How appropriate that 128 of the best ladies golfers from around the globe teed off at Golf Costa Adeje on the day women were finally admitted to The Royal and Ancient Golf Club in Scotland. Not that the ladies professional game has been kicking its heels waiting for such a sign, the sport is always marching forward and this years Spanish Ladies Open is set to add more new converts.

I’m not a golfer myself but the annual ladies contest in Tenerife, in various forms, always figures on my sporting radar. Cloud was rolling over the Costa Adeje course when I arrived on the first day but the readouts were still showing 26 degrees, no wonder each days play was set for an 8am start. I already knew there was a prize pot of 350,000 euros this year, picking up a copy of last years order of merit, the earnings list was more than healthy with the lowest of the 104 players picking up just under 10,000 euros and the leader Suzann Pettersen of Norway raking in 315, 867.72 (don’t forget that 72 cents).

On the course I recognized quite a few of the players from previous years, Lee Anne Pace (top white) was back to defend her title, 26 countries are involved this year with a good spread of Brits. Trish Johnson and Melissa Reid are both previous tournament winners in Tenerife but a new name Charley Hull was making the early running. As the cloud parted and cranked up the heat, La Gomera stood proud across the Atlantic with a cloudy halo framing it nicely. There weren’t that many spectators despite entry and parking being free, most will come on Saturday and Sunday after the cut reduces the field to 60 contenders.

I noticed a few of the ladies didn’t have caddies and were dragging their own trolleys, a few semi regular caddies had told me they had cut the fees this year but let’s just call it character building for those doubling as players and carriers. The higher ranked players get other advantages like sponsored outfits, ladies golf fashion is a competitive business now and the new designs were getting lots of publicity from the TV cameras following every shot. My eyes were certainly drawn to more than the technical style on show.

I don’t want to show any bias but it would be good to see another Brit winner, maybe one of the Scottish ladies could crown a momentous week north of the border. In a year when Brazil failed to win their home football crown I can’t help but hope that Victoria Lovelady flies their flag high – well that is a cracking name. If you want to keep an eye on scores as they develop go to www.spanishladiesopen.com and pop down to see another world class event set against our world class scenery.