Women golfers play on the same course as men in Morocco for the first time

A few weeks ago history was made when women golfers shared the course with male golfers at the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco.

In a bid to attract more coverage and fans to both the European Tour and Ladies European Tour, both tours were organised to begin at the same course, at the same time. Both events were held at the stunning Royal Golf Dar Es Salam course in early May.

Spectators of the event were able to watch the Ladies European Tour’s Lalla Meryem Cup on the Blue course, or see the European Tour’s Trophee Hassan II over on the Red course, simultaneously. This was considered a milestone for the course, and one which should hopefully be a positive sign for golfers, organisers and golf enthusiasts who are optimistic of a more equal landscape for both sexes.

Keith Pelley, the European Tour chief executive commented on the decision: “I hope it’s the start of an increased collaboration to come between the two Tours. We can grow and get stronger together. It’s an innovative approach and we’re keen to see how it works this week before deciding on the next steps.”

English golfer Melissa Reid also spoke to Sky Sports News HQ about the positive impact, saying she hoped the decision would lead to further event collaborations in the future. “We want it to be like tennis where you can go to a venue and see the guys and you can see the girls,” she said. “Hopefully it does attract some young players to take up the game.”

Both men and women are soon to compete again at the same venue in Rio De Janeiro at the Olympics this year, where golf is due to return to the games. Though the men and women's golf will be on separate weeks, which is a missed opportunity according to some, Ivan Khodabakhsh, the Ladies European Tour chief executive is hopeful that the events in Morocco will lead to further mix-play events in the future.

Khodabakhsh added: “We need to look beyond the borders of golf and in other sports we can see the best practices. We can see in tennis and in other sports, actually having both genders side by side in a great event competing gives so much more colour, provides so much more for the fans and hopefully we can gain new fans coming to the sport.”

Hopefully this is the beginning of some exciting new developments in the sport for both spectators and players alike.