The AIG Women’s British Open will start on Thursday from the Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Wales. Here are five storylines to keep in mind.
1) First time the course has hosted the Women’s British Open.
The women have never played at Royal Porthcawl before for a major championship. The course has hosted three Senior British Open championships since 2014. Those tournaments were won by Germany’s Bernhard Langer twice (2014 and 2017), and fellow German Alex Cejka in 2023. Langer has won 12 PGA Tour Champions major titles, the most ever. Royal Porthcawl also hosted seven British Amateur Championships, the 1961 British Masters, the 1964 Curtis Cup (biannual women’s amateur golf tournament featuring the United States versus Great Britain & Ireland), and the 1995 Walker Cup (biannual men’s amateur golf tournament featuring the United States versus Great Britain & Ireland).
2) Lottie Woad is the betting favourite.
Woad has become of the biggest stories in women’s golf. As an amateur earlier this summer, the native of Farnham, Surrey, England won the Irish Open, and tied for third place at the Evian Championship. Woad then turned professional, and won the Women’s Scottish Open this past week in North Ayrshire, in her first tournament where she was eligible to win money. Woad, who is +600, finished in 10th place at the 2024 Women’s British Open.
3) Battle for no. 1
There is an extremely tight battle for world number one right now. Nelly Korda of the United States has 10.31 average points and Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand has 10.12 average points. Thitikul is not a major champion yet, but is on the brink of being a major champion. She has five top five finishes at a major, including two this year. Thitikul was second at the Evian Championship, and fourth at the Women’s PGA Championship.
4) Will we see more spectacular shot making?
The golf world is still buzzing from what we saw at the 2025 Evian Championship earlier this summer. Grace Kim of Australia had a remarkable eagle-birdie-eagle finish to take the title. It was the quality of Kim’s shot making and her ability to make unbelievable low percentage shots in a high pressure situation that made this particular moment memorable.
5) Lydia Ko is the defending champ.
New Zealand’s Lydia Ko enters the 2025 Women’s British Open as the defending champion. The reigning Olympic champion won at St. Andrews last year. Now in the first two days in Wales, she will be teaming up with Woad.
