Golf-European Tour appoints two female non-executive directors

LONDON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - The European Tour appointed two female non-executive directors on Thursday as it continued a structural overhaul after a testing year during which it lost a major sponsor and the chief executive decided to stand down. Jutta af Rosenborg and Sophie Goldschmidt, who will join on Jan. 1, have been brought in following a behind-the-scenes restructuring process. "I am delighted to welcome Sophie Goldschmidt and Jutta af Rosenborg to the board," chairman of the Tour's board of directors David Williams said in a statement. "Their appointment as non-executive directors supports our strategy of broadening and increasing the skills and experience at the heart of the business at a time when golf is changing." The Tour was dealt a huge blow in October when leading sponsor Volvo, which has backed a variety of tournaments for the last 26 years, announced it was drastically reducing its golfing commitments. The Swedish carmaker will no longer support the World Match Play Championship or the Golf Champions event in South Africa at the start of the year, instead focusing solely on the China Open. George O'Grady, chief executive since 2005, also said last month that he would be standing down to take up a role with the Tour at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. (Reporting By Michael Hann; editing by Martyn Herman)