UniCredit Ladies German Open Presented by Audi to feature players from both sides of Atlantic
This year’s UniCredit Ladies German Open, presented by Audi, has attracted players from both sides of the Atlantic as the LPGA stars Lexi Thompson and Sandra Gal will be part of the strong field at this week’s Ladies European Tour event.
This is the first time that LPGA members have crossed over to participate in the UniCredit Ladies Open. The tournament is scheduled to be played at Golfpark Gut Häusern, near Munich, from May 19-22.
Defending champion Laura Davies will be all out to retain the title which now has inflated prize money as compared to last year’s event. Ergo Insurance Group has joined the sponsor’s list, increasing the total purse of the event to €350,000 with winner’s
share of €52,500.
This year’s winner will also drive away with a dazzling Audi A5 Convertible. 2009 winner of the event Jade Schaeffer, last week’s ISPS Handa Portugal Ladies Open champion Ashleigh Simon, and 16 out of the Top 20 Henderson’s Money List will be contending
for the top slot.
The lucrative prize money is coupled with amazing Hole-in-One prizes on the par-three, 15th where the player will get an Audi R8 Spider worth €200,000. This single Hole-in-One prize is the highest prize valued in any LET event for the whole year.
UniCredit has also designated a prize of a gold bar worth €5000 for Hole-in-One at the par-three, eighth.
Among the many sturdy European stars, the two LPGA duo will make most of the headlines in the proceeding days of the event. 16-year-old Thompson, who recently turned professional in June and finished joint second in last year’s Evian Masters, is upbeat and
confident of her venture in the LET.
“They definitely said it was one of the top events over here so that’s why I came. I’m just really honoured that I got an invite to this event. I came yesterday so it was a great day, a relaxed day and just everybody hanging out, so it was a lot of fun.
Hopefully I’ll get to experience a bit more the next few day,” said Thompson.
Gal, winner of this season’s Kia Classic in the US and has soared to 34th in world ranking will be playing in her first LET event. Gal hails from Düsseldorf and it would be more of home-coming for the young German star.
“I am looking forward to it; it will be my first tournament as a pro in Germany after playing three years on the LPGA,” Gal said while talking to the reporters.
The field is strengthened by the presence of top five Solheim Cup players including Davies, Melissa Reid, last week’s Turkish Airlines Open winner Christel Boeljon, Virginie-Lagoutte-Clement and Becky Brewerton.
Gal holds a strong chance of being part of the Solheim Cup team with her performance in the event. LET’s rookies for the year Caroline Hedwall, Klara Spilkova and Jaclyn Sweeney will also be contesting for the coveted title of the tour.
Tags: