AIG Women's Open Preview

The AIG Women's Open returns to English soil this week with Royal Lytham & St Annes hosting the 50th edition of the Women's British Open from July 30 to August 2. It is the final major championship of the 2026 season, bringing down the curtain on a year that has produced two back-to-back major winners.

Defending champion Miyu Yamashita returns the trophy

A field of 144 players will contest a record $10 million prize fund, the largest in the championship's history. Last year’s defending champion Miyu Yamashita returns after a two-under 70 in last year's final round completed an eleven-under win at Royal Porthcawl. The Japanese player arrives at Lytham in good form. She currently sits fourth in the LPGA rankings with eight top tens and a victory at the Meijer Classic.

The Venue

This is the sixth time Lytham has staged the championship. Past winners on the famous Lancashire links are: Sherri Steinhauer twice (1998, 2006), Annika Sörenstam (2003), Catriona Matthew (2009) and, most recently, home favourite Georgia Hall in 2018.

Catriona Matthew holds the trophy in 2009

Royal Lytham & St Annes was founded in 1886 and remains one of the most respected venues in the men’s Open rota, having hosted the men's Open on eleven occasions. It is a curious course by links standards: despite sitting close to the Lancashire coast, no hole runs along the sea, and the course is bounded by the town and the railway. The routing is unusually lopsided, with a gentler front nine giving way to a considerably more demanding back nine into the prevailing wind.

The course is also unique among Open venues in opening with a par three, a tricky 163-yard hole ringed by five bunkers that has produced four holes-in-one at past Women's Opens. From there the challenge escalates through a course renowned for its bunkering — more than 160 pot bunkers in total, many with faces steep enough to force a lay-up rather than an attacking recovery.

Scoring at Lytham has historically been tight rather than low. The course rewards accuracy off the tee over raw length, and with an unpredictable Lancashire forecast likely to play a part across the four days, the player who controls her ball flight in the wind, and avoids the sand, will be the one with the best chance of holding the trophy on Sunday evening.

The Favourites

World number one Nelly Korda arrives at Lytham as the form player of the year and the obvious favourite. The American has been irrepressible in the majors in 2026, opening the season with a dominant five-shot win at the Chevron Championship before adding a dramatic one-stroke victory at the US Women's Open in June, holing a nervy par putt on the final green at Riviera to see off Charley Hull and Gaby López. Two majors from the year's first four is a résumé few in the field can match, and Korda's return to the world number one ranking underlines just how complete her game has been.

However, the player who has matched her for major-winning consistency is South Korea's Haeran Ryu, who has been the standout story of the middle part of the season. Ryu won her maiden major at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship in June before backing it up a fortnight later at the Amundi Evian Championship, holing the winning birdie putt on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff against Brooke Henderson. Back-to-back major titles puts Ryu among the leading contenders at Lytham, while Henderson's runner-up finish in France, and her hole-in-one during that final round, suggests the Canadian remains one of the top contenders.

It’s important to remember that Jeeno Thitikul is only 23 years old. This season she is ranked no.2 in the world and no. 2 in the LPGA Race to CME Globe rankings. She has 2 wins but of course is still lacking that major victory in her resume.

The Thai star has built her season around great consistency. Most week's she places herself in contention with her elite ball striking and exceptional control from tee to green. Royal Lytham appears perfectly suited to those strengths and it would surprise few observers if this became the week she added a major to her CV. It also seems that the world is more concerned about her lack of a major victory than the player herself.

The recently completed Scottish Open at Dundonald Links offered a further guide, even if the scoreboard made for somewhat sobering reading. Jenny Shin held on for a wire-to-wire victory, closing with a battling three-over 75 to beat South Korea's A Lim Kim by two shots, with Thailand's Pajaree Anannarukarn third at five under. Only ten players broke par for the week on a course toughened by tricky conditions. World number one Nelly Korda could finish no better than a tie for 16th and defending Scottish Open champion Lottie Woad managed only a tie for 37th, results that offer little guidance heading into the final major of the year.

