The cream of Europe and Australia are heading to the Bing Lee/Samsung Women’s NSW Open at Oatlands Golf Club from 27 to 29 January. No less than 12 Ladies European Tour (LET) winners, many of them multiple winners, will be teeing it up in the $125,000 tournament. 76 professional golfers from 12 countries are confirmed starters including players from USA, Canada, Norway, England, Denmark, Scotland, Korea, Ireland, Wales and New Zealand. Headlining the field will be England s Melissa Reid, the 24-year-old won twice in 2011, posted another eight top 10 results and finished second on the Henderson Money List with just over Euro 285,000. Reid was also an integral part of the European Solheim Cup team which won in dramatic circumstances in Ireland in September. LET winners teeing it up on the challenging layout include Australians Frances Bondad, Katherine Hull, Karen Lunn, Joanne Mills and Kristie Smith, New Zealand s Lynnette Brooky, England s trio of Reid, Felicity Johnson and of course Laura Davies, who has won over 79 titles worldwide and is a previous Women’s NSW Open champion. Norway s Marianne Skarpnord and Frenchwomen Sophie Giquel-Beltan and Virginie Lagouette-Clement have all won on the tour. LPGA tour winners in the field include Davies, Hull, Australian Wendy Doolan and Canadian Lorie Kane. Former champions of the tournament Davies, Mills and multiple winner of the Women’s NSW Open, Sarah Oh, are confirmed starters. The local contingent is once again very strong and will be lead by Sydney s Oh, Hull who has finished runner-up to Oh on both occasions, multiple LPGA winner Wendy Doolan and LPGA major championship runner-up Lindsey Wright. Sydney s Frances Bondad, will be keen to bring her winning form back home and win her State title. However, the likes of Sarah Kemp, Nikki Garrett, Sarah-Jane Smith, Stacey Keating and Kristie Smith will all be looking to capture the title for the first time. The ongoing generous support of title sponsors Bing Lee and Samsung means the players will be vying for their share of the $125,000 purse. With the tournament holding official Rolex World Rankings event status, valuable points are up for grabs. Entry to the tournament is free, so it is a great opportunity for the public to watch some of the best talent in women’s professional golf.
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