Nine Australians, including a major championship debutant, will tee it up at Royal Lytham & St Annes this week for the landmark 50th staging of the AIG Women\u2019s Open, the final women\u2019s major of the year.<\/p>\n
The Australasian contingent, which also features two New Zealanders, is part of a 144-player field competing for a record $US10 million purse, the largest in the championship\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
Since the championship was first played in 1976, three Australians have lifted the trophy. Corinne Dibnah became the first in 1988, Karen Lunn followed in 1993, before Karrie Webb cemented her legacy with victories in 1995, 1997 and 2002, the latter coming after the championship gained major status in 2001.<\/p>\n
The newest addition to the field is 22-year-old Queenslander Justice Bosio, who will make her major championship debut after claiming one of 13 qualifying spots available at St Annes Old Links on Monday.<\/p>\n
As is often the case when the women\u2019s majors arrive, much of Australia\u2019s attention will centre on Minjee Lee.<\/p>\n
After capturing her third major title at the 2025 KPMG Women\u2019s PGA Championship, Lee is now just one victory away from completing the career Grand Slam. The 30-year-old needs only an AIG Women\u2019s Open or Chevron Championship title to join one of golf\u2019s most exclusive clubs.<\/p>\n
Despite an uncharacteristically challenging season, the AIG Women\u2019s Open has consistently brought out Lee\u2019s best golf. She has recorded five top-10 finishes in the championship, highlighted by a tie for third at Royal Troon in 2020, while she was tied for 13th last year.<\/p>\n
Hannah Green is hoping a change in preparation can help unlock her best performance at the championship.<\/p>\n
After skipping the ISPS HANDA Women\u2019s Scottish Open in recent years, Green returned to the event for the first time since 2022 last week, using it as valuable links preparation ahead of Royal Lytham & St Annes.<\/p>\n
It was a calculated move for the world No.9, who has missed the cut at the AIG Women\u2019s Open in each of the past three seasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have not had a good track record in the AIG the last three or four years,\u201d Green said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do think that comes from not playing the week before and experiencing links golf as much.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s something that I was conscious about this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although she missed the cut in Scotland, Karis Davidson arrives as Australia\u2019s most consistent performer across this year\u2019s major championships.<\/p>\n
The 28-year-old has been the leading Australian in each of the past three majors, finishing T22 at the US Women\u2019s Open, T12 at the KPMG Women\u2019s PGA Championship and T26 at the Amundi Evian Championship.<\/p>\n
Steph Kyriacou will hope her strong record at the AIG Women\u2019s Open can help reignite her confidence.<\/p>\n
The Sydneysider was Australia\u2019s leading finisher last year with a tie for eighth, just one place shy of matching her career-best championship result of tied seventh in 2022.<\/p>\n
However, Kyriacou has endured a challenging 2026 campaign, missing eight cuts in 11 LPGA Tour starts, including at both the Chevron Championship and US Women\u2019s Open.<\/p>\n
After more than a month away from competition following the Meijer LPGA Classic, the 25-year-old returns refreshed and aiming to rediscover the form that has delivered some of the best performances of her career.<\/p>\n
AIG Women\u2019s Open<\/p>\n
Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club, Lancashire, England
Recent champion: Miyu Yamashita
Past Aussie winners: Corinne Dibnah (1988), Karen Lunn (1993), Karrie Webb (1995, 1997, 2002).
