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Women's British Open

(Redirected from Weetabix Women's British Open)

The Women's Open (originally known as the Women's British Open, and still widely referred to by that name outside the UK) is a major championship in women's professional golf. It is recognised by both the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour as a major. The reigning champion is Lilia Vu, who won at Walton Heath Golf Club in 2023.

The AIG Women's Open
Tournament information
LocationUnited Kingdom
Established1976, 48 years ago
Course(s)varies; Walton Heath Golf Club (2023)
Surrey, England
Par72 (in 2023)
Length6,881 yards (6,292 m) (2023)
Organised byThe R&A
Tour(s)LPGA Tour (1984, 1994–)
LET (1979–)
FormatStroke play
Prize fund$9,000,000[1]
€8,166,915
£7,053,622[2]
Month playedAugust
Tournament record score
Aggregate269 Karrie Webb (1997)
269 Karen Stupples (2004)
To par−19 Karrie Webb (1997)
−19 Karen Stupples (2004)
Current champion
United States Lilia Vu
2023 Women's British Open

Since becoming an LPGA major in 2001 it has generally been played in late July or early August. The 2012 edition was scheduled for mid-September, due to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, while the 2014 event was played in mid-July, the week prior to the Open Championship.

In 2019 it was known as the AIG Women's British Open. From 2007 to 2018, it was called the Ricoh Women's British Open while the previous twenty editions (1987–2006) were sponsored by Weetabix, a breakfast cereal.[3] In July 2020, the sponsorship agreement with AIG was extended through to 2025; as part of the deal the championship was rebranded by The R&A (which has organised the event since 2017) by removing the "British" qualifier, in line with The R&A's men's and senior men's championships, as the AIG Women's Open.[4]

History

The practice green at Sunningdale Golf Club in 2008.

The first Women's British Open was played in 1976 when the Ladies' British Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship was extended to include professionals. The Amateur Stroke Play Championship had been organised by the Ladies' Golf Union since 1969. In early 1976 two professionals, Vivien Saunders and Gwen Brandom, and the LGU, agreed that the event would be opened up to professionals, with Saunders and Brandom providing £200 in prize money for the professionals.[5][6] Eventually total prize money was £500, with five professionals competing in the event.[7] An amateur, Jenny Lee Smith, won the event with Saunders the leading professional, tying for fourth place.[8] Saunders won the event in 1977 on "countback", having tied with Mary Everard but having the better final round, 76 to Everard's 79.[9] Janet Melville won in 1978, with Saunders again the leading professional and taking the first prize of £1,000.[10] Just four professionals competed.[11]

From 1979 the event was separated from the Stroke Play Championship, which returned to being an amateur-only event. Prize money of £10,000, and a first prize of £3,000, attracted a larger number of professionals. At first, it was difficult for the organisers to get the most prestigious courses to agree to host the event, with the exception of Royal Birkdale, which hosted it twice during its early days — in 1982 and 1986. After nearly folding in 1983, the tournament was held at the best of the "second-tier" courses, including Woburn Golf and Country Club for seven straight years, 1990 through 1996, as well as in 1984 and 1999.

As its prestige continued to increase, more of the links courses that are in the rotation for The Open Championship, such as Turnberry (2002) and Royal Lytham & St Annes (1998, 2003, 2006) hosted the tournament, in addition to Royal Birkdale (2000, 2005, 2010). In 2007, the tournament took place at the Old Course at St Andrews for the first time.

Since 2010, four additional Open Championship venues became first-time hosts for the women's event: Carnoustie (2011), Royal Liverpool (2012), Royal Troon (2020, year where only women had The Open), and Muirfield (2022). The tournament has yet to be played at two Open Championship courses: Royal St. George's in southeastern England, and Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. Currently, Turnberry is unable to be on the Open rota because of political ramifications of former President of the United States Donald Trump.

Unlike its male counterpart, the Women's Open has not adopted a links-only policy. This greatly increases the number of potential venues, especially the number close to the major population centres of England. Following the 2017 merger of the Ladies Golf Union with The R&A, both the men's and women's Opens are operated by The R&A.

