On Tuesday, members of the Ladies European Tour (LET) met to vote on a proposal to merge with the American-based LPGA Tour. Or at least that was the plan.
In the end, no vote took place, and the players decided to postpone the decision to a later date.
The news broke via a press release from the LPGA, which read: “Earlier today, LET Membership met to vote on whether to join the LPGA organization. Recognizing the significance of this decision to its stakeholders, based on additional information received just prior to the meeting, the LET Board decided to adjourn today’s meeting and postpone the planned vote. The LPGA Board is supportive of this decision and remains enthusiastic about the opportunity to bring our two organizations together.”
One line in the LPGA’s statement, that the players’ decision was “based on additional information received just prior to the meeting,” is already raising eyebrows. But no further details were provided on exactly what that means.
LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan spoke about the merger plans — in which both Tours would retain their names and schedules but work together on co-sanctioned events and business opportunities — at last week’s CME Group Tour Championship and confirmed Tuesday’s LET vote.
According to Sports Business Journal, the boards of both tours had already agreed on the proposal, but to pass they would need to earn 60% approval from LET players, a vote that has now been postponed.
The LPGA and LET previously entered a strategic alliance back in 2019, and since then prize purses on both tours have risen dramatically, though LET purses still pale in comparison to the prize money found on the LPGA.
