World No. 1, Lydia Ko, headlines all-star field for ground-breaking Championship

Dundonald, Thursday 4^th May, 2017 – World No. 1, Lydia Ko, returns to Scotland for the 2017 Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open to do battle with the world’s best at Dundonald Links from the 27^{th -} 30^th July.

Joining her in a bid to ‘Rule the Links’ are global stars world no. 3 Ariya Jutanugarn, Major champions Michelle Wie, Suzann Pettersen and Catriona Matthew, 2016 Ladies European Tour No. 1, Beth Allen, English sensation, Charley Hull, and of course 2016 champion, Isabelle Boineau, looking to defend her crown.

In a ground-breaking co-sanctioned agreement between the Ladies European Tour and the LPGA, the Championship will now have the highest prize fund on the LET outside the Majors with the 156-strong player field contesting for US$1.5m. For the first time in history, the 2017 Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open takes place at the same venue as the Men’s Scottish Open with Dundonald Links playing host to both events over a three-week period.

Speaking about her return to the Championship Lydia Ko, said, “To me Scotland is the Home of Golf and I’m excited to return to Dundonald Links to compete against some of the world’s best players. It is great to have the chance to play two very important links golf tournaments back-to-back, as I know it has worked well on the men’s schedule and I’m looking forward to seeing how we navigate the course compared to the men.”

Talking about the field, Martin Gilbert, CEO Aberdeen Asset Management, said, “This year’s Championship marks an historic moment for us as both the Men’s and Ladies’ Scottish Open head to the magnificent Dundonald Links. We have worked hard to elevate the Ladies Scottish Open and ensure that golfers from all over the globe enjoy their time in Scotland and hopefully return year after year to play. We're delighted with the calibre of players who have so far confirmed, the field is taking shape nicely with a mix of the world’s best talent from both the LET and the LPGA.”

Paul Bush, Director of Events, VisitScotland said, “We are delighted to have been able to work alongside the Ladies European Tour and Aberdeen Asset Management in delivering this newly co-sanctioned event with the LPGA. It will be a thrill to welcome the world’s finest female golfers to Scotland, the Home of Golf for a two-week period of world-class ladies golf. It will be an historic moment for the LET when the women tee it up on the same stage as the men at Dundonald Links and underlines Scotland’s commitments to women’s golf as we look forward to The 2019 Solheim Cup.”

Taking place the week before the Ricoh Women’s British Open at Kingsbarns in 2017, the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open will kick off a superb two weeks of links golf in Scotland. The back-to-back stretch of events echoes the successful strategy employed by the Men’s Scottish Open taking place the week before The Open – an approach proven to be a competitive advantage for those players competing in both Championships. The Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open is also a key element of Scotland’s commitments to the staging of The 2019 Solheim Cup at Gleneagles.

For further information, please visit: https://ladiesscottishopen.com/ or follow us at @AberdeenLSO

World-Class Field Shapes up for New Look Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open

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