The Jabra Ladies Open, to be held at the Evian Resort Golf Club in France from May 31-June 2, 2018, is to become the first “Dual Ranking” event on the LET Access Series (LETAS) and the Ladies European Tour (LET).
A European qualifying competition for the Evian Championship, which is the only golf Major in continental Europe, was first introduced in 2014. This was elevated to become the Jabra Ladies Open in 2016 and joined the LET Access Series in 2017. Following the tournament’s success, the prize fund has been raised to at least €120,000 for 2018 and the field of competitors will now include an equal number of members from the LET Access Series and Ladies European Tour.
Doubling as the European qualifier, the Jabra Ladies Open offers women golfers from all over the world the opportunity to earn two qualification places in the highly select line-up at the fifth and final Major of the season, to be played at the Evian Resort Golf Club on September 13-16, 2018.
The winner of the Jabra Ladies Open will also qualify for the 2018 Ricoh Women’s British Open at Royal Lytham and St. Anne’s Golf Club in August and gain a one-year exemption to the LET, until the end of 2019.
LET Chairman Mark Lichtenhein commented: “We are delighted to progress the Jabra Ladies Open from an LET Access Series tournament into our first “Dual Ranking” event on the Ladies European Tour and we couldn’t be more enthused to align with Jabra, a company which fully supports our players and our vision for the future. As an organisation, we aim to promote and develop women’s world golf and enable the best talent to achieve excellence at exceptional events. The Jabra Ladies Open provides a number of opportunities for our members including a springboard to experience playing in a Major and underlines our long-standing connection with Evian since 1994.”
Joel Hamon, Senior Vice President, EMEA & CALA, Jabra, commented: “We are delighted with this rise in importance of the Jabra Ladies Open, which contributes to the new momentum in women’s European golf, and which, I hope, may attract new investors. These ambitious changes and developments are totally in line with Jabra and The Evian Championship’s commitment over the past 3 years to position itself as a driving force in women’s golf in support of the professional players. A clear desire and tangible actions which translate into deliberate investments and a growth policy for the Jabra Ladies Open over the long term. All of these initiatives guarantee the players a level of support that matches their talent.”
Since the Evian Championship European qualifier was first introduced, six young players from five different countries have earned their place in the fifth Major. They include Danes Emily Kristine Pedersen and Nanna Koerstz Madsen, Klara Spilkova from the Czech Republic, Russian Maria Verchenova, Isabelle Boineau from France and Johanna Gustavsson, from Sweden, all of whom have gone on to achieve success on the global golf tours.
