With the season’s first major already in the books, the €50,000 Jabra Ladies Open brings an additional incentive to the LET and its development tour, the LET Access Series.
The tournament, which features on the LET Access Series for the first time this year, will be held on June 1-3, and doubles as the European Qualifier for the Evian Championship.
Hosted at the Evian Resort Golf Club in France, the Jabra Ladies Open will see 120 competitors tee it up for an opportunity to qualify for the fifth major. After 54 holes of stroke play, the leading two players will qualify to come back to France later in September.
The field includes recent winners on the LET Access Series in England’s Meghan MacLaren, and Finland’s Linda Henriksson.
Other notable former LET tournament winners include French golfers Isabelle Boineau and Gwladys Nocera along with Spain’s Nuria Iturrios, who will also attempt to qualify.
Defending champion, Valentine Derrey, shrugged off any pressure that could come with the event’s status as the official Evian Championship qualifier this year. The Frenchwoman, who shot scores of 76-69-72 to win last year, said: “It would be amazing to play the Evian in 2017, but I will go and play my game, and try to be in the top two at the end of the week.”
Current order of merit leader, MacLaren, says the opportunity to play for a place in a major is fantastic. “It makes the tournament even more exciting than it would normally be.” MacLaren who won earlier in the year at the Azores Ladies Open and followed that up with a third-place finish at the VP Bank Ladies Open in Switzerland, does not prepare for any tournament specifically. “My aim is always to approach every event in the same manner and to try and do the best I can.”
The winner at the VP Bank Ladies Open in Switzerland, Linda Henriksson felt the victory took away any pressure she had put on herself. “Playing in the Jabra Ladies Open together with the Ladies European Tour players is extra exciting, but it is not new to me as I’ve played on that tour for the past two years. I’m thrilled to get to play the legendary Evian Resort golf course. With a little luck, I might even get to come back in September. I don’t see that as additional pressure, I just see that as a great bonus,” she said.
The Jabra Ladies Open is one of three qualifying opportunities for the Evian Championship – the second is the US Qualifier on the Symetra Tour (PHC Classic, 4-6 August), for two spots. The third is a Korean Qualifier, which has one available spot, to be decided over two tournaments to be held between June 26 and August 7.
