With there being a three-week break on the LET Access Series (LETAS), several players are teeing it up at this week’s Dutch Ladies Open on the Ladies European Tour (LET).
The Dutch Ladies Open is taking place at Hilversumsche Golf Club between 19-21 July and will see a field of 132 players from 35 nations teeing it up.
Dutch player Nikki Hofstede will be playing in her home open on the LET having had a consistent year on LETAS so far.
The 22-year-old missed the whole of the 2023 season due to injury but has managed to have two top-10 finishes so far in 2024.
Hofstede hopes to be playing on the LET next season, so believes this is a good test to see where her game is at halfway through the season.
“I am super excited, it’s such a big honour,” said Hofstede. “There’s nothing that beats playing in front of your home crowd, it’s so special.
“Coming off my injury last year, the start has been a little bit slower just getting back into competing and finding my way again. I feel like I’ve done that throughout the start, and it’s been improving week to week, so that’s really good.
“If my wrist was doing fine, it was definitely a big goal for this season and to have achieved that in being able to play is huge.
“The LET is the goal for next year so seeing halfway through the season how I’m holding up against the girls and there’s so many girls from LETAS playing, but also from previous years so seeing them again is so nice.”
Sweden’s Kajsa Arwefjäll turned professional at the end of May and won the MoreGolf Mastercard Open on LETAS in her home country just a few weeks ago.
Arwefjäll sits second in the LETAS Order of Merit on 987 points behind world number one amateur Helen Briem.
Having made her professional debut at the Dormy Open Helsingborg on the LET, the Swedish star is looking forward to the week ahead.
“I feel like it was yesterday I made my pro debut, but at the same time it feels like I have played a lot of tournaments since then,” said Arwefjäll.
“I’m feeling good. I took a couple of days off and then I got the invite here, so I got to practice. I’m hitting them good. My mum came with me; we drove down here and we’re staying at a host family. My mum is going to be my caddie too.
“It’s always fun to compete against the players here to see what they’re doing better or maybe I’m doing something better. It’s always nice to compare your game. I’m just going to go out there and do my best.
“I’m just hoping to have a good week! Obviously, you want to be in the top and play in the late groups on Sunday. I am hoping for that.”
Another Swede who has been playing on LETAS is Andrea Lignell, who has made three appearances so far in 2024.
Lignell finished as runner-up behind Arwefjäll at the MoreGolf Mastercard Open and with another top-15 finish and top-40 finish, she sits 12th in the Order of Merit.
With the hiatus in the LETAS calendar, the plan was always for the Ole Miss graduate to get an invite and play in this tournament.
“I’m feeling good, this is my second LET event of the year,” said Lignell. “Playing on the LET Access Series, I’m really excited that I got the opportunity to play here this week. I applied for the invite over the winter because I wanted to play on the LET when there wasn’t a LETAS event, so this was perfect.
“I try to not have too many expectations to be honest. I feel like it’s pretty easy to set too high goals sometimes, especially since I don’t get to play in many LET tournaments, I feel like I want to go out there and enjoy myself. I have my dad on the bag for the week, so just trying to have a good time with him.”
Follow all the action throughout the tournament on our socials – @LETgolf on Instagram, TikTok and X, and Ladies European Tour on YouTube and Facebook – #RaiseOurGame #DutchLadiesOpen.
