St Andrews, Scotland – The merger of the Ladies’ Golf Union (LGU) and The R&A has been finalized and will come into effect January 1, 2017.
The heads of agreement between the two organisations was signed in June leading to the integration of the LGU’s business operations and its members of staff into The R&A group of companies. An agreed governance structure has also been implemented to give LGU Board members representation on relevant R&A Committees.
The R&A will assume responsibility for staging the LGU’s championships and international matches next year. The Ricoh Women’s British Open will continue to be managed by IMG in 2017 under the existing agreement with the LGU.
“The integration of the two organizations puts us in a better, stronger position to realize our collective vision for growing the game of golf around the world,” said Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A. “Our combined resources and staff expertise will help us to achieve our shared aims for the development of golf, including increasing girls’ and women’s participation and encouraging more families to enjoy golf as a recreational activity.”
A message to @LadiesGolfUnion associations about the merger with The R&A. https://t.co/jtx4gWqIFW pic.twitter.com/lD7GI697h1
— The R&A (@RandA) December 19, 2016