Guess who just became our new favourite male golfer?
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Justin Rose, the 2013 US Open champion and Olympic gold medallist, and his wife Kate are sponsoring seven women’s events for British pros this summer.
The schedule for Georgia Hall, Meghan MacLaren, Amy Boulden, Carly Booth and co will begin with a tournament at Brokenhurst Manor in Rose’s home county of Hampshire on June 18.
The Rose Ladies Series will then visit a mouthwatering selection of courses, headlined by England’s No.1 course, Royal St George’s – which would have hosted this year’s Open in July prior to the coronavirus crisis.
And it gets even better, because all seven events will be televised on Sky Sports. The channel has shown a willingness to broadcast returning sport free-to-air… so let’s all hope these events get that treatment too.
Ryder Cup star Rose is reported by The Telegraph to be injecting £35,000 as prize money, and the Englishman was moved to help because while his return to action on the PGA Tour will happen in a few days, his female counterparts must wait for two months.
“I am keenly aware that I now have the opportunity to go back to work and compete on the PGA Tour but this is not the same for the ladies and some junior tours as well,” he said.
“I am sad that the Ladies’ European Tour has been suffering so badly. To me this seems somewhat unfair my wife Kate and I felt there was an opportunity to step up and help.
“The prize money is modest because it is me throwing in some money and then the ladies are paying an entry fee and being able to play for a pot. We wanted to give them the opportunity to play and to be ready for when the opportunities arise later in the summer.”
The seven clubs are giving the use of their courses for free, and the women can look forward to tackling some of the country’s top venues.
The hosts range from Bearwood Lakes near Reading to the exclusive JCB Golf and Country Club – run by MacLaren’s father David – to The Buckinghamshire, the former HQ of the LET.
There will be a final on 30/31 July at a venue to be confirmed – let’s hope by then that the Rose Ladies Series has received a high profile so the climax attracts a worthy stage.
His wife Kate, who was a European champion gymnast, said:
“It is so important for the visibility of ladies’ golf that they can play at good courses and on TV because they need to be out there to both attract sponsors and keep their current sponsors happy as well as allowing more people to get to know who they are.”
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