The Women's British Open [a] is an annual golf competition held at the end of July start of August, and is conducted by the R&A. Established in 1976, it has been recognised as a major championship by the Ladies European Tour (LET) since 1992, [1] became a recognised LPGA event in 1994, and became one of the LPGA's major championships in 2001. As of 2021 [update] it is the fifth and last of the LPGA's five majors, preceded by the ANA Inspiration (formerly Kraft Nabisco Championship), U.S. Women's Open, the Women's PGA Championship and the Evian Championship (formerly Evian Masters). This event has always been conducted in stroke play competition. [2] [3]
Yani Tseng's victories in 2010 and 2011 and Jiyai Shin's in 2008 and 2012 make them the only two golfers to win the event twice since it became an LPGA major. The only other golfers to successfully defend their titles are Debbie Massey in 1980 and 1981, before the tournament became a part of the LPGA tour, and Sherri Steinhauer in 1998 and 1999, when it was a sanctioned LPGA event but not yet a major.
The lowest winning score in the tournament's history as an LPGA major is Karen Stupples's 19-under par 269 aggregate in 2004, equalling the record score set by Karrie Webb in 1997. [2] The Women's British Open has had two wire-to-wire champions as a major: Jang Jeong in 2005 and Lorena Ochoa in 2007. [4]
† | Tournament won in a playoff |
‡ | Wire-to-wire victory (as a major) |
This table lists the golfers who have won more than one Women's British Open as a major. Champions who won in consecutive years are indicated by the years with italics*.
1 | First place |
Rank | Country | Golfer | Total | Years |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Taiwan | Yani Tseng | 2 | 2010*, 2011* |
1 | South Korea | Jiyai Shin | 2 | 2008, 2012 |
This table lists the total number of titles won by golfers of each nationality as an LPGA major (2001–present).
Rank | Nationality | Wins | Champions | First title | Last title |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | South Korea | 6 | 5 | 2001 | 2017 |
2 | United States | 4 | 4 | 2006 | 2023 |
T3 | England | 2 | 2 | 2004 | 2018 |
Sweden | 2 | 2 | 2003 | 2021 | |
Taiwan | 2 | 1 | 2010 | 2011 | |
T6 | Australia | 1 | 1 | 2002 | |
Germany | 1 | 1 | 2020 | ||
Japan | 1 | 1 | 2019 | ||
Mexico | 1 | 1 | 2007 | ||
New Zealand | 1 | 1 | 2024 | ||
Scotland | 1 | 1 | 2009 | ||
South Africa | 1 | 1 | 2022 | ||
Thailand | 1 | 1 | 2016 |
a This tournament has had several names, which are the following; 2001–2006: Weetabix Women's British Open, 2007–2018: Ricoh Women's British Open, 2019: AIG Women's British Open, 2020–present AIG Women's Open. [17]
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The 2010 Women's British Open was held 29 July to 1 August at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. It was the 34th edition of the Women's British Open, and the tenth as a major championship on the LPGA Tour.
The 2011 Ricoh Women's British Open was held 28–31 July at Carnoustie Golf Links in Angus, Scotland. It was the 35th Women's British Open, and the 11th as a major championship on the LPGA Tour. This was the first time for the Women's British Open at Carnoustie, which previously hosted seven Open Championships, most recently in 2007.
Lydia Ko is a New Zealand professional golfer and the reigning Olympic champion. She first reached number one in the Women's World Golf Rankings on 2 February 2015 at 17 years, 9 months and 9 days of age, making her the youngest player of either gender to be ranked No. 1 in professional golf.
The 2014 Ricoh Women's British Open was played 10–13 July at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. It was the 38th Women's British Open, and the 14th as a major championship on the LPGA Tour. It was the sixth Women's British Open at Royal Birkdale, the most recent was four years earlier in 2010. ESPN and BBC Sport televised the event from Royal Birkdale.
The 2015 Ricoh Women's British Open was played 30 July – 2 August at the Trump Turnberry in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It was the 39th Women's British Open, and the 15th as a major championship on the LPGA Tour.
The 2016 Ricoh Women's British Open was played 28–31 July in England at the Woburn Golf and Country Club near Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, northwest of London. It was the 40th Women's British Open, and the 16th as a major championship on the LPGA Tour. It was the tenth Women's British Open at Woburn; the most recent was in 1999, prior to it becoming a major on the LPGA Tour. For the first time, it was held on the Marquess' Course, which opened in 2000.
The 2017 Ricoh Women's British Open was played 3–6 August in Scotland at Kingsbarns Golf Links in Fife. It was the 41st Women's British Open, the 17th as a major championship on the LPGA Tour, and the first at Kingsbarns, southeast of nearby St Andrews.
The 2022 AIG Women's Open was played from 4 to 7 August in Scotland at Muirfield. It was the 46th Women's British Open, the 22nd as a major championship on the LPGA Tour, and the third championship held under a sponsorship agreement with AIG. It was the first Women's British Open to be hosted at Muirfield.
The 2023 AIG Women's Open was played from 10 to 13 August in England at Walton Heath Golf Club. It was the 47th Women's British Open, the 23rd as a major championship on the LPGA Tour, and the fourth championship held under a sponsorship agreement with AIG. It was the first Women's British Open to be hosted at Walton Heath.
The 2024 AIG Women's Open was played from 22 to 25 August at the Old Course at St Andrews in St Andrews, Scotland. It was the 48th Women's British Open, the 24th as a major championship on the LPGA Tour, and the fifth championship held under a sponsorship agreement with AIG. It was the third Women's British Open to be hosted at St Andrews.