The Ladies Pro Series is a new tour launched in the UK, designed to increase the professional playing opportunities for female golfers. The ambition of the tour is for it to become an official feeder series, providing a pathway into the Ladies European Tour Access Series.
The six-event series, each with a purse of £10,000 will run between April and August and will see each professional paired with an amateur partner, with prizes for both the pro’s individual score, as well as the combined team total.
Sarah and Adam Walker, Founders of the Ladies Pro Series said: “Women’s sport is rightly growing across the board. Golf is no different and we want to give ladies the chance to compete year-round with comparable prize funds to the men.
The standard of women’s golf in the UK is exemplary and we want to showcase this and help them develop their game, so they are ready to compete at the highest level. Having two young daughters ourselves and having a sporting background we want them to grow up in a world where sport is fair and accessible for all, and we are excited to be a part of the journey.”
There will be no clashes of dates with either the existing Ladies European Tour Access Series or the Rose Ladies Series. In the same vein as the Ladies Pro Series, the latter was set up by Justin and Kate Rose in the summertime of 2020 to give female professional golfers something to play for when their male counterparts were already back in business.
Reflecting on 2020 with Golf Monthly, Justin said: “At the outset, we realised no one was going to be able to retire off one day’s pot of money – perhaps in the future if we get the right sponsor - it was more about telling the story around women’s golf, pushing boundaries and moving the goalposts forward with regards to closing the gap in terms of opportunity.”
With ease of access and a developmental spirit in mind, the Ladies Pro Series Tour sees comparatively lower entry fees than many professional events, and as such, those succeeding in the tournament series will enjoy opportunities to earn a higher amount than on all existing female tours at this developmental level.
Following the conclusion of the season, options are currently being explored for tournaments to take place in the Middle East at the end of the year, creating further playing opportunities for developmental golfers to enjoy.
