The Ladies European Tour (LET) returns to Northern Ireland this week for the ISPS HANDA World Invitational Presented by AVIV Clinics.
It is the third edition of the tournament, which is tri-sanctioned with the DP World Tour, LPGA Tour and LET.
Before the tournament gets underway, here are a few points to look out for…
Unique event returns
The ISPS HANDA World Invitational sees two separate 72-hole stroke play tournaments for men and women with two separate prize funds of USD $1,500,000.
For the first two rounds, all players will play one round at Galgorm and one round at Castlerock Golf Club. The men and women will play in separate alternating groups on both courses.
In rounds three and four, the men and women will again play in separate alternating groups in score order (within the separate tournaments) at Galgorm only.
This week there are two cuts with the first being to the top 60 professionals and ties after 36 holes, and another cut to the top 35 players and ties after 54 holes.
Two courses with different tests
Galgorm once again returns as one of the venues for this week with the parklands layout nestled in the heart of the historic Galgorm estate.
While the second course this year is Castlerock Golf Club, which is located on the north coast and will provide a test of Links Golf.
With the players having to play each course on the first two days, they will have to adapt their game to the different challenges that await.
Home favourites in town
There is a strong home contingent this week with three players from Northern Ireland as LPGA Tour member Stephanie Meadow, LET member Olivia Mehaffey and invite Jessica Ross.
While two-time LPGA Tour winner and Solheim Cup star Leona Maguire, who is from Cavan in Ireland, is also in the field.
Maguire finished in a tie for tenth at last year’s tournament and will be hoping to improve upon that this week.
More points on offer
With it being a co-sanctioned event with the LPGA, there are more points on offer in the 2023 Race to Costa del Sol.
This week the winner would receive 750 points on the Race to Costa del Sol compared to 500 points at a standard LET event, so it’s all to play for.
Last week for Solheim Cup qualification
It’s the last week for players to impress European Solheim Cup captain Suzann Pettersen, as the qualification period for the 2023 Solheim Cup comes to an end at the conclusion of play on Sunday.
The top two players from the LET Solheim Cup points list and the top six players from the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings will automatically qualify with the four captain’s picks being announced on Tuesday 22 August.
Follow all the action on @LETGolf on Instagram and Twitter and Ladies European Tour on Facebook and YouTube – #RaiseOurGame #WorldInvitational.