Ozzies and Kiwi’s in the Field

Nine Ozzies and two Kiwis have earned their place in the field at Lytham, headed by Hannah Green, who has enjoyed the best season of her career. The West Australian has four titles to her name in 2026, including victories at the HSBC Women's World Championship, the Women's Australian Open, the Australian WPGA Championship and the JM Eagle LA Championship, and sits inside the top ten of the world rankings. Green closed with a final-round 70 to finish tied for 31st at the Scottish Open, a week that underlined how testing Dundonald's scoring conditions were for the whole field. A tie for seventh at the Chevron Championship in April is her best major finish of the year, and after four seasons of near misses in the biggest events, she goes to Lytham insisting she has never felt more confident heading into a major.

Minjee Lee arrives with a season of mixed results and her form at the Scottish Open offers a note of further caution: an opening 85 was followed by a withdrawal through illness after thirteen holes of round two. Lee's class is not in question, and she has previously won the US Women's Open on a links-adjacent test, but she will want a clean bill of health and a settled week of practice before Thursday if she is to add a fourth major.

Grace Kim goes to Lytham as the 2025 Amundi Evian Championship winner, a breakthrough victory that confirmed her place among the game's echelon. She was the leading Australian at the midway point of last week's Scottish Open, sitting in a share of eleventh place at even par, before Dundonald's notoriously testing closing holes took their toll and she slipped to a tie for 44th by the finish. Her all-round game, allied with proven form in majors, still makes her arguably Australia's best-credentialled contender this week outside of Green.

Steph Kyriacou returns to the AIG Women's Open with a runner-up finish at the 2024 Evian Championship on her record but sadly her form this season has seen her take a short break away from tournament golf. A two-time Ladies European Tour winner, she has the game for a firm, fast links, and a solid week at Dundonald would be a welcome sight for Ozzie fans.

Kelsey Bennett arrives on the back of the breakout season of her career. The Mollymook star won the Australian Women's Classic in March for her maiden Ladies European Tour title and has added two runner-up finishes since, sitting fourth on the LET's Order of Merit and a career-high 112 in the world. She missed the cut at the Scottish Open, but she has coach Serhan along at Lytham so the game should be in tip top form this week.

Also making the trip are three players building on strong 2026 seasons. Robyn Choi was the best placed of the trio at Dundonald, finishing tied for 56th, while Karis Davidson and Cassie Porter missed the weekend; both qualified for Lytham through the LPGA's Race to the CME Globe standings, reward for consistent form across the year. Choi doesn’t arrive with realistic championship aspirations but a big week at a major would not surprise and would give her CME Globe ranking a nice boost. Davidson has had a very good season so far and despite last week’s hiccup she should have a good showing here. Porter’s form has been a bit harder to follow but she has shown this year that she can shoot low (see Australian Open final round) and has put herself in contention a couple of times this season. Porter on the front page of the leaderboard on Sunday would not surprise.

Justice Bosio tees it up this week courtesy of final qualifying where she got the best of the conditions with an early start but still posted a very good -3 round to ultimately finish third and get her ticket to her first major. Ozziegolf has consistently tipped her to win on the LET this year. Pundits will say this will be a learning week for Bosio and that may be right, but she has been in scintillating form recently and she came close recently losing in a playoff at the Czech Ladies Open. Do not be surprised to see her make the cut and do well.

New Zealand's flag will be carried by Lydia Ko and Amelia Garvey. Ko needs no introduction as a three-time major champion and Hall of Famer who won this very championship in 2024 at St Andrews, though her 2026 season has been quieter by her own high standards, with a best of fourth at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions and a missed cut at the Chevron. Ko’s final round 64 at Evian a couple of weeks ago was a peek at what we know she is capable of doing. A player of Ko's pedigree and major-week experience is always a threat, and Lytham's demand for precision over power should suit her.

Garvey, by contrast, is still building her major résumé. The 25-year-old Christchurch player enjoyed a strong rookie LET season in 2025, finishing 13th on the Order of Merit with five top 10s after graduating from the Epson Tour. She missed the cut in her Women's Open debut last year. She finished tie for 44th at the Scottish Open this week, and leaning on Ko for guidance at major championships should stand her in good stead as she chases a first weekend appearance at Lytham.

All in all, it will be a great week of golf at Royal Lytham. There are another thirty players who could win and it will be fascinating to see who maps their way around this wonderful course the best.