RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA | Alexandra Armas, chief executive officer of the Ladies European Tour, insists that the LET continues to enjoy a strong relationship with the LPGA despite the proposed merger between the tours not going ahead as per plans late last year.
The LET chief also was vehement in her support for Golf Saudi and Aramco, which were reported to be the stumbling block in the completion of the merger. Golf Saudi is said to have asked for “additional information” on the post-merger scenario.
Armas, in her second stint as the LET boss, refused to get into the details of what happened in November last year, saying she’d prefer to speak on it once everything is finalized.
“We are still in talks,” Armas said during last week’s $5 million Aramco Saudi Ladies International at Riyadh Golf Club. “We still see that unifying the women’s game is good for the women’s golf … whether it’s through a joint venture, whether it’s a merger, or whether it’s through strategic alliances with the other tours, or how we collaborate with the Sunshine Ladies Tour or the WPGA Tour of Australasia.
“The only way we are going to strengthen our position within the sports industry is by becoming a more cohesive group. We realize that we’re not just competing with the LPGA Tour, or men’s golf. We also have to consider other sports. Like, what’s women’s tennis doing? Where is women’s soccer?
“I mean, just take the case of women’s cricket in India. … It is going through the roof, and it is already the most valuable women’s sport in the world. Women’s golf must get bigger to make its presence felt in the industry. That’s our vision, and that’s why working together is so important.”
A player, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the biggest loss for LET members was the four LPGA cards that were available for the top four players from the end of this season.
“That really is the biggest loss for the members. From what we gather, a merger with the LPGA would have meant around six co-sanctioned events of $1.5 million to $2 million. We already have a confirmed backer in the form of Golf Saudi for six tournaments worth $10 million,” said the player.
“So, we are not losing much financially, but we will have a much better pathway to the LPGA if the merger happens. Having said that, most of us also understand how critical Golf Saudi’s support has been for the past few years for the LET.”
Armas said she understood the sentiments of the players, but the number of players benefitting from the LPGA cards was small compared to the much larger number that wanted a solid core of scheduled events in the geographies they are already visiting.
“We have a players’ meeting next week, so I am sure I will hear a lot more about it. There will be disappointment, especially those players that will be at the top of the Race to Costa del Sol,” she said, noting the LET’s season-long standings.
“However, not all our players aspire to go to the LPGA. We still have to drive the opportunity for LET to be a sustainable place, where our members can compete and earn,” said Armas, adding that the LET would continue to get 10 spots at the Q-Series.
“So, it’s kind of finding that balance. It’s something that is still in the works. We know building those pathways from the LET is important. We have to wait one more year. But it’s still a very important objective of ours.”
"(Golf Saudi) want to make a change in the community. It was also a very important decision for LET to come and work with them."
Alexandra Armas
When Armas took over the LET in the second half of 2019, she could not have imagined what was going to happen over the next few months. The COVID pandemic hit everyone hard, and the LET was no exception.
In 2020, if the $6 million from the AIG Women’s Open and the co-sanctioned Scottish Open had been removed, the members would have played only seven events with a meager total purse of $1.7 million. That was when Golf Saudi, the organization tasked with promoting the kingdom’s interests in the game, and Aramco, the shortened name of the state-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Group, stepped in with a $1.5 million purse spread over two weeks.
In 2021, they propped up the Aramco Team series to four $1 million tournaments in the U.S., England, Spain and Saudi Arabia, and launched the $1 million Aramco Saudi Ladies International. In 2022, they increased the prize money of the Ladies International to $5 million, matching the purse of the men’s Saudi International.
“We have a great relationship with Golf Saudi,” Armas said. “We started in 2020 with the concept of one event, and it came at a time when we really needed tournaments.
“It was a big decision by Saudi to bring the women’s golf. Having had several discussions with them, and with Aramco and [Saudi Arabia’s sovereign] Public Investment Fund, this is much more than women’s empowerment for them. They want to make a change in the community. It was also a very important decision for LET to come and work with them. On the back of that, we’ve not only seen the number of tournaments grow, but also how they have evolved in terms of the staging of the events, the quality of the courses and the fields.
“We have a very collaborative relationship through open discussions. They’re a hugely important partner to the tour and for the players. These tournaments have made a big difference.”
The LET, which will visit Morocco this week for the Lalla Meryem Cup, released a healthy calendar of 29 tournaments (31, counting the Paris Olympics and the Solheim Cup) with a total purse of approximately $34 million. That compares with 19 tournaments and an $11 million purse in 2019.
“We are in live talks with four tournaments as of right now. But just looking at the trajectory of the tour in the last four years since I’ve been involved, we’ve moved from $11 million to $34 million. That is an almost unrealistic growth. Looking at everything, I think 34 is a sustainable number of events each year. That’s a good, reasonable number, and we’re not far off that number.”
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Top: CEO Alexandra Armas (right) says partnership with Noah Alireza (center) and Golf Saudi is important for the future of the Ladies European Tour.
Mark Runnacles, LET