The Ladies European Tour and the Asian Tour have joined forces to stage two new mixed tournaments in Thailand next month.
Trust Golf, part of the TCT Corporation, will host the Asian Mixed Cup and the Asian Mixed Stableford Challenge as part of the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Series. The tournaments will see the leading stars on the LET and Asian Tour compete for $1.5 million in the space of a fortnight.
The events will be played back-to-back on the Waterside Course at Siam Country Club near Pattaya – one of Asia’s finest golf clubs which has hosted numerous prestigious international championships and is the home of the Honda LPGA Thailand – on 7-10 April and 13-16 April.
Both events will feature 60 LET players and 60 Asian Tour players, along with 24 sponsor invitations, playing for the same prize fund and trophy. Each tournament will offer a prize fund of $750,000, along with Official World Golf Ranking points. Race to Costa del Sol and Order of Merit points will be awarded to players from both Tours respectively.
The support of Trust Golf as title sponsor is a huge boost for the ground-breaking co-sanctioned events. Dr Prin Singhanart, founder of the Thai-based technology enterprise and the Trust Golf Tour, is passionate about innovative golf formats. With the Thailand Mixed, which will be played in late March, followed by the Asian Mixed in April, Dr Prin hopes to drive towards a World Mixed Championship one day.
Dr Singhanart commented: “I’m always extremely keen on mixed formats as golf is the only sport allowing people of all ages and genders to play together. I would like to provide a pathway for Thai talents both male and female. If a female golfer wins outright, they will earn membership to the LET, and if a male golfer wins outright, they will earn membership to the Asian Tour. With the Trust Golf Tour affiliated membership programme, it will allow the players to be ranked on both order of merits.
“I believe that sport has always been a soft power diplomacy approach to international relations. Through the attraction of its unique culture, Thailand has such potential to boost that in sports, especially with our strength in Thai Boxing and golf. This can contribute to future trade and investment by strengthening trust and awareness of our country’s capabilities.”
Alexandra Armas, CEO of the LET, said: “We look forward to collaborating with Dr Prin and her vision to nurture the next generation of Thai talent. These new tournaments are important steps in the continued growth of the LET as we offer 33 playing opportunities to our members in 2022 and we look forward to working together with Trust Golf and the Asian Tour at Siam Country Club in April.”
Cho Minn Thant, CEO of the Asian Tour, said: “The Asian Tour is extremely excited to add a new format of play to our tournament schedule. We thank Trust Golf for making it possible for the Asian Tour to stage its first mixed events, which will resonate strongly with golf fans in the region. It is also an exciting opportunity to collaborate with the Ladies European Tour for the first time and pay our maiden visit to the highly-regarded Siam Country Club.”