Ko revelling in her Porthcawl home from home ahead of AIG Women's Open defence

Welcome to Porthcawl. Or, as they say in the parish, Croeso i Borthcawl.

“This might be one of the most difficult languages I’ve ever heard,” said Lydia Ko, who defends her AIG Women’s Open title over the wonderful south Wales links this week.

Winning back-to-back crowns – it was last achieved by Yani Tseng in 2011 – may be an easier task for Ko than getting her tongue around the Welsh lingo.

“There are some words that just look like a bunch of consonants,” added the New Zealander as she mulled over a variety of phrases that requires the lexical dexterity of a Countdown contestant.

Royal Porthcawl is staging the women’s showpiece for the first time and Ko is relishing this step into the unknown.

“Not many people in the field have played here before so it’s like a clean slate, and nobody really has an advantage,” said Ko, who claimed a thrilling victory over the Old Course in St Andrews 12 months ago. “It’s going to be a challenge.”

Porthcawl, of course, always provides a terrific test. A quick keek at the weather forecast suggests there’s nothing too boisterous heading the championship’s way.

Whatever Mother Nature has in store, it will take something to top the engrossingly awful conditions that she conjured in this neck of the woods for the men’s Senior Open in 2023.

With lashing rain and 40mph cross winds, it was links golf in all its grisly glory.

Alex Cejka’s five-over winning tally was the highest in the event for 30 years, Colin Montgomerie was blown away with a closing 88 and the prize giving ceremony resembled a roll call on the deck of a galleon in the midst of a raging tempest.

“As much as I love sunny weather, when I’m coming to play the Women’s Open, I expect it to be rainy and windy, and that’s what I really enjoy about this championship,” said Ko.

“I hope it brings all those elements. I would rather it be tough than calm. Maybe not as crazy as what the seniors had, though.”

Porthcawl has a fine pedigree in hosting various events down the seasons. As well as three Senior Opens, it has staged seven Amateur Championships, the British Masters and a Curtis Cup.

Thirty years ago, in 1995, it was the scene of GB&I’s victory over the USA in the Walker Cup when Gary Wolstenholme beat a young whippersnapper by the name of Tiger Woods in the Saturday singles.

This week’s affair will be the biggest women’s sporting event to be held in Wales. And the AIG Women’s Open continues to get bigger and bigger.

The prize fund has been increased again and now sits at a mighty $9.75 million, with the winner carting off a record first prize of $1,462,500.

Much of the attention over the next few days will be on the rising Surrey star Lottie Woad, who won on her professional debut in the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open last weekend.

Woad has been grouped with Ko for the opening two rounds. Ko herself is looking forward to getting a glimpse of Woad’s talents at close quarters.

Ko may have seen it, done and acquired an attic load of t-shirts along the way but you never stop learning in this game.

“She (Woad) is coming in with a ton of momentum,” said the world No 3. “It’s going to be really cool for me to see things that I could possibly learn from her.

“Just because I’m a higher ranked player, it doesn’t mean that there’s something that I can’t learn from somebody else.

“She’s obviously playing great golf. I’ve seen her swing, and my coach has sent me a video of her swing as well because there are aspects that I’m kind of going for that she has. I’ll pick her brain a little bit.”

Ko’s AIG Women’s Open success in 2024 ended her eight-year major drought.

“I don’t think there is more pressure just because I am the defending champion,” said the 28-year-old, who has been winning on the LPGA Tour since the age of 15 and knows how to handle expectation.

“It’s not something that can be taken away from me. I don’t have to prove to anybody that I can win the AIG Women’s Open.”

As for settling into the Welsh way of life for a week? “I’ve heard there’s a lot of sheep here and that’s what New Zealand is known for,” smiled Ko. “It feels somewhat like home.”

At this rate, she’ll be speaking the language come Sunday.

Ko revelling in her Porthcawl home from home ahead of AIG Women’s Open defence

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