YOU could say it’s been something of a ding-dong year for Pamela Pretswell Asher. There was the cheery sound of wedding bells as she tied the knot in the summer while the struggles confronted by the Ladies European Tour have left alarm bells ringing.
A number of embattled players trying to make ends meet have probably been thinking ‘hell’s bells’ too as things seemed to go from bad to worse for the beleaguered circuit.
The problems experienced by the Ladies European Tour, which led to a savaging of the schedule, a loss of key sponsors and, ultimately, the departure of the organisation’s chief executive, have been well-documented while tales of players having to take part-time jobs to help bolster their income highlighted the dire straits into which some had been plunged.
“I haven’t had to look so far (for work) and hopefully there’s a profitable few weeks coming up,” said Pretswell Asher. We may be hurtling towards November but there’s a sense of things getting going for the Scot. She has four events in the next five weeks, starting in Abu Dhabi and taking in trips to India, China and Dubai.
“I’ll have to get used to playing in shorts and t-shirt again,” she added with a smile. “This first spell coming is the first time this year I’ll have played three in a row. It’s been pretty stop-start but with what’s coming up, it almost feels like the season is starting again.”
Having played just eight events so far this season, it’s no wonder Pretswell Asher is keen to get back into action. “It’s probably the least I’ve played since joining the tour,” added the 28-year-old. “I’ll play 12 in all this year and that’s the lowest since I played 12 on the Access Tour five years ago.”
Pretswell Asher, the former Curtis Cup player, sit in 38th place on the order of merit. She managed a fifth place finish in the Mediterranean Open back in April but instead of providing a springboard, she was left kicking her heels as the events dried up and the barren calendar resembled a hermit’s social diary.
“I didn’t play again until July after that top-five,” she reflected. “Most of my best finishes have arrived when there’s a gap right after them and you lose a lot of the momentum.
“It has been frustrating. Obviously, it’s not an ideal scenario. You just want to keep playing but everybody has had to deal with this. We’ve had to be more patient than normal this year. Once you get an event, you have to make the most of it.”
Team Europe may have lost this season’s Solheim Cup to the US but the riveting spectacle in Des Moines showcased the women’s game superbly and Pretswell Asher is quietly confident things will slowly start to improve for the Ladies European Tour in the months ahead.
With the Solheim Cup coming to Gleneagles in 2019, and North Berwick’s Catriona Matthew installed as European captain, there’s an added incentive for the Scots to push on.
“It’s not all doom and gloom on the tour,” she declared. “Next year is looking a lot more optimistic. There are discussions with a few places about events and hopefully they can pull those off and get a better year. There are potentially more tournaments in Europe too and work is going on behind the scenes.
“A few European nations are interested especially off the back of the Solheim Cup this year and Gleneagles in 2019. I have to push myself for that.
“With all the bad press, the team still did well in the US and we are still producing good players. It was a perfect time to show that the European Tour is still alive and kicking.”
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