”Green” ambassador Anna Nordqvist of Sweden |
The total emission volume or “carbon footprint” of the tournament has been determined in advance and the event organiser has purchased an emissions certificate to neutralise any emissions which are unavoidable.
The money will be used to install 5,500 biogas plants (digesters for private households) in India, and to increase the efficiency of a renewable energy plant (a bagasse) in Brazil.
“We will see first-class golf during the Deutsche Bank Ladies’ Swiss Open, without polluting the environment with greenhouse gas emissions,” said Tournament Director, Hanns Michael Hoelz.
“Every event, however, will always produce a certain amount of emissions that are unavoidable, regardless of the level of effort put forth.”
The Deutsche Bank Ladies’ Swiss Open will be the first full-field tournament on the 2009 LET schedule and also a qualifying event for The 2009 Solheim Cup, the biennial transatlantic team event that takes place at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois, in August. With all eyes on The Cup, we can expect every European player to give their best this year. Watch out for last year’s leading rookie Melissa Reid of England, who was a runner-up three times last year. Let’s see if any of Martina Eberl, Anja Monke, Tania Elosegui, Rebecca Hudson and Anne-Lise Caudal can take the next step and qualify for the European team.
The first two events of 2009 were co-sanctioned with the Australian Ladies Professional Golf Tour (ALPG) and took place in Australia where Englishwoman Laura Davies took the Women’s Australian Open at Metropolitan Golf Club in Melbourne. It was her 72nd worldwide career title and she now tops the LET’s 2009 Money List.
Just a fortnight ago, the Dutch pair Christel Boeljon and Marjet van der Graaff secured the Comunitat Valenciana European Nations Golf Cup, a 20-team event, played at La Sella Resort in Denia, Alicante, Spain.
There will be great expectations on the recent winners this week at Losone and let’s see how 21-year-old rookie Boeljon deals with the pressure.
Gwladys Nocera, more than anyone on the Ladies European Tour, is looking forward to returning to Golf Gerre Losone for the Deutsche Bank Ladies Swiss Open for at least two reasons.
Firstly, Losone was the scene of her maiden LET victory in 2006 and since then she has secured 10 titles over just three seasons.
Secondly, She shot a career low round of 62 (-8) in the third and final round of last year’s tournament. She equalled that score in the second round of the Goteborg Masters in Sweden in September but has since revealed that Golf Gerre Losone remains her favourite course.