Dec 19, 2016: The merger of the Ladies’ Golf Union (LGU) and The R&A has been finalised and will come into effect from 1 January 2017.
The heads of agreement between the two organisations was signed in June leading to the integration of the LGU’s business operations and its members of staff into The R&A group of companies. An agreed governance structure has also been implemented to give LGU Board members representation on relevant R&A Committees.
The R&A will assume responsibility for staging the LGU’s championships and international matches next year, offering leading women’s professional and elite amateur golfers opportunities to play in a world class series of events. The Ricoh Women’s British Open will continue to be managed by IMG in 2017 under the existing agreement with the LGU.
Trish Wilson, Chair of the LGU, said, “The completion of the merger is a progressive and important step for the development of women’s golf.
“Bringing the two organisations together creates a platform that will allow us to develop our aspirations for women’s golf on a global stage and encourage more girls and women to play golf and become members of clubs.
“The success of the Ricoh Women’s British Open and the Curtis Cup demonstrates the growing strength of women’s golf in both the professional and amateur game and we look forward to building on this with The R&A.”
Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said, “The integration of the two organisations puts us in a better, stronger position to realise our collective vision for growing the game of golf around the world.
“Our combined resources and staff expertise will help us to achieve our shared aims for the development of golf, including increasing girls’ and women’s participation and encouraging more families to enjoy golf as a recreational activity.
“Both organisations have an excellent track record of successfully staging prestigious championships and international matches and we are looking forward to a great season of events next year.”
The 2017 schedule of championships and international matches is as follows:
| Championship | Venue | Date |
| Coronation Foursomes | Various | 1 January – 17 June |
| Ladies British Open Amateur Championship | Pyle & Kenfig | 13 – 17 June |
| The Amateur Championship | Royal St George’s and Prince’s | 19 – 24 June |
| The 146th Open – Regional Qualifying | Various | 26 June |
| Vagliano Trophy and Junior Vagliano Trophy | Circolo Golf Bogogno, Italy | 30 June – 1 July |
| The 146th Open – Final Qualifying | Various | 4 July |
| The 146th Open | Royal Birkdale | 20 – 23 July |
| Ricoh Women’s British Open – Pre Qualifying | Hankley Common | 17 July |
| The Senior Open Championship | Royal Porthcawl | 27 – 30 July |
| Ricoh Women’s British Open – Final Qualifying | The Castle Course, St Andrews | 31 July |
| Ricoh Women’s British Open | Kingsbarns Links | 3 – 6 August |
| The Boys Home Internationals | St Annes Old Links | 8 – 10 August |
| Ladies and Girls Home Internationals | Little Aston | 9 – 11 August |
| The Seniors Amateur Championship | Sunningdale (Old Course) | 9 – 11 August |
| Girls British Open Amateur Championship | Enville | 15 – 19 August |
| The Boys Amateur Championship | Nairn and Nairn Dunbar | 15 – 20 August |
| The Jacques Leglise Trophy | Ballybunion (Old Course) | 1 – 2 September |
| Ladies British Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship | North Berwick | 6 – 8 September |
| The Walker Cup | Los Angeles Country Club | 9 – 10 September |
| Ladies Senior British Open Amateur Championship | Royal Belfast | 19 – 21 September |
| Ladies Senior Home Internationals | Newport | 3 – 5 October |
The R&A Release
