The Ladies European Tour is a professional golf tour for women which was founded in 1979. It is based in England. Like many UK-based sports organisations it is a company limited by guarantee, a legal structure which enables it to focus on maximising returns to its members through prize money, rather than on making profits for investors. The tour is run by a Board of Directors and a Players' Council. Most of the players on the tour are European, and the largest non-European contingent by far comes from Australia. Golf is a sport in which individual players or teams hit a ball into a hole using various clubs, and also is one of the few ball games that does not use a fixed standard playing area. ... In British or Irish company law, a Limited Company is a person on its own right. ...

History

The U.S. based LPGA was founded in 1950, but women's professional golf was slower to get established in Europe. In 1978 the Women's Professional Golf Association (WPGA) was formed as part of Professional Golfers' Association of Great Britain and Ireland and a tour was established the following year. In 1988 the tour members decided to form an independent company, the Women Professional Golfers' European Tour Limited. This new company moved away from the PGA's at The Belfry and set up its own headquarters at the Tytherington Club in Cheshire. In 1998 the Tour changed its name to European Ladies' Professional Golf Association Limited and again in July 2000 to its current name, Ladies European Tour Limited. LPGA stands for Ladies Professional Golf Association. ... The Professional Golfers Association is the professional body which represents the interests of teaching and club golf professionals in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. ... The De Vere Belfry is a prestigious golf club in Wishaw near Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire, England. ... The Cheshire Plain - photo taken adjacent to Beeston Castle The Cheshire Plain - photo taken towards Merseyside The Cheshire Plain panorama - photo taken from Mid-Cheshire Ridge Cattle farming in the county Black-and-white timbered buildings on Nantwich High Street Cheshire (or, archaically, the County of Chester)[1] is a...

In July 2005 the tour dismissed its fifth chief executive in eight years as it continued to find it very difficult to compete effectively against the LPGA Tour for players and media attention, even in its home continent. The tour added six new events in 2006 and 2007. The LPGA is the Ladies Professional Golf Association. ...

Tournaments

There are 24 events that count towards the 2007 Order of Merit. The two richest events by far are the Evian Masters and the Women's British Open, which are co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour and have prize funds of over €2.5 million and over €1.5 million respectively. The other events consist of five with prize funds of approximately €500,000, and seventeen with prize funds of between €165,000 and €400,000. The five half million euro events were in Australia (co-sanctioned with the ALPG Tour), Switzerland, Sweden, Wales and Dubai. Total prize money in 2007 Order of Merit events exceeds €10 million. The Evian Masters is a womens professional golf tournament which is played in France each July. ... The Womens British Open, also known for sponsorship reasons as the Weetabix Womens British Open, is one of the leading events in womens professional golf, being the only tournament which is classified as a major by both the Ladies European Tour and the LPGA Tour. ... The ALPG Tour is a professional golf tour for women which is based in Australia. ...

Unlike in men's golf, the European and American tours do not share a common set of majors, although the Women's British Open is co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour and the LPGA Championship is recognised as a major by both organisations. The only other event on the Ladies European Tour with "major" status is the Evian Masters, which is played in France. The Evian Masters is not recognised as a major by the LPGA, but the LPGA co-sanctions the event as part of its regular schedule. The significance of this is limited as the LPGA Tour is so dominant in global women's golf that "women's majors" usually refers to the LPGA majors, even in Europe. In fact, the Ladies European Tour tacitly acknowledges this reality by not scheduling any of its tournaments to conflict with the three LPGA majors played in the U.S. Womens golf has evolved a set of major championships which parallels that in mens golf, but the womens system is younger and has been less stable than the mens. ... The Womens British Open, also known for sponsorship reasons as the Weetabix Womens British Open, is one of the leading events in womens professional golf, being the only tournament which is classified as a major by both the Ladies European Tour and the LPGA Tour. ... The LPGA Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the McDonalds LPGA Championship, is the second-longest running tournament in the history of the Ladies Professional Golf Association surpassed only by the U.S. Womens Open. ... The Evian Masters is a womens professional golf tournament which is played in France each July. ...

2007 schedule

The table below shows the 2007 schedule. The numbers in brackets after the winners' names show the number of career wins they had on the Ladies European Tour up to and including that event. This is only shown for members of the tour.

