Jordan Mixed Open preview & how does it all work!?
Date: 04/04/19
Location: Jordan
Course: Ayla Golf Club
Prize Fund: USD $393,000
Defending Champion: New Event
Jordan Mixed Open Presented by Ayla
The tournament will be the first in world golf to see professionals from the men’s, ladies’ and over-50s Tours compete over the same golf course for the same prize purse.
40 players from each of the Challenge Tour, Staysure Tour and Ladies European Tour, plus three amateurs, all compete against each other in a single, mixed field.
Members from the three Tours will tee off from different yardages, but will compete in a single competition. The three-day event will see the field cut to 60 for the final day’s play, competing for the grand prize. The leading players from the other two tours will also receive a special accolade. Ladies European Tour golfers will play Ayla Golf Club from an approximate 6,139 yards, a familiar and competitive yardage. Before each round, tournament officials from all three tours will take wind and other weather conditions into consideration each day as they establish the course set up, including tees and pin positions.
Staysure Tour members will attempt to card the lowest score in the 54-hole Jordan Mixed Open from an approximate yardage of 6,601 yards, which is seven per cent longer than the Ladies European Tour set up and within the traditional yardage that over-50s golfers play from.
Challenge Tour players will play from all the way back, with their scorecard measuring out to 7,100 yards. Although playing from the furthest yardage, seven percent longer than the set up Staysure Tour members will face and 13.5 per cent longer than the Ladies European Tour set-up, it is a yardage that players on Europe’s top developmental tour regularly face.
4 players to watch from the Ladies European Tour
Meghan Maclaren (England)
Meghan won on the LET a few weeks ago in Australia where she successfully defended the NSW Open. This was Meghan's 2nd LET victory since winning the LET Access Series in 2017 ( ladies Challenge Tour equivalent) . As well as the victory she has finished 6th at the Canberra Classic and 8th last time out at the South African Open.
She finished 41st in UAE earlier in the year and is 2nd in the amount of birdies this season. Now 212th in the world rankings she should play well here this week.
Carly Booth (Scotland)
The Scot probably had a year to forget on the golf course last year missing 9 out of 12 cuts, However, this year she has already had 2 top 10's in 5 starts. A return to form has seen her challenge over the past few weeks and she finished 5th in South Africa. She seems to be doing the basics right and is hitting more fairways and has got her putter hot again, the former 2 time LET winner will look to carry her form into this week.
Back in 2012 she was up to 141st in the world and at the beginning of the year had dropped to 508th, already back up to 375th and looks set to keep climbing.
Marianne Skarpnord (Norway)
What a start to the year it has been for Marianne Skarpnord. She finished runner up in the opening event of the year in the UAE behind Charley Hull before heading to Australia and finishing 11th in the Vic Open on the LPGA. A few weeks later she claimed her first victory in 6 years back on the LET at the Ladies Classic Bonville.
She has risen to 133rd in the World Rankings and leads the Order of Merit rankings, she will want to continue her good form to maintain her lead at the top of the Order of Merit.
Laura Fuenfstueck (Germany)
Laura burst onto the scene last year with victory on the Sunshine Ladies Tour, since then she has really established herself as a top player on the LET. She started the season well with an impressive 11th at the Fatima Bint in the UAE before heading down under where she had a best of 12th in 3 tournaments. Last time out at the South African Open she picked up her best finish of the season finishing 8th, a more impressive feat being stuck in the worst of the conditions in round 1.
Up to 400th in the world and we included her in our 10 to watch for 2019, should play well this week.