Kate and Justin Rose launch the Rose Ladies Open
The LET Access Series (LETAS) is happy to announce a new event on the 2022 calendar with the Rose Ladies Open, which will take place this September.
Following on from the huge success and growth of the Rose Ladies Series over the past few years, Kate and Justin Rose felt it was a natural and necessary progression to increase their support of the professional ladies game with a tournament on the LET Access Series. As such, the Rose Ladies Open is the next step on the journey.
Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire, England will play host to the 54-hole stroke play tournament from 23-25 September 2022 which will boast a prize fund of €65,000; the largest prize fund this season outside of the Grand Final.
A field of 108 players will be teeing it up on the par-72 Melbourne Course, which opened in June 1992 and is the handiwork of former Ryder Cup golfers Peter Alliss and Clive Clark.
“We are really excited to announce the Rose Ladies Open! Building on the success of the Rose Ladies Series, we wanted to continue growing and developing the ladies’ professional game by creating this new tournament, as part of the LET Access Series,” said Kate & Justin Rose.
“Our motivation remains the same: we want to give the female professionals more opportunities to play competitively; provide them the chance to compete for larger prize funds; provide opportunities to be seen and receive the exposure they deserve, so that we can continue to work towards change and the drive for equality and help provide the pathway to the Ladies European Tour.”
The Rose Ladies Series was created in 2020 during the height of the pandemic, inspired when Kate read about LET professional Liz Young’s search for support for a roll up at Brokenhurst Manor due to the lack of playing opportunities for the women during lockdown.
The Roses immediately pledged to put their own money into a series of events to give the female golfers an opportunity to keep playing, and a tour consisting of eight one-day tournaments – including a three-day grand final – was created in the summer of 2020 and named the Rose Ladies Series. Once announced, companies such as American Golf and Computacenter, approached the Roses to match their financial sponsorship, and the Rose Ladies Series grew organically from that in 2020, to an increased 11 events across England in 2021 with double the prize money on offer, and then in 2022, the Rose Ladies Series was a condensed series of five events in April to provide a warm up for the revived LET schedule.
The addition of the Rose Ladies Open to the LETAS schedule in 2022 means there are now 19 events on the 2022 calendar with the total prize money for the season reaching €850,000.
Paul McDonnell, Director, Excel Sports Management Europe, said: “We at Excel Sports Management are delighted to help Kate and Justin produce the Rose Ladies Open on the LET Access Series. Alongside sponsors such as American Golf and Computacenter who have been partners since 2020, we have also welcomed further support from Oil Brokerage, The R&A and BMW, and are looking forward to hosting this new event at Brocket Hall, an amazing venue which shares our vision of supporting the ladies’ professional game.”
Alexandra Armas, CEO of the LET, said: “We are excited to announce that the Rose Ladies Open will be part of the 2022 LET Access Series schedule. Kate and Justin’s continued commitment and support of women’s golf over recent years through the Rose Ladies Series has been fantastic. LETAS provides an excellent pathway to the LET and having the Rose Ladies Open in this year’s calendar offers another playing opportunity, which helps develop the professional game and strengthens the Tour.”
Michael Longshaw, Chief Executive of IG&RM and Managing Director of Brocket Hall said: “One of the core principles of The Melbourne Club at Brocket Hall is that the Club will encourage the growth, development and participation in events across all levels of the sport of golf whilst supporting and encouraging the growth and development of new golfers.
“We are very proud to support the Rose Ladies Open and to be part of the drive to grow the game through championing new opportunities for women in golf.
“Being a venue partner and hosts of the first Rose Ladies Open is a great privilege. We are looking forward to welcoming some of the future stars of the game and celebrating their achievements in September.”
Spectators are welcome, tickets are FREE, with a limited number available each day. Tickets will be available from 1st August, registration details to follow.
