European, LPGA, LET to play co-ed event

Mixed tournament in Northern Ireland will feature men and women on same courses competing for equal shares of prize fund

Announced: By the European Tour, the LPGA and the Ladies European Tour, a tournament during which the men and women will play the same golf courses, at the same time, while competing for equal prize money. The ISPS Handa World Invitational will be played July 29-Aug. 1 at Galgorm Castle Golf Club and Massereene Golf Club in Galgorm, Northern Ireland. It will be the first such tournament sanctioned by each of the tours. The tournament will feature 288 players – 144 men and 144 women – competing in separate tournaments in stroke play over 72 holes for equal shares of the $2.35 million purse. The first two rounds will be played at Galgorm and Massereene before the 36-hole cut reduces the field to the top 60 and ties for the men and women to play the third round at Galgorm Castle. A final cut after 54 holes will trim the field to the top 35 and ties for the final round Sunday at Galgorm. The men’s tournament will count toward the European Tour’s season-long Race to Dubai standings and offer Ryder Cup points. The women’s tournament will count toward the LPGA’s Race to the CME Globe, the LET’s Race to Costa del Sol and Solheim Cup points for U.S. and European players. The men’s tournament will be part of the European Tour’s summer U.K. Swing, which will include stops in the four nations that compose the United Kingdom: Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England.

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