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The Ladies European Tour unveiled its 2013 schedule Friday, featuring a minimum of 23 tournaments around the world, with more to be confirmed.
Starting in Australia in early February, the season will see the Tour travel through Australasia, Asia, Africa, Europe and the United States before ending back in Dubai with the 2013 Omega Dubai Ladies Masters at Emirates Golf Club in December.
As well as a new tournament at Vasatorp Golf Club in Helsingborg, Sweden, new venues include Royal Canberra Golf Club in Australia, Southbroom Golf Club in South Africa, The International – Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Golf Park Plzeň – Dýšin in the Czech Republic and Colorado Golf Club in the United States.
One of the main highlights of the year will be The Solheim Cup at Colorado Golf Club in August, where Team Europe will attempt to retain The Cup by winning for the first time on US soil.
“With 23 tournaments already confirmed at the time of going to press, we are hopeful of making additional tournament announcements in the near future which will further strengthen the playing schedule,” said Executive Director Alexandra Armas. “The Ladies European Tour remains in a strong position and we are in discussion with a number of major corporations, national tours and federations who are all keen to work with the Tour.”
As in previous seasons, the 2013 Ladies European Tour is an eclectic mix of diverse locations, beginning in the Gold Coast, Australia, at the Volvik RACV Ladies Masters on February.
The Tour will then return to Clearwater Golf Club for the ISPS Handa New Zealand Ladies Open on February 8-10, before the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open takes place at Royal Canberra Golf Club from February 14-17.
Many of the Tour’s 2012 champions will gather at Mission Hills Haikou in China for the second World Ladies Championship on March 7-10 with a one million dollar prize fund for the combined individual and team events.
From there, the Tour moves to Africa for the Lalla Meryem Cup in Agadir, Morocco, on March 28-31, to be played during the same week and in the same city as the Hassan Trophy on the men’s PGA European Tour.
The South Africa Women’s Open is scheduled for May 19-21 with the Turkish Ladies Open from May 9-12.
The Tour returns to its home continent of Europe with the Deloitte Ladies Open in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, from May 24-26.
The sixth edition of the UniCredit Ladies German Open presented by Audi will then be played from May 30 to June 2nd at Golfpark Gut Häusern north of Munich.
From there, the Tour moves straight to Spain for the Open de Espana Femenino from June 13-16, with the Allianz Ladies Slovak Open from June 20-23.
The Ricoh Women’s British Open, a major championship, will be one of the highlights of the season and will be played for only the second time on the Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland, on August 1-4.
The qualification process to make the 2013 Solheim Cup team will conclude here with both the European and United States’ 12-woman teams to be announced on an exciting Sunday evening at St Andrews.
The following week, the Pilsen Golf Masters will break new ground by taking the Tour to Golf Park Plzeň – Dýšina for the first time, from August 9-11.
The 2013 Solheim Cup will be played at Colorado Golf Club in Parker, Colorado, from August 16-18, during the week after the US PGA Championship.
The Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open presented by EventScotland will be staged at Archerfield Links for the fourth successive year from Aug 30 – Sept 1. This event will once again be played in a unique Pro-Am style format with a number of celebrity amateurs joining the professional golfers on the fairways.
The Tour will then make an eagerly anticipated return to Sweden for The Helsinborg Open at Vasatorp Golf Club in Helsingborg from Sept 5 – 8, which previously hosted the Ladies European Tour in 2002.
The Evian Championship in France, which will be considered a major on the women’s world golfing calendar for the first time, will be played from September 12-15, followed by the Lacoste Ladies Open de France at Chantaco Golf Club from Sept 26 – 29.
The season will culminate with four tournaments in Asia and the Middle East. The four tournaments are the Sanya Ladies Open, China Suzhou Taihu Open, Hero Honda Women’s Indian Open and Omega Dubai Ladies Masters.
