Whenever anybody uses the declaration “they’ll be the first in history to do this” you can guarantee someone-or-the-other will have already done such-and-such. Never assume eh?

All the paraphernalia championing this week’s Jordan Mixed Open has cheerily proclaimed that the Glasgow golfing duo of Kylie and Scott Henry will be the first husband and wife to compete against each other in a professional event. But wait?

“I’m getting used to playing against Scott as I’ve done it a few times on the Big Johnson’s Tour,” said Kylie of the Scottish-based professional mini-circuit which is run by her husband’s brother, John. “I’ve finished ahead of him once or twice too … and he’s never taken the huff.”

This week’s innovative affair on the Red Sea coast will see players from the Ladies European Tour, the Challenge Tour and the Staysure Tour – formerly the Senior Tour – playing off three different tees but for one individual title as men and women compete together in another attempt to integrate the sexes in a game that has always had the opportunity to do so.

The Challenge Tour boys will play a course measuring 7,100 yards, the golden oldies of the over-50s circuit will have a set-up of 6,601 yards and the good ladies will be tested over a track of 6,139 yards.

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Following the lead of events like the Vic Open, which sees men and women play for the same prize fund, and the Golf Sixes, which had male and female pairings going head-to-head, the Jordan tournament is another example of a more enlightened, all-embracing approach to a sport that, historically, has been ham-strung by controversies surrounding gender.

Will the event be a go-er or a gimmick? A blueprint for a come-all-ye future or a box-ticking exercise in convoluted tokenism? We can only wait and see.

While warmly welcoming this latest addition to the schedule, Henry, who is now in her 10th season on the Ladies European Tour, gave her own observations about male and female competitions while tossing something of a grenade into the potentially incendiary field that is the gender pay gap in sport.

“I don’t think there’s a correct formula for men and women to play against each other all the time,” she said. “Even if you give us forward tees it’s still never going to be fair. It’s not fair for us and it’s not fair for the men either.

“People keep referring to tennis. The reality is that we couldn’t play all our events at the same venue as the men, week in, week out or even our major championships. It’s not realistic.”

Glasgow Times:

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Since winning two Ladies European Tour titles in 2014, Henry has watched the circuit she plies her trade on savaged by the loss of sponsorship and the dwindling of events.

The leadership of the circuit came in for damning condemnation while tales of players having to take part-time jobs to supplement their income due to a lack of playing opportunities added to the sense of despair.

The yawning gap in earning potential of the men and women in Europe was highlighted and vigorously debated online by Henry’s tour colleague, Meg MacLaren, earlier this year when the two circuits were in Abu Dhabi around the same time. The men played for $7 million, the women $293,000. Henry, obviously, wants that narrowed but is aware of the harsh realities of market forces.

“Our tour has made mistakes in recent years and there are a number of factors to blame for the state of women’s golf in Europe,” said Henry. “But I don’t believe we should be getting the same prize funds as the men because there is a big, big difference in the level of fans and the amount (of interest) it attracts.

“It is different. If we were even a tenth of the men’s prize funds, that would be easier to take. The standard of women’s golf has improved dramatically since I joined the tour. It would be great if the prize funds reflected that.

“It’s good that the men’s and women’s tours are linking up but we should focus on women’s events.”