ENGLAND, 12th Jan 2010 -- The Ladies European Tour (LET) has formally launched a second tier women’s golf tour designed to provide better playing opportunities for professional golfers.

The LET Access Series (LETAS) will be the official feeder tour to the LET from 2010. The top player on the 2010 LETAS Ranking will earn membership of the Ladies European Tour for the 2011 season, while players in second and third positions will have the opportunity to progress to the final stage of LET Qualifying School, thereby skipping the first qualifying event.

The 2010 LETAS schedule will initially feature three tournaments, organised in partnership with the French Federation (FFGolf) and its GENERALI Ladies Tour. More events will be added over the course of the coming year, with potentially up to three full LET cards available depending on the number of tournaments.

“The vision of the LET Access Series is to provide greater competitive opportunities for female golf professionals who are unable to participate in regular LET events and for those who would like to continue playing during scheduled LET break periods,” said Alexandra Armas, executive director of the Ladies European Tour. “The LET Access Series will additionally help to raise awareness of women’s professional golf generally and will help to bring additional opportunities to countries developing their women’s golf programmes.”

The tournaments on the 2010 LETAS schedule initially are La Nivelle Ladies Open at Golf de la Nivelle near Biarritz, due to take place from 11-13 February; Terre Blanche Ladies Open at Golf de Terre Blanche near Nice, scheduled for 31 March-2 April and the Dinard Ladies Open, due to be played at Dinard Golf Club near Rennes from 15-17 April, each with prize money from €25,000 to €30,000. Following the events, three professional golfers and three amateur players will be invited to compete at the Open de France Féminin, scheduled for 9-12 September at Paris International Golf Club.

Georges Barbaret, President of the FFGolf, was delighted with the new development and said: “We are proud to be a part of this important step for the development of ladies’ professional golf in Europe. Our ambition is to help our best players quickly reach the highest level in the world and we found that a step was missing in their progression. It is now the case and we hope that other countries will join us soon to build together a real European circuit.”

All female professional golfers and amateurs with a handicap of 3 or better will be eligible for membership of LETAS, providing they are over 18 years of age. Further information is available on the official website, www.letaccess.com. If you are interested in hosting or running a new event on the LET Access Series, or would like more information, please e-mail: info@letaccess.com.