Through 1993, the tournament was an official stop only on the Ladies European Tour, with the exception of the 1984 edition, which was co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour. Starting in 1994, it became a permanent LPGA Tour event, which increased both the quality of the field and the event's prestige. It has been an official LPGA major since 2001, when it replaced the du Maurier Classic, which lost its title sponsor because of sponsorship regulations. In 2005, the starting field size was increased to 150, but only the low 65 (plus ties) survive the cut after the second round. In both 2007 and 2008 the prize fund was £1.05 million. Starting in 2009, the prize fund changed from being fixed in pounds to U.S. dollars.

Tied for most victories in the Women's British Open with three each are Karrie Webb of Australia and Sherri Steinhauer of the United States. Both won the tournament twice before it became an LPGA major and once after. Yani Tseng of Taiwan and Jiyai Shin of South Korea are the only multiple winners of the championship as a major.[12] The other multiple winner is Debbie Massey of the U.S., with consecutive wins (1980 and 1981) well before it was an LPGA co-sanctioned event.

Winners

YearDatesChampionVenueScoreTo parMargin
of victory		Runner(s)-upPurse
($)		Winner's
share ($)		Ref
AIG Women's Open
202310–13 Aug Lilia VuWalton Heath274−146 strokes Charley Hull9,000,0001,350,000
20224–7 Aug Ashleigh BuhaiMuirfield274−10Playoff[a] Chun In-gee7,300,0001,095,000
202119–22 Aug Anna NordqvistCarnoustie, Championship276−121 stroke Georgia Hall
Madelene Sagström
Lizette Salas		5,800,000870,000
202020–23 Aug Sophia PopovRoyal Troon, Old Course277−72 strokes Thidapa Suwannapura4,500,000675,000
AIG Women's British Open
20191–4 Aug Hinako ShibunoWoburn, Marquess Course270−181 stroke Lizette Salas4,500,000675,000
Ricoh Women's British Open
20182–5 Aug Georgia HallRoyal Lytham & St Annes271−172 strokes Pornanong Phatlum3,250,000490,000
20173–6 Aug In-Kyung KimKingsbarns270−182 strokes Jodi Ewart Shadoff3,250,000504,821
201628–31 Jul Ariya JutanugarnWoburn, Marquess Course272−163 strokes Mirim Lee
Mo Martin		3,000,000412,047
201530 Jul – 2 Aug Inbee ParkTurnberry276−123 strokes Ko Jin-young3,000,000464,817
201410–13 Jul Mo MartinRoyal Birkdale287−11 stroke Shanshan Feng
Suzann Pettersen		3,000,000474,575
20131–4 Aug Stacy LewisSt Andrews280−82 strokes Na Yeon Choi
Hee Young Park		2,750,000402,583
201213–16 Sep Jiyai ShinRoyal Liverpool279−99 strokes Inbee Park2,750,000428,650
201128–31 Jul Yani TsengCarnoustie272−164 strokes Brittany Lang2,500,000392,133
Women's British Open
201029 Jul – 1 Aug Yani TsengRoyal Birkdale277−111 stroke Katherine Hull2,500,000408,714
200930 Jul – 2 Aug Catriona MatthewRoyal Lytham & St Annes285−33 strokes Karrie Webb2,200,000335,000
200831 Jul – 3 Aug Jiyai ShinSunningdale270−183 strokes Yani Tseng2,100,000314,464
20072–5 Aug Lorena Ochoa St Andrews287−54 strokes Maria Hjorth
Jee Young Lee		2,000,000320,512
20063–6 Aug Sherri SteinhauerRoyal Lytham & St Annes281−73 strokes Sophie Gustafson
Cristie Kerr		1,800,000305,440
200528–31 July Jeong JangRoyal Birkdale272−164 strokes Sophie Gustafson1,800,000280,208
200429 July – 1 Aug Karen StupplesSunningdale269−195 strokes Rachel Hetherington1,600,000290,880
