On February 16th 10 founding members of the Ladies European Tour (LET) were joined by other early members, friends and family at the iconic Thorpeness Golf Club to celebrate 45 years of the LET.
The event was organised by Christine Langford, a three-time winner on the Ladies European Tour (LET) and saw the guests enjoy plenty of catch ups, a three-course dinner, and a nostalgic quiz.
The LET, formerly the Women’s Professional Golfers’ Association (WPGA), was founded at the end of 1978 with Carlsberg as the main sponsor.
The tour had humble beginnings, starting with 12 36-hole tournaments in 1979.
The founders in attendance last weekend were (L-R) Sue Bamford, Pam Chugg (née Light), Julie Smith (née Warby), Cathy Panton-Lewis, Jane Forrest (née Panter), Maxine Burton, Christine Langford, Denise Hastings, Vanessa Marvin, and Jenny Lucas (née Lee Smith).
Sadly a few early players and founders of the LET have passed away before this milestone anniversary including Scotland’s Dale Reid and England’s Beverly Lewis,who became one of just two women to attain PGA Master Professional status and was the PGA’s first female captain.
Video messages were also heard at the dinner from those who couldn’t attend including LET stars Laura Davies, Trish Johnson and LET CEO Alexandra Armas.
Laura Davies couldn’t have summed up the founders’ attitude better when she said: “The latest generation will be making more than you ever did, but I guarantee they didn’t have the same amount of fun.”
Speaking about the importance of the event, Langford said:
“We didn’t want to just meet up at funerals.
“It’s been a great day and night with the fellow founders. We all have such a strong bond even after all these years.
“It’s important to remember the LET’s roots, if it’s not recorded it will be forgotten.”
In that sentiment, to celebrate 45 years the LET will release over the course of the year a new video series about the founders which will document how the LET started and how far it has come.
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