Dates	Tournament	Host country	Winner	Notes
19-21 Jan	Acer World Cup of Golf	South Africa	Julieta Granada and Celeste Troche (N/A)	Team event co-sanctioned by the five main women's tours; unofficial prize money
1-4 Feb	MFS Australian Open	Australia	Karrie Webb (N/A)	Co-sanctioned by the ALPG Tour
8-11 Feb	ANZ Australian Masters	Australia	Karrie Webb (N/A)	Co-sanctioned by the ALPG Tour
3-6 May	Tenerife Open	Spain	Nikki Garrett (1)
10-13 May	Caja Duero Spanish Open	Spain	Nikki Garrett (2)
17-20 May	Deutsche Bank Swiss Open	Switzerland	Bettina Hauert (1)
23-26 May	BMW Italian Open	Italy	Trish Johnson (18)
1-3 Jun	Northern Ireland Open	Northern Ireland
8-10 Jun	KLM Open	Netherlands
15-17 Jun	Catalonia Masters	Spain
21-24 Jun	Vediorbis French Open	France
29 Jun - 1 Jul	Portuguese Open	Portugal
6-8 Jul	Golf Punk English Open	England
13-15 Jul	OTP Bank Central European Open	Hungary
25-28 Jul	Evian Masters	France		Co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour
2-5 Aug	Ricoh British Open Championship	Scotland		Co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour
9-12 Aug	SAS Scandinavian TPC Presented by Skandia	Sweden
16-19 Aug	Wales LPGA Championship of Europe	Wales
24-26 Aug	SAS Masters	Norway
31 Aug-2 Sep	Finnair Masters	Finland
6-9 Sep	Nykredit Danish Masters	Denmark
14-16 Sep	Solheim Cup	Sweden		Team event; no prize money
21-23 Sep	De Vere Scottish Open	Scotland
27-30 Sep	Siemens Austrian Open Presented by UNIQA	Austria
5-7 Oct	Madrid Masters	Spain
6-9 Dec	Dubai Masters Presented by Dubal	United Arab Emirates

Major championships in bold. The Womens World Cup of Golf is a professional event for two woman teams which was played for the first time in February 2005. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_South_Africa. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Paraguay. ... // Julieta Granada (born 17 November 1986 in Asunción) is a Paraguayan golfer who plays on the United States based LPGA Tour. ... Celeste Troche (pronounced say-LESS-tay TROH-shay) is a Paraguayan professional golfer who was born in Asunción on February 13, 1981. ... The Australian Open is one of the principal annual golf tournaments on the PGA Tour of Australasia. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Personal Information Birth December 21, 1974 (age 32) Queensland, Australia Height 5 ft 6 in (1. ... The ALPG Tour is a professional golf tour for women which is based in Australia. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Personal Information Birth December 21, 1974 (age 32) Queensland, Australia Height 5 ft 6 in (1. ... The ALPG Tour is a professional golf tour for women which is based in Australia. ... Turespana Open De Canaria was the final name of a European Tour golf tournament that was held six years out of seven from 1989 to 1995. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Nicole Maree Nikki Garrett (born 8 January 1984) is an Australian professional golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Nicole Maree Nikki Garrett (born 8 January 1984) is an Australian professional golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Switzerland. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... Personal Information Birth June 18, 1982 ) (age 24) Hagen, Germany Height 5 ft 10 in (1. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England_(bordered). ... Patricia Mary Trish Johnson is an English golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Northern_Ireland_(bordered). ... Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ... The KLM Open is an annual European Tour golf tournament played in The Netherlands. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Netherlands. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... The Portuguese Open, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Estoril Open de Portugal Caixa Geral de Depositos, is an annual tournament on mens golfs European Tour. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Portugal. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England_(bordered). ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Unified  -  by Athelstan 967 AD  Area  -  Total 130,395 km²  50,346 sq mi  Population  -  2007 estimate... Image File history File links Flag_of_Hungary. ... The Evian Masters is a womens professional golf tournament which is played in France each July. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... The LPGA is the Ladies Professional Golf Association. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Scotland. ... Motto (Latin) No one provokes me with impunity Cha togar mfhearg gun dioladh (Scottish Gaelic)1 Wha daur meddle wi me?(Scots)1 Anthem (Multiple unofficial anthems) Scotlands location in Europe Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official languages English, Gaelic, Scots Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II... The LPGA is the Ladies Professional Golf Association. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Wales_(bordered). ... This article is about the country. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Norway. ... The Finnair Masters is the Finnish stop on golfs Ladies European Tour. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Finland_(bordered). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Denmark. ... The Solheim Cup is a biennial golf tournament for professional women golfers contested by teams representing Europe and the United States. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Scotland. ... Motto (Latin) No one provokes me with impunity Cha togar mfhearg gun dioladh (Scottish Gaelic)1 Wha daur meddle wi me?(Scots)1 Anthem (Multiple unofficial anthems) Scotlands location in Europe Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official languages English, Gaelic, Scots Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II... Image File history File links Flag_of_Austria. ... The Madrid Masters is is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates. ... Womens golf has evolved a set of major championships which parallels that in mens golf, but the womens system is younger and has been less stable than the mens. ...

