CHART Hills Golf Club at Biddenden, near Ashford, will play host to the cream of Europe’s women professional golfers for the remainder of the decade.

The Robe di Kappa Ladies European Tour and the Leaderboard-owned course have agreed a deal to host the Ladies English Open for the next five years.

Not only will the course host the tournament but the Leaderboard group will also act as the event promoter. It follows on from the success of last summer’s Ladies’ English Open at Chart Hills, won in record setting fashion by Swede Maria Hjorth.

The event was hailed a triumph by the LET - and buoyed by the presence of English legend Laura Davies and local hero Karen Stupples, who would go on to win the Weetabix Women’s British Open to become only the third Englishwoman to win a major championship.

Stupples was even on hand to witness the signing of the deal at the course. David Walls, general manager at Chart Hills, said he was delighted to have concluded the deal, and in such illustrious company.

He said: “The Ladies European Tour was delighted with how last year’s Ladies’ English Open went and we are very pleased to be in a position where we can bring future prestigious events to Kent.

“This is not only great news for us here at Chart Hills, it is great news for the wider business community in Kent. For the next five years one of the most prestigious events on the golfing calendar will be hosted here and broadcast to a global audience.

“We are very much looking forward to it and to making what is already a great event even better. I hope tournament players like Open champion Karen Stupples will enjoy competing here, and I particularly wish Karen well in the event as a local girl.”

The conclusion of the deal for Chart Hills to host the Ladies English Open, from July 8-10, is a great boost for the tour.

Chart Hills will also promote the event and Mr Walls said they were already in discussions with the sponsors who backed the event last time.

He added: “However, we are still looking for a major sponsor and would welcome on board any firms who would like to back this top rate event.”