200331 July – 3 Aug Annika SörenstamRoyal Lytham & St Annes278−101 stroke Se Ri Pak1,600,000254,880
20028–11 Aug Karrie WebbTurnberry273−152 strokes Michelle Ellis
Paula Martí		1,500,000236,383
20012–5 Aug Se Ri PakSunningdale277−112 strokes Mi Hyun Kim1,500,000221,650
200017–20 Aug Sophie GustafsonRoyal Birkdale282−62 strokes Becky Iverson
Meg Mallon
Liselotte Neumann
Kirsty Taylor		1,250,000178,000
199912–15 Aug Sherri SteinhauerWoburn, Duke's Course283−51 stroke Annika Sörenstam1,000,000160,000
199813–16 Aug Sherri SteinhauerRoyal Lytham & St Annes292+41 stroke Brandie Burton
Sophie Gustafson		1,000,000162,000
199714–17 Aug Karrie WebbSunningdale269−198 strokes Rosie Jones900,000129,938
199615–18 Aug Emilee KleinWoburn, Duke's Course277−117 strokes Amy Alcott
Penny Hammel		850,000124,000
199517–20 Aug Karrie WebbWoburn, Duke's Course278−106 strokes Annika Sörenstam
Jill McGill		600,00092,400
199411–14 Aug Liselotte NeumannWoburn, Duke's Course280−83 strokes Annika Sörenstam500,00080,325
Weetabix Women's British Open
1993 Karen LunnWoburn, Duke's Course2758 strokes Brandie Burton£300,000£50,000
1992 Patty SheehanWoburn, Duke's Course207[b]3 strokes Corinne Dibnah£300,000£50,000
1991 Penny Grice-WhittakerWoburn, Duke's Course2843 strokes Helen Alfredsson
Diane Barnard		£150,000£25,000
1990 Helen AlfredssonWoburn, Duke's Course288Playoff[c] Jane Hill£130,000£20,000
1989 Jane GeddesFerndown2742 strokes Florence Descampe£120,000£18,000[13]
1988 Corinne DibnahLindrick295Playoff[d] Sally Little£100,000£15,000
1987 Alison NicholasSt Mellion2961 stroke Laura Davies
Muffin Spencer-Devlin		£100,000£15,000[14]
Women's British Open
1986 Laura DaviesRoyal Birkdale2834 strokes Peggy Conley
Marta Figueras-Dotti		£60,000£9,000[15]
Burberry Women's British Open
1985 Betsy KingMoor Park3002 strokes Marta Figueras-Dotti£60,000£9,000[16]
Hitachi Women's British Open
1984 Ayako OkamotoWoburn, Duke's Course28911 strokes Betsy King
Dale Reid		£160,000[e]£24,000[17]
1983Cancelled[18]
Pretty Polly Women's British Open
1982 Marta Figueras-Dotti (a)Royal Birkdale2961 stroke Rosie Jones
Jenny Lee Smith		£23,000(£6,000)[19]
1981 Debbie MasseyNorthumberland2954 strokes Belle Robertson (a)£19,000£5,600[20]
1980 Debbie MasseyWentworth2941 stroke Marta Figueras-Dotti (a)
Belle Robertson (a)		£15,000£4,500[21]
1979 Alison SheardSouthport & Ainsdale3013 strokes Mickey Walker£10,000£3,000[22]
Women's British Open
1978 Janet Melville (a)Foxhills3102 strokes Wilma Aitken (a)(£1,000)[10]
1977 Vivien SaundersLindrick Golf Club306Countback[f] Mary Everard (a)£500£210[9]
1976 Jenny Lee Smith (a)Fulford2992 strokes Mary McKenna (a)£500(£210)[8]

(a) denotes amateur

Source for later tournaments:[23]

Host courses

The Women's Open has been played at the following courses, listed in order of number of times hosted (as of 2023):

Future venues

YearEditionCourseLocationDatesPreviously hosted
2024[24]48thSt Andrews Links (Old Course)St Andrews, Fife, Scotland22―25 August2007, 2013
2025[24]49thRoyal Porthcawl Golf Club[a]Porthcawl, Bridgend, WalesTBD

Smyth Salver

The Smyth Salver is awarded to the leading amateur, provided that the player completes all 72 holes, for one year. The winner also receives a silver medal. The salver was donated by Moira Smyth, a past president of the Ladies' Golf Union.[26]

References

External links

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