Ricoh to Sponsor Major Golf Tournament - "RICOH Women's British Open"
Ricoh Co., Ltd. (President and CEO Shiro Kondo) is sponsoring "RICOH Women's British Open", the last of the world's four major ladies' golf tournaments of the season.
Held by the Ladies' Golf Union (LGU), the tournament will for the first time take place at the Old Course, St. Andrews in Scotland, the "Home of Golf," from August 2 to August 5. Prize money for this prestigious tournament tops US$2 million.
Ricoh has previously supported the tournament as the official supplier of OA equipment. Ricoh also sponsors the LPGA Tour Championship Ricoh Cup, which is the final tournament in the Japan Ladies' Tour, one of the three major tours of the ladies golf circuit.
Sponsorship of "RICOH Women's British Open" came about because of the agreement between the LGU, which seeks support of the event by companies that emphasize the spirit of golfing, and Ricoh, which wants to promote further globalization of its business by supporting major golf events.
Both the LGU and Ricoh hope "RICOH Women's British Open" will continue to inspire dreams and bring excitement to golf fans around the world.
| Outline of the Women's British Open |
| Official name of the event |
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Ricoh Women's British Open |
| Promoter |
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Ladies' Golf Union (LGU) |
| Authorized by |
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USLPGA and LET |
| Event site |
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St. Andrews (the Old Course), Scotland |
| Schedule |
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August 2 (Thursday) to 5 (Sunday), 2007 |
| Total prize money |
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US$2 million |
| Winner's prize |
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US$312,000 |
| Number of participating golfers |
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150 |
| Details of the tournament |
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4-day, 72-hole stroke play
(qualification for participation: finishers up to 65th place or a tie in the preliminaries) |
| * |
Golfers who finish in 5th place or higher in the Japan Tour Prize-winner ranking as of June 17, when the Nichirei PGM Ladies' championships ends, can participate in this event. |
| LGU and the Women's British Open |
The Ladies' Golf Union (www.lgu.org) was founded in 1893 as the governing body for ladies' amateur golf in England and Ireland. The LGU today is made up of the golf unions and associations of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, with a membership of about 2,750 clubs and about 220,000 women players. The LGU Executive Council, the decision-making body, consists of the president, chairman, honorary treasurer, and representatives from the aforementioned golf unions and associations.
In 1893, when it was founded, the LGU held the first Ladies' British Amateur Championship in Royal Lytham & St. Anne's. The Women's British Open, first held in 1976, was incorporated into the USLPGA Tour schedule in 1994, and was promoted to become a major golf event in 2001. Champions in past events include big names such as Annika Sörenstam, Karrie Webb, Se Ri Park and Ayako Okamoto from Japan, who in 1984 had her name engraved on the championship trophy. The defending champion this year is Sherri Steinhauer, who also won in 1998, 1999 and 2006. If she wins again this year, she will become the first four-time winner in the history of this event.
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May 2, 2007
Ricoh Company, Ltd.
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