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Women given Open licence

13/10/2005

The 135th Open Championship being staged at the Royal Liverpool golf club in Hoylake in July next year will be open to women qualifiers, the Royal and Ancient Club (R&A) has said.

Today's news means that for the first time in the prestigious competition's history, female golfers could be teeing off alongside their male counterparts in 2006's event.

The R&A made good its promise to review the tournament's entry conditions despite equal pressure both for and against the introduction of women to the Open.

Chief executive of the R&A, Peter Dawson, is confident the correct decision has been reached in allowing women into the Open qualifying rounds, adding that the move will only improve what is already one of the best sporting competitions in the world.

"Our championship committee pledged to review entry conditions and to assess how women golfers might compete on equal terms with men for a place in the Open," he said.

"As a result, I am delighted that a qualification route has now been established for the best women players to gain access to the championship, competing alongside men on the same courses and from the same tees."

Female eligibility for the 2006 Open will be decided by the top five and ties from the four majors on the Ladies Tour.

Therefore, the high flyers in the Weetabix Women's British Open, the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the McDonald's LPGA Championship and the US Women's Open will all qualify for the preliminary rounds.

And, as the Women's British Open is staged after the Open, the results from this year's event have gone towards qualification for next year's Open regional qualifying rounds meaning seven women have already secured places.

Winner of this year's Women's British Open, Jeong Jang of Korea, is the first name to be included, along with Swedes Sophie Gustafson, Liselotte Neumann and Annika Sorenstam, the number one female player in the world.

America's highly rated teenager Michelle Wie finished third in the event and has therefore secured a qualifying spot, as have Korean Young Kim and American legend Cristie Kerr.

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