Vic Open model leads to Northern Ireland
2019 ISPS Handa Vic Open champions Celine Boutier and David Law
Seven years after the Vic Open thought it was a good idea to try, golf competitions for men and women are popping up in various places at the same time.
The latter will arrive on the European Challenge Tour in August, where the event that was previously known as the Northern Ireland Open was reinvented as the ISPS Handa World Invitational Men-Women.
Former One Direction singer and loyal golf fanatic Niall Horan is behind the change due to his modesty! Golf management group.
The tournament is played at the Galgorm Spa & Golf Resort and the Massereene Golf Club, Ballymena, from 15-18 August.
The $ US 500,000 prize money will be split equally between men's and women's games and there will be around 300 participants in total at both locations on Thursday and Friday. A cut after the second sends the two fields to Galgorm Castle for the weekend, where a cut from the third round will further narrow each field for the final round.
"We started playing golf with the aim of helping and developing the next generation of players. By supporting a tournament like this exciting new World Invitational, we need to achieve that goal," Horan said in a statement issued today.
"Myself and the whole humble! The team is delighted to work with ISPS HANDA, a great organization synonymous with promoting the game around the world and helping to bring people together through sport.
"ISPS HANDA reaches out to all areas of society as evidenced by their drive and support for blind golfers and golfers with disabilities. In this part of the world we are more than most aware of the importance of creating a lasting legacy. By working together with ISPS HANDA we can help you deliver something very special during this exciting new tournament. "
The ISPS Handa Vic Open first brought male and female golfers together in Spring Valley in 2012, but the tournament has taken a huge flight since it was moved to the 13th Beach-left in 2013. The event has gained wide fame in the golf world and the This year's tournament was part of the men's European Tour and the Women's LPGA Tour.
Male and female professionals have rarely played together, but last year a new event was started in Gleneagles in Scotland. The American PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour have also expressed the wish to bring the players together in the future.