For the latest version of the tour schedule on the Ladies European Tour's website, including links to full results, click here.

Past tour schedules

It should be noted that individual LET tournaments have purses fixed in a mixture of British pounds, euro and U.S. dollars, so year on year changes in the total prize fund reflect exchange rate fluctuations as well as prize fund adjustments.

This table is incomplete.

// The Ladies European Tour is a professional golf tour for women which was founded in 1979. ... The 2006 Ladies European Tour was a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from around the world which took place from January through October of 2006. ... // Mens professional golf Major championships 7-10 April: The Masters - Tiger Woods defeated fellow American Chris DiMarco at the first playoff hole to claim his 4th Masters title, and his 9th major. ... Events January 11 - Mercedes Championships winner: Stuart Appleby, $1,060,000 (66-67-66-71--270) January 15-16 - At the age of 14, golf prodigy Michelle Wie becomes the youngest woman (and only the fourth overall) to play at a PGA TOUR event, shooting 72-68 (even par) at... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ...

Order of Merit and seasonal award winners

The Order of Merit is awarded to the leading money winner on the tour, though for some years in the past a points system was used. The Player's Player of the Year award is voted by the members of the Tour for the member they believe has contributed the most to the season on the Tour. The Rookie of the Year (known as the Bill Johnson Trophy from 1999 to 2003 and now the Ryder Cup Wales Rookie of the Year) is awarded to the leading first-year player on the Order of Merit rankings.

This list is incomplete.

Year	Order of Merit		Player of the Year	Rookie of the Year
2006	Laura Davies	€471,727	Gwladys Nocera	Nikki Garrett
2005	Iben Tinning	€204,672	Iben Tinning	Elisa Serramia
2004	Laura Davies	777.26 pts	Stephanie Arricau	Minea Blomqvist
2003	Sophie Gustafson	917.95 pts	Sophie Gustafson	Rebecca Stevenson
2002	Paula Marti	6,589 pts	Annika Sörenstam	Kirsty S. Taylor
2001	Raquel Carriedo-Tomas	10,661 pts		Suzann Pettersen
2000	Sophie Gustafson	8,777 pts	Sophie Gustafson	Giulia Sergas
1999	Laura Davies	£204,522		Elaine Ratcliffe
1998	Helen Alfredsson	£125,975	Sophie Gustafson	Laura Philo
1997	Alison Nicholas	£94,590	Alison Nicholas	Anna Berg
1996	Laura Davies	£110,880		Anne-Marie Knight
1995	Annika Sörenstam	£130,324		Karrie Webb
1994	Liselotte Neumann			Tracy Hanson
1993	Karen Lunn			Annika Sörenstam
1992	Laura Davies	£66,333		Sandrine Mendiburu
1991	Corinne Dibnah
1990	Trish Johnson	£83,043
1989	Marie-Laure de Lorenzi			Helen Alfredsson
1988	Marie-Laure de Lorenzi			Laurette Maritz
1987	Dale Reid			Trish Johnson
1986	Laura Davies	£37,500
1985	Laura Davies	£21,735		Laura Davies
1984	Dale Reid
1983	Muriel Thomson
1982	Jenny Lee Smith			Val Skinner
1981	Jenny Lee Smith
1980	Muriel Thomson
1979	Catherine Panton-Lewis

