By Alistair Hogg West Australian tourism minister Sheila McHale has announced that Perth has won the right to host the 2007 Lexus Cup. In a boon for the sport, the world&aposs best female golfers will head down under to contest the Asians versus Internationals teams event in at The Vines Resort and Country Club in December. “This is a fantastic achievement for Perth and Western Australia,” Ms McHale said. “The Lexus Cup will join the Johnnie Walker Classic as a major tourism and sporting draw card and one of the golfing highlights on the State&aposs events calendar.” As part of the deal, the West Australian Government has secured the right to host the event again in 2010 and 2013 should they choose to exercise the right. The event will be broadcast around the world including regions of Asia, New Zealand, South Africa, the UK and USA, exposing millions of people to world-class golf being played in our backyard. The Lexus Cup is only a relatively new event having only been played twice. The inaugural tournament was won convincingly by the International squad in Singapore, 2005 but just last week the Asian team turned the tables and won a narrow contest. The 2007 event will follow a teams format similar to the men&aposs Ryder Cup and if the last two years are anything to go by, expect the world&aposs best to be coming down under with players like Annika Sorenstam, Natalie Gulbis, Grace Park and our very own Nikki Campbell having played in previous events. Ms. McHale also said that the event will give fans the chance to get up close and personal with their favourite players. “Because the Lexus Cup will be hosted at The Vines, a public golf course, visitors and local golfers will be able to play the same course as their golfing heroes,” she said. Martin Jolly, senior vice-president and marketing manager for IMG Asia Pacific expressed his excitement and optimism that the event would be a success down under. “We have high hopes for the event continuing to grow in stature to take its place among the other great international golf team events,” he said. “We are sure Australia as the next host country, will be an integral part of that growth and we look forward to working with Tourism WA on Lexus Cup 2007.”