PAMELA PRETSWELL SAYS SHE WILL BENEFIT FROM PRO GROUNDING ON LETAS TOUR
By BETHAN CUTLER, LET Media Manager
The 2012 LETAS season has come to a close after the
final tournament, Banesto Tour Valencia, capped off an exciting year on
the LET feeder tour.
Top
amateurs and budding professionals competed in 13 tournaments in
France, Spain, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Ukraine, Denmark, Greece and
Portugal over 9 months.
Membership of LETAS has grown from 23 players in
2010 to 67 in 2012, represented by players from twenty different
countries.
Sixteen amateurs became members of LETAS this year including
the Order of Merit winner Pamela Pretswell, pictured above by Cal Carson Golf Agency, who turned professional
after the Curtis Cup in June.
Over 300 different players have taken part
in the 13 LETAS events, 153 of whom were elite amateurs.
For
the first time, three full LET cards have been awarded to the top 3 LETAS
Order of Merit players. Pamela Pretswell of Scotland, France’s Marion
Ricordeau and Norwegian Cecilie Lundgreen have all earned well-deserved
playing rights on the Ladies European Tour for 2013.
All three know how
to win - Pretswell claimed the Ljungybed Park PGA Ladies Open in May,
while Ricordeau won the season’s opener Terre Blanche Ladies Open in
France.
Cecilie Lundgreen, this year’s only double-winner, claimed the
Kristianstad Ahus Ladies Open and Women’s Bank Open titles.
Their first
eligible event on the Ladies European Tour will be the Volvik RACV
Ladies Masters in Australia in February, which Pamela relishes:
“I am so
excited to be playing on the LET next season and I cannot wait to get
started. It has been my dream since I started playing golf and I am so
grateful to all the people who have supported me and helped me reach
this stage in my career”.
Hamilton-based Pretswell won the LETAS Order of Merit
with a tight victory over Ricordeau. Pamela played in 12 of the 13
events this year, and her consistency was key – 5 top ten finishes plus
victory in Sweden, missing only the final event of the season due to
minor illness.
“It has not quite sunk in yet! My goal at the start of the
year was to finish in the top 3 to gain my card and then after I won in
Sweden, I set myself the target of winning the order of merit so I am
very happy to have achieved both goals. It has made my first season as a
professional very memorable and special” said the Scot.
Life on tour can be daunting for new professionals, and the LET Access Series provides the starting steps for many players who then progress onto the main tour.
Life on tour can be daunting for new professionals, and the LET Access Series provides the starting steps for many players who then progress onto the main tour.
LET professionals Carly Booth and Henni Zuel have both
attributed their success on tour to their on the LET Access Series
experience, and Pamela agrees:
“I loved every minute of playing on the
LETAS this year. Starting the year on the tour as an amateur was great -
all the girls really welcomed me and looked after me and I have really
learned a lot from them this year," said Pretswell.
"Making my pro debut on the tour was
very special and I have thoroughly enjoyed tour life on the LETAS this
year.
"Playing half the season as an amateur definitely made me more
prepared for turning professional and I am so glad that I did it this
way.
"I was so disappointed when I did not get my LET card at Q school in
January, but I am now glad I did not get it as this has been a great
year, I have learned so much on the LETAS and I now feel more prepared
for my rookie season on the LET”
As
all players who have been through the challenging Tour School know,
making it through to the Final qualifying stage is highly competitive –
with over 200 players striving to make it from Pre-qualifying to Final
Qualifying.
The top 12 LETAS Order of Merit players from position 4th
onwards (who are not already exempt) have automatically advanced to
final stage of Tour school, which takes place at Amelkis Golf Club and
Al Maaden Golf Resorts at Marrakesh, Morocco from the 13 - 17 December.
They are:
Katy McNicoll, Julie Tvede, Antonella Cvitan, Anastasia Kostina, Tamara
Johns, Pamela Feggans, Sofia Harkonen, Galina Rotmistrova, Ana
Larraneta, Danielle McVeigh, Melanie Maetzler and Anna Rossi.
Bethan Cutler
Media Manager
Ladies European Tour
Mobile: +44 (0)7980056045
E: bcutler@ladieseuropeantour.comEDITOR: It would be possible to stage a LETAS event at a Scottish venue (or English venue for that matter) next year on a multi-sponsored basis. The required budget would be 55,000 Euros but the promoters/sponsors retain all the players' entry fees, including from a curtain-raising pro-am, which could amount to an income in the region of 50,000 Euros.
That leaves a shortfall of around 5,000 Euros for potential sponsors to come up with. That could be raised by 5 x 1000 or even 10 x 500 - not a lot in this day and age to provide a stepping stone for lady pro golfers or low-handicap amateurs testing the water to see if they are good enough to turn pro.
If you are interested or know somebody who might be interested, E-mail Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Labels: Pro Ladies
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