The Women’s Open has been an LPGA major since 2001 and is jointly recognized as a major by the LPGA and Ladies European Tour. This year marks a return to historic Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, which also hosted the tournament in 2018. <\/p>\n
Lytham & St Annes has also hosted the men’s Open Championship 11 times and is expected to host the tournament again in 2028. The course features a traditional links-style layout, where wind and deep bunkers will reward precision and punish mistakes. <\/p>\n
“It is a very, very good golf course and compared to last week, this is more of a traditional links so if it does get windy and bouncy you can then run it in,” Charley Hull said, per Gavin Browne<\/a> of The Blackpool Gazette. <\/p>\n Hull, who has three top-10 finishes this year and tied for second at the U.S. Women’s Open, struggled last week at the Women’s Scottish Open at Dundonald. She’ll look to bounce back this weekend, though she’ll face an immensely talented field. <\/p>\n The list of early favorites includes defending champion Miyu Yamashita, 2024 champion Lydia Ko, and Lilia Vu. Georgia Hall, who won the tournament the last time it was played at Lytham & St Annes, will also be in the field. <\/p>\n However, most fans will be tracking Korda and Ryu, who are battling to become the first woman to win three majors in the same year since Inbee Park in 2013. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Korda and Ryu have been grouped together, along with Ko, for the opening round. Their star-studded group is scheduled to tee off at 8:42 a.m. local time, 3:42 a.m. ET. <\/p>\n The list of early favorites also includes Jeeno Thitikul, who is ranked No. 2 in the world golf women’s rankings<\/a>, one spot below Korda and one above Ryu. Fourth-ranked Hyo Joo Kim, who has two tournament wins this year, is also expected to challenge. <\/p>\n