INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY: ARMAS CELEBRATES THE GROWTH OF WOMEN’S GOLF

This International Women’s Day, our CEO Alexandra Armas reflects on the development of the Ladies European Tour (LET) and celebrates the growth she’s witnessed in the women’s game.

Alexandra Armas represents the LET through to its core. A former player, the Spaniard competed on the circuit between 2001 and 2005 where she also served as a Player Director.

In 2005, Armas was then chosen by the Board to become the LET’s Executive Director – a role she took on until 2012 before vacating to set up her own sports marketing consultancy. 

Returning as CEO in January 2020, Armas led the LET through one of its most difficult periods during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pivotal in keeping the Tour afloat during such testing times, Armas struck a vital alliance with the LPGA and remains committed to increasing playing opportunities and prize money purses for all LET members.

After announcing a record-breaking schedule for 2023, we caught up with the CEO to reflect on the ever-growing progress of the LET…

“Growing the LET tournaments has been my proudest achievement so far,” Armas says. “The talent has always been there, but if players don’t have anywhere to play on a consistent basis, that is lost very quickly.

“In terms of how the LET has developed over the last few years, it’s been about taking it back to basics – working with the LPGA and realigning our objectives, which is more tournaments, more prize funds, and more playing opportunities. That’s our commitment and what we want to do.”

In 2023, LET members will be competing for at least €35 million across 30 events – 10 more than in 2019, the year before Armas took over as CEO.

She explains: “Golf is a game where you need to be out there and experience momentum, playing week in week out. So if there’s big gaps in the schedule that’s not going to happen. So now having a consistent schedule and growing the European events has been so important.

“Our core purpose is very simple. It’s giving players an opportunity to compete and make a living. That’s reflected in prize money, so events like the Aramco Saudi Ladies International – with the $5 million purse – offer a huge opportunity and make a huge difference to the lives of many of our athletes.

“The work our athletes put in is comparable to the hours the men put in, there’s no difference. To get to the top of sport, you must be dedicated from a very young age. So to be able to offer a comparable prize fund to the…