WPGA Championship of Europe/Wales Ladies Championship

The WPGA Championship of Europe, also called the Wales Ladies Championship of Europe, was a golf tournament played on the Ladies European Tour for about 15 years starting from the mid-1990s. (The tournament is also sometimes referred to as the Wales Ladies Open, although it never officially had that title.) Its roster of champions includes some of the LET's star golfers.

First played: 1996

Last played: 2010

The WPGA in "WPGA Championship of Europe" stands for Women's Professional Golf Association, which is the organization that created what we today call the Ladies European Tour in 1978. The WPGA Tour changed its name to Ladies European Tour in 2000, although "WPGA" lived on in the name of this tournament for several years after, before being dropped after the 2003 tournament.

McDonald's was the tournament's title sponsor for several years, at the same time the company was the title sponsor of one of the women's major championships, the McDonald's LPGA Championship.

Catriona Matthew's win in 1998 was her first on the LET. She won by five strokes, the tournament's record for margin of victory. The runners-up to Matthew that year, Laura Davies and Helen Alfredsson, were also winners of this event. Alfredsson is the tournament's only 2-time champ. Davies won once but was runner-up four times.

The first round of 61 in LET history was recorded in this tournament in 2005. Kirsty Taylor had that score in the first round and went on to win the tournament.

This tournament traces its origins to a 1979 event named the WPGA European Championship, which was won by an American golfer named Susan Moon. The WPGA European Championship folded after that one tournament, with the name revived in 1996.

Also known as: In order, the tournament was named the McDonald's WPGA Championship of Europe, McDonald's WPGA Championship, WPGA Championship of Europe, The Wales WPGA Championship of Europe, Wales "Golf as it should be" Ladies Open, Wales Ladies Championship of Europe, and, finally, S4/C Wales Ladies Championship of Europe.

Winners of the WPGA Championship of Europe/Wales Ladies Championship of Europe

1996 — Tina Fischer, 278
1997 — Helen Alfredsson, 276
1998 — Catriona Matthew, 276
1999 — Laura Davies, 280 (def. Maria Hjorth in playoff)
2000 — Not played
2001 — Helen Alfredsson, 276
2002 — Asa Gottmo, 285
2003 — Shani Waugh, 286
2004 — Trish Johnson, 277
2005 — Kirsty Taylor, 274
2006 — Linda Wessberg, 274
2007 — Joanne Mills, 282
2008 — Lotta Wahlin, 209 (def. Martina Eberl in playoff)
2009 — Karen Stupples, 276
2010 — Lee-Anne Pace, 282

Golf courses: The tournament was originally based at Gleneagles in Scotland during the years of McDonald's title sponsorship. In 2001, the tournament moved to Wales, first to Royal Porthcawl through 2004. Then it spent three years at Machynys Peninsula. Royal St. David's and Conwy Golf Club were the final two locations.