News & Tours
Successful Ladies European Tour leader stepping down amid changing times in women's golf
AMER HILABI
Just as the LPGA Tour is about to have a new commissioner in Craig Kessler, the Ladies European Tour will see its top leader depart in the fall.
The LET announced on Monday that CEO Alexandra Armas will step down on Oct. 1 after helming the tour since early 2020. A former LET player herself and only the second woman to lead the circuit, Armas dealt with the massive difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic soon after she started; arrived soon after an alliance with the LPGA that infused much-needed cash into the LET, which appeared on the verge of collapse; and struck deals with Golf Saudi, which earlier this year extended its commitment to its global series on the LET with a combined $13 million in purses for five events this season.
Armas has overseen a significant increase in LET tournaments and purses, which stood at 19 events and €11.5 million ($13.5 million U.S.) in 2019, while there are 30 events, with purses totaling more than €39 million ($45.9 million) in 2025. That most recent number compares to the LPGA non-major purse total of more than $83 million this year.
“I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together—from expanding the schedule and prize funds to building a stronger, more sustainable future through international collaboration,” Armas said in the LET’s press release.
Armas took the LET job soon after a joint venture partnership was announced between the LET and LPGA Tour that infused purse money and fast-tracked more tournaments on the LET side. The partnership is still in place and the net increase over the past six years has been 10 LET events.
One big deal under Armas’ watch that did not happen was a proposed full merger with the LPGA. The tours’ memberships were informed of a possible merger vote in late 2023 and LET players believed that would happen at the season-ending event in Spain. But the LET Board ultimately decided against a vote without offering an explanation.
It was later reported by Golfweek that Golf Saudi’s involvement became an issue in the negotiations.
As reported, then-LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan sent a letter to her membership explaining that Golf Saudi submitted a last-minute request for further clarification on the potential merger. “As a significant partner of the LET, Golf Saudi wanted to ensure that they fully understood any risks, implications, and opportunities for the Aramco Saudi Ladies International and Aramco Team Series before finalizing their commitment to the events in 2024,” Marcoux Samaan wrote.
An LET-LPGA merge did not happen, with the LET clearly concerned about losing its Golf Saudi money. Golf Saudi is an arm of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which started LIV Golf for the pro men in June 2022 as a rival to the PGA Tour. The two entities continue to exist separately despite extensive negotiations.
On the LPGA side, Marcoux Samaan resigned as commissioner in December of last year after serving for 3½ years, and it was announced in May that Kessler would be the new commissioner starting July 15.
Priorities for a new LET commissioner would figure to include nurturing relationships with the other women’s tours in the world as well as Golf Saudi; heightening the tour’s visibility; and increasing playing opportunities and purses for its members. Armas has said 35 events might be the maximum the LET could produce.
Armas did not want the LET to be considered a “feeder” tour to the LPGA, but rather an entity that creates a different kind of opportunity.
“I think we’re relevant for different reasons,” she said in a 2023 interview with Today’s Golfer. “We collaborate very closely with federations. We are part of grassroots progression. In that way, we are slightly different.
“The LPGA is always going to want to have the best players in the world. We play a big part in nurturing those players coming through. [Jeeno] Thitikul got to World No.1 and she broke through at our tournament in Thailand.
“The way I see it is that we want every player, wherever they choose to play, to be able to make a living. That’s our purpose, offering realistic job opportunities. The top players that have ambitions to play against the top players in the world will go to the LPGA. And that’s fine.
“Our objective is to offer a pathway, to be a home for players, and to give them a platform to improve.”