The AIG Women’s Open is a relative youngster coming onto the golf scene with its commencement in 1976. The Open Championship dates back over a century before that to 1860.
This week’s event marks the third time the best female golfers in the world will walk the fairways of The Old Course at St. Andrews.
The first intersection took place in 2007 when Loren Ochoa captured the title. Six years later, the championship returned, and Stacy Lewis was the winner.
The course will play as a par-72 with a length of 6,784 yards.
While women’s professional golf has undoubtedly advanced in a number of areas, the total purse for the championship will be just over half of what the men played for this past July at Royal Troon ($17 million). Keep in mind that the purse for The Open remains in the fourth slot behind the U.S. Open, Masters, and PGA Championship, respectively.
Securing quality venues for the most prestigious titles has also been a topic of concern, and recent venues hosting the most prestigious women’s championships have clearly been impactful in raising the profile of women’s golf.
The AIG Open Championship secured Muirfield as the host venue in 2022. One must realize that the Honorable Company of Edinburgh Golfers had been stuck in a time warp for many years, refusing to admit female members to the club. The R&A gave the club an ultimatum—either change the membership policy or forget hosting The Open ever again. The previous policy was jettisoned, but only after an initial vote kept the exclusionary practice in place.
On the other side of the pond, the U.S. Women’s Open was played for the first time in 2023 at the storied Pebble Beach Golf Links in California. This year’s championship returned to the much-praised Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania for a second time.
For many players competing this week, this will mark the first time they have played The Old Course, including the defending champion, Lilia Vu.
“I’m not putting too much pressure on myself to defend a title,” Vu said. “I mean, it’s a new week at a new golf course. I’m just going to show up to the tournament the same way I do every single time and try to beat the course every day if it allows with the weather. But I’m just going to try my best, not put too much pressure.”
The last player to win in back-to-back years was Yani Tseng of Taiwan, who claimed the trophy in 2010 and 2011. Three players, including Tseng, have won consecutive titles. Americans Sherri Steinhauer (1998 and 1999) and Debbie Massey (1980 and 1981) are the others. Steinhauer also won in 2006.
Thirteen past champions are on the field. Karrie Webb (1995, 1997 and 2002), Jiyai Shin (2008, 2012), Catriona Matthew (2009), Yani Tseng (2010 and 2011), Stacy Lewis (2013), Ariya Jutanugarn (2016), In-Kyung Kim (2017), Georgia Hall (2018), Hinako Shibuno (2019), Sophia Popov (2020), Anna Nordqvist (2021), Ashleigh Buhai (2022) and defending champion Lilia Vu.
An interesting side note is that every defending champion since 2019 has missed the 36-hole cut. Vu is looking to break that streak.
Learning the vagaries of links golf is always a difficult chore. The unpredictable bounces are central to tying together the aerial and ground game options. The ever-changing wind velocities will also test the skills of players able to marry the trajectory of shots as circumstances dictate.
Unlike The Open Championship, the women’s event is not always played at a traditional links course.
Weather predictions for the championship will be extremely testing with rain at different intervals and heavy winds a constant irritant. Patience will certainly be tested for the duration of the 72-hole event.
The Old Course is special beyond the rich history it possesses. The women will encounter 14 holes that share double-greens. Only the 1st, 9th, 17th, and 18th are single-putting surfaces.
The stately R&A clubhouse occupies the rear position between the first tee and the 18th green. The town also has a close bond with golf. While golf is the center point, the juxtaposition of all the intrinsic elements elevates any Open Championship when St. Andrews serves as the host site.
Several key questions remain to be settled. Can Lydia Ko follow up on her gold medal-winning performance in Paris and keep the momentum going?
Will world-ranked-number-one Nelly Korda finally return to form? The 26-year-old claimed the first major this year at the Chevron but then missed the cut at the U.S. Open and PGA Championship. At the most recent major—The Evian Championship—she finished T26.
Can Lauren Coughlin continue her success with back-to-back wins after claiming last week’s Scottish Open and earlier with a triumph at the Canadian Open? The American player is quickly becoming a mainstay on the leaderboard.
Can Minjee Lee recover from last week’s final two-round free fall at Dundonald Links? The Australian scored 150 for the final rounds after sharing the 36-hole lead and ultimately finished T12. Lee has not won in 2024, but a win at The Old Course could be the perfect resurrection for the talented player.
Is Rose Zhang able to ascend the ladder of stardom with her first major title this week? Zhang was predicted for huge success when joining the pro ranks after a stellar amateur career. She did win earlier this year at the Cognizant Founders event, but her play for the balance of this year has been uneven. Zhang had three top-ten finishes in the major events in 2023. In 2024, she has had two missed cuts and has not finished in the top 30 in the other two.
Scotland is the home of golf, and it is fitting that St. Andrews and the illustrious Old Course will serve as this week’s grand stage.
