Lisbon, Portugal; May 13: Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall, Jaclyn Sweeney of USA and Australian Stacey Keating were announced  as the 2011 Ladies European Tour Henderson Rookies by Henderson Global Investors at the ISPS Handa Portugal Ladies Open today.

The trio  will wear Henderson branded clothing and caps when they compete throughout the 2011 season in more than twenty countries. Each rookie will also receive €12,000 each to help them in their first year as professional golfers.

Henderson Global Investors, who also sponsor the Official Ladies European Tour Money List, are now in their fifth year of sponsoring newcomers to the Tour.

“Henderson’s sponsorship of the Rookies has gone from strength to strength since we became involved in 2007. The benefit of having a supportive sponsor from early on in a young golfer’s career is demonstrated by the achievements of the Henderson Rookies of the past five years, including Major winner Anna Nordqvist (2009),Kristie Smith (2010) and Christel Boeljon (2009), who have both had success on the Tour this year, winning individual LET titles,” said Henderson Global Investors’ marketing director Richard Wilson.

“It’s great to know that our support helped them achieve so much in their early years on the Tour, and we are very much looking forward to working with the 2011 Henderson Rookies,” he added.

The LET’s executive director Alexandra Armas was optimistic that this year’s Henderson Rookies will continue in the good fashion of their predecessors.“I have been deeply impressed with the way that the Henderson Rookies have performed over the last four seasons; this year’s crop are another talented trio with the potential to deliver at this elite level. We wish Caroline, Jaclyn and Stacey all the best for the months ahead as they begin their careers on the increasingly competitive Ladies European Tour.”