. Over the next three decades the tour gradually lengthened and globalised. The first event held outside Europe was the 1982 Tunisian Open . That year, there were 27 tournaments and
3477-485: Was announced that the PGA Tour , LIV Golf and the European Tour would merge under a single organisation. Professional golf began in Europe, specifically in Scotland. The first professionals were clubmakers and greenkeepers who also taught golf to the wealthy men who could afford to play the game (early handmade equipment was expensive) and played "challenge matches" against one another for purses put up by wealthy backers. The first multi-competitor stroke play tournament
3538-537: Was established the following year with Carlsberg as the main sponsor, supporting 12 36-hole tournaments, with several other tournaments including the Women's British Open on the schedule. For the first two seasons, the majority of tournaments were held over 36-holes; in 1981, that increased to 54-holes. Total prize money on the tour was planned to rise to £250,000 in 1981, from £80,000 in the inaugural season, but several tournaments and pro-ams were lost after sponsors withdrew. Carlsberg ended their sponsorship after
3599-448: Was launched as the official development tour. In January 2020, the Ladies European Tour entered into a joint venture arrangement with the LPGA Tour , with the stated aim of "increasing playing opportunities for female golfers in Europe". The board of directors of Ladies European Golf Venture Limited, which assumed control of the tour, includes high level representatives from the LPGA Tour, European Tour , and The R&A . The 2020 season
3660-407: Was replaced by the Race to Dubai . It is calculated in euro , although around half of the events have prize funds which are fixed in other currencies, mainly pounds sterling or U.S. dollars. In these instances, the amounts are converted into euro at the exchange rate for the week that the tournament is played. The winner of the Order of Merit receives the Harry Vardon Trophy, not to be confused with
3721-419: Was this body that ultimately created the European Tour. As the tournament circuit grew, in 1937 the Harry Vardon Trophy was created to be awarded to the member of the PGA with the best stroke average in select major stroke play tournaments of the season. This would later become known as the Order of Merit, and at different times has been calculated using stroke average, a points system and money earned. Each year
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