Image File history File links Flag_of_England_(bordered). ... Laura Davies (born May 10, 1963 in Coventry, England) is an English professional golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Gwladys Nocera (born 22 May 1975 in Moulins) is a French golfer. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Nicole Maree Nikki Garrett (born 8 January 1984) is an Australian professional golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Denmark. ... Iben Tinning (born 4 February 1974 in Copenhagen) is a Danish golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Denmark. ... Iben Tinning (born 4 February 1974 in Copenhagen) is a Danish golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England_(bordered). ... Laura Davies (born May 10, 1963 in Coventry, England) is an English professional golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Stephanie Arricau (born 14 June 1973 in Orthez) is a French golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Finland_(bordered). ... Personal Information Birth March 27, 1985 ) (age 22) Espoo, Finland Height 5 ft 4 in (1. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ... Sophie Gustafson (born December 27, 1973) is a Swedish golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ... Sophie Gustafson (born December 27, 1973) is a Swedish golfer. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... Paula Martí (born in Barcelona on 29 January 1980) is a Spanish golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ...   (born October 9, 1970) is a Swedish professional golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England_(bordered). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... Raquel Carriedo-Tomas (born in Zaragoza, Spain on 8 February 1971) is a Spanish golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Norway. ... Suzann Pettersen (born April 7, 1981 in Oslo), is a Norwegian golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ... Sophie Gustafson (born December 27, 1973) is a Swedish golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ... Sophie Gustafson (born December 27, 1973) is a Swedish golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England_(bordered). ... Laura Davies (born May 10, 1963 in Coventry, England) is an English professional golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England_(bordered). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ... Helen Alfredsson (born 9 April 1965 in Goteborg) is a Swedish golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ... Sophie Gustafson (born December 27, 1973) is a Swedish golfer. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Laura Philo (born April 27, 1975 in Scotia, New York) is an American professional golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England_(bordered). ... Alison Nicholas MBE (born 6 March 1962, Gibraltar) is an English golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England_(bordered). ... Alison Nicholas MBE (born 6 March 1962, Gibraltar) is an English golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England_(bordered). ... Laura Davies (born May 10, 1963 in Coventry, England) is an English professional golfer. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ...   (born October 9, 1970) is a Swedish professional golfer. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Personal Information Birth December 21, 1974 (age 32) Queensland, Australia Height 5 ft 6 in (1. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ... Liselotte Neumann (born May 20, 1966 Finspang, Sweden) is a professional golfer. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Karen Marie Lunn (born 21 March 1966) is an Australian golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ...   (born October 9, 1970) is a Swedish professional golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England_(bordered). ... Laura Davies (born May 10, 1963 in Coventry, England) is an English professional golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England_(bordered). ... Patricia Mary Trish Johnson is an English golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Marie-Laure de Lorenzi (born 21 January 1961 in Biarritz) is a French golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ... Helen Alfredsson (born 9 April 1965 in Goteborg) is a Swedish golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Marie-Laure de Lorenzi (born 21 January 1961 in Biarritz) is a French golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_South_Africa_1928-1994. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Scotland. ... Dale Reid (born 20 March 1959 in Ladybank) is a Scottish golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England_(bordered). ... Patricia Mary Trish Johnson is an English golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England_(bordered). ... Laura Davies (born May 10, 1963 in Coventry, England) is an English professional golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England_(bordered). ... Laura Davies (born May 10, 1963 in Coventry, England) is an English professional golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England_(bordered). ... Laura Davies (born May 10, 1963 in Coventry, England) is an English professional golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Scotland. ... Dale Reid (born 20 March 1959 in Ladybank) is a Scottish golfer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Scotland. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England_(bordered). ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Val Skinner (born 24 June 1960, in Bay Head, New Jersey) is an American professional golfer who plays on the United States based LPGA Tour. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England_(bordered). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Scotland. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Scotland. ... Catherine Rita Panton-Lewis (born 14 June 1955) is a Scottish golfer from Bridge of Allan, who was a founding member of the Ladies European Tour and won its first Order of Merit. ...

Notes and references

1. ^ Individual events counting towards the Order of Merit only. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland counted separately.
2. ^ Individual events counting towards the Order of Merit only. Excludes team events and qualifying school.
3. ^ As at 28 May 2007. Amendments possible.

See also

• Women's World Golf Rankings
• Professional golf tours

// The Womens World Golf Rankings, also known for sponsorship reasons as the Rolex Rankings were introduced in February 2006. ... // Top level professional golf consists of a year round schedule of weekly tournaments played all around the world. ...

External link

• Official site of the Ladies European Tour