French women’s golf has received a huge boost with the news that the Lacoste Ladies Open de France has been secured until at least 2021, thanks to a four-year extension agreement between the Ladies European Tour and the event promoter, the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO).
The extended agreement will see one of the oldest and most prestigious tournaments on the Ladies European Tour go from strength to strength. The tournament prize fund will rise from €250,000 in 2017 to €275,000 in 2018, increasing to a minimum of €300,000 for the subsequent three years.
Under the new extension, Golf du Médoc Resort in Bordeaux will host the championship for the first three years, beginning on September 6-9, 2018, taking the tournament into its 30th edition in 2020.
Golf du Médoc is the only resort in France with two courses featuring in Golf World’s top 100 courses in continental Europe and hosted the men’s European Challenge Tour Final from 2001-2004.
LET Chairman, Mark Lichtenhein, said: “Naturally, we are delighted to extend our agreement with ASO, Lacoste and the French Golf Federation to continue the Lacoste Ladies Open de France: one of the longest standing tournaments on the Ladies European Tour schedule. This is wonderful news, not only for French women’s golf, but for the Ladies European Tour as a whole.
“With a proud history and an esteemed list of champions, the tournament is one of the jewels in the crown of European golf and I have no doubt that this continued partnership and the move to the Golf du Médoc Resort will enhance the championship through to 2021.”
Tournament Director Jean-Baptiste Durier commented: “We are very pleased to pursue our agreement with the LET within the organisation of the Lacoste Ladies Open de France until 2021. This four-year agreement, as well as the new contracts for the same period with Lacoste and Richard Mille, our two main partners, represent a strong basis from which to continue to develop this historical tournament.”
The extended agreement gives the Lacoste Ladies Open de France the platform to build further on recent successes, most notably the victories of Cristie Kerr, Beth Allen, Céline Herbin, Azahara Muñoz and Stacey Keating at Golf de Chantaco.
