The ladies golf tournament, now in its fifth year on the LPGA Tour schedule, is the latest event on the tour to raise the financial rewards on offer following a growing interest in the property.
Commented LPGA commissioner Ty M. Votaw: “With the Evian Masters Golf Club celebrating its centennial year in 2004, the increase to $2.5 million for the 2004 Evian Masters is emblematic of the celebration that will take place at this year’s event. The purse increase demonstrates Evian’s continued commitment to the best female golfers in the world and reflects the global appeal of the LPGA and its players.”
“We are proud to belong to the LPGA sponsor family,” added Frank Riboud, chairman and CEO, Danone Group, and president of the Evian Masters sponsors club. “Indeed, as always, it has a lot to do with longtime personal relationships, not only with the players, but also with Ty. Thanks to our sponsors, it is great satisfaction to see the Evian Masters has now reached an undisputed international status.
“This centennial year at the Evian Masters Golf Club looks very exciting with Juli Inkster defending her title. Furthermore, the good news is 2004 happens to be a favorable year for the economics of the tournament, including exchange rates, which allows us to push the prize money to $2.5 million. For the spirit of the event, as always the players are benefiting from the tournament’s success. I look forward to welcoming everyone to the 2004 Evian Masters.”
