The Ladies Golf Union and The R&A To Merge

Ladies Golf Union and The R&A are to merge by 2017. Both companies are set to come together as one and improve the future of ladies golf, plans were made for both companies to join forces back in February 2015 and now its fianlly happening. By James Taylor

The Ladies Golf Union and The R&A To Merge

The Ladies Golf Union and the R&A are set to come together as one company following an extensive consultation exercise.

The merging of the two companies has been met with great positivity and they are looking at improving and developing further international matches such as the Ricoh Women’s British Open and also the Curtis Cup that the Ladies Golf Union organise and run every year.

There has been nothing but support to the idea when the plans were made back in February 2015 to bring both companies together as one, Ladies Golf Union’s shareholders and respective boards known as England Golf, Scottish Golf etc have since been discussing the idea and have progressed a long way.

Chairman of the Ladies  Golf Union, Trish Wilson, said, “‘The LGU has a long and proud tradition of supporting women’s and girls’ golf. Funded by the lady golfers of Great Britain and Ireland, the Ladies Golf Union has positioned golf as a game for all women and girls. My gratitude is due to our shareholders for their foresight and support in this move.

“I would like to thank the Chief Executive of The R&A and his team, and the foresight of his predecessor, for their initiative and conviction in achieving this outcome. Building on the strong relationship it already enjoys with The R&A, the Ladies Golf Union looks forward to realising the potential of this merger.”

Chief Executive of The R&A, Martin Slumbers, said, “The Ladies Golf Unoin and The R&A have a wealth of experience in running successful championships and we have a shared focus on supporting the development of golf. The merger will enable us to capitalise on the strengths of the two organisations for the wider benefit of the sport, including the development of golf for women and girls.

“This is a historic move and an important step forward for golf on these islands. I would like to thank the Ladies Golf Union Board for their commitment and enthusiasm throughout this process and their stakeholders, including Ricoh and IMG, for their tremendous support.”

Both organisations have agreed to apply planning for the governance structure that has been put in place to join both sets of staff. The Ladies Golf Union team will manage all existing Championships and international matches this year as they normally would. From the 1^st of January 2017 the operations will be in place and therefore both companies will join forces.