In November, members of the Ladies European Tour were all set to vote for a merger with the LPGA, with the result promising to transform the state of the women’s game.
For optimists, it offered the prospect of the LPGA, with its record prize funds and solid schedule, allying with an LET that has, since 2021, been bolstered by the lucrative investment of Aramco, the Saudi Arabian Oil Group.
Aramco’s sponsorship of the LET’s Saudi Ladies International and Team Series continues into 2024 with the former boasting a $5 million prize fund and the latter featuring five events, each with a $1 million prize fund.
The events stand out from the typical week on the LET for multiple reasons. For one, the common LET prize fund is between $300,000 and $400,000; for another, the Aramco events attract some of the world’s best players; and, for another, many of them are financially induced to tee it up.
The smart money is that the merger will not happen.
The idea of allying two tours with powerful backers was understandably attractive.
Others wondered about the future of the LET. Wondered about the prospect of U.S.-centric decision-making. Wondered about the LET’s strongest tournaments being lost to the LPGA. Wondered whether the LET would begin as a partner and end as a second-tier circuit.
Turns out there was a third option, too.
At the season-ending Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España, the vote was derailed by what was described as “information received just prior to the meeting.”
Quite what this was is somewhat mired in confusion. It is said that Golf Saudi (which runs the Aramco events) wanted clarification of the implications of any merger, yet a board member acknowledged in December that she didn’t know what was going to happen next.
The smart money is that the merger will not happen (not, at least, for a while).
Instead, expect a repeat of 2019. That was the first time the LET rejected union with the LPGA and the two boards entered into a strategic alliance.
In less fretful news, if partnership with each other is proving to be difficult, neither tour is struggling to collaborate with financial backers.
The LPGA’s 33-event 2024 schedule features a record $118 million total prize fund (a 69-percent increase from 2021) and the LET’s 2024 schedule has a total prize fund of more than €34 million (about $37.2 million, more than double the 2019 figure).
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