Prizemoney: $US10m
TV times: Live from 6pm Thursday, Friday; Live from 9pm Saturday, Sunday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo Sports.<\/p>\n
Australasian Player Profiles<\/p>\n
Kelsey Bennett<\/p>\n
World ranking: 126
Age: 26
Major wins: 0
LET wins: 1\u00a0
Previous Women\u2019s Open starts: 1
Best finish at Women\u2019s Open: MC (2023)
The lowdown: Making her second Women\u2019s Open appearance, Bennett is enjoying a breakout season that has included victory at the Australian Women\u2019s Classic on the LET and a string of strong results that have elevated her to third in the Order of Merit. She made her Amundi Evian Championship debut two weeks ago and will now contest multiple majors in a season for the first time in her career.<\/p>\n
Justice Bosio<\/p>\n
World ranking: 292
Age: 22
Major wins: 0
LET wins: 0
Previous Women\u2019s Open starts: 0
Best finish at Women\u2019s Open: N\/A
The lowdown: Bosio earned her place in the field by finishing third at Monday\u2019s final qualifier, securing a major championship debut in her first full season with LET status. The Queenslander has quickly established herself on tour, recording several impressive results including a runner-up finish after a playoff loss at the Czech Ladies Open.<\/p>\n
Robyn Choi<\/p>\n
World ranking: 119
Age: 28
Major wins: 0\u00a0
LPGA wins: 0
Previous Women\u2019s Open starts: 0
Best finish at Women\u2019s Open: N\/A
The lowdown: Choi will make her first Women\u2019s Open appearance after a consistent season on the LPGA Tour, making 13 of 17 cuts highlighted by a tie for eighth at the Kroger Queen City Championship. Her best major result this year came at the KPMG Women\u2019s PGA Championship, where she finished tied for 48th, while she missed the cut at both the Chevron Championship and Amundi Evian Championship.<\/p>\n
Karis Davidon<\/p>\n
World ranking: 48
Age: 28
Major wins: 0
LPGA wins: 0
Previous Women\u2019s Open starts: 1
Best finish at Women\u2019s Open: MC (2025)
The lowdown: Davidson is enjoying a purple patch in her career. She has been the top Australian in each of the previous three majors, highlighted by a tie for 12th at the KPMG Women\u2019s PGA Championship. She enters Royal Lytham & St Annes looking to bounce back after missing the cut at last week\u2019s Women\u2019s Scottish Open.<\/p>\n
Amelia Garvey (NZ)<\/p>\n
World ranking: 153
Age: 26
Major wins: 0
LET wins: 0
Previous Women\u2019s Open starts: 1
Best finish at Women\u2019s Open: MC (2025)
The lowdown: After missing the cut on debut last year, Garvey will be aiming to reach the weekend for the first time at the Women\u2019s Open. The New Zealander arrives in solid form on the LET, with three top-10 finishes this season.<\/p>\n
Hannah Green<\/p>\n
World ranking: 9
Age: 29
Major wins: 1
LPGA wins: 8
Previous Women\u2019s Open starts: 8
Best finish at Women\u2019s Open: T16 (2019)
The lowdown: After a blistering start to the season that produced four victories, Green has endured a quieter stretch in recent months. She missed the cut at both the KPMG Women\u2019s PGA Championship and Amundi Evian Championship before finishing tied for 31st at last week\u2019s Women\u2019s Scottish Open, the best result among the Australian contingent. More exposure to links golf could prove valuable as she looks to improve on a recent run of three consecutive missed cuts at the Women\u2019s Open.<\/p>\n
Grace Kim<\/p>\n
World ranking: 34
Age: 25
Major wins: 1
LPGA wins: 2
Previous Women\u2019s Open starts: 3
Best finish at Women\u2019s Open: T36 (2023)
The lowdown: After missing the cut while attempting to defend her Amundi Evian Championship title, Kim will be eager to bounce back. She can take confidence from a strong major season that has included a tie for 24th at the KPMG Women\u2019s PGA Championship and a tie for 22nd at the US Women\u2019s Open.<\/p>\n
Lydia Ko (NZ)<\/p>\n
World ranking: 11
Age: 29
Major wins: 3
LPGA wins: 23\u00a0
Previous Women\u2019s Open starts: 13
Best finish at Women\u2019s Open: Won (2024)
The lowdown:\u00a0The former world No.1 has found form after a difficult start to the major season, following missed cuts at the opening two majors with a tie for 15th at the KPMG Women\u2019s PGA Championship and a tie for seventh at the Amundi Evian Championship. Ko returns to the championship where she secured her third major title in 2024, aiming to reclaim the crown.<\/p>\n
Steph Kyriacou<\/p>\n
World ranking: 93
Age: 25
Major wins: 0
LPGA wins: 0
Previous Women\u2019s Open starts: 4
Best finish at Women\u2019s Open: T7 (2022)
The lowdown: Kyriacou has endured a challenging 2026 campaign, missing eight cuts from 11 LPGA Tour starts, including three consecutive missed cuts before taking a break from competition. However, she returns to a championship where she has enjoyed some of her best results.<\/p>\n
Minjee Lee<\/p>\n
World ranking: 12
Age: 30
Major wins: 3
LPGA wins: 11
Previous Women\u2019s Open starts: 12
Best finish at Women\u2019s Open: 3rd (2020)
The lowdown: Lee arrives searching for form after withdrawing during the second round of last week\u2019s ISPS HANDA Women\u2019s Scottish Open due to illness. That followed missed cuts at both the KPMG Women\u2019s PGA Championship and Amundi Evian Championship, but the final major of the year provides an opportunity for Lee to reignite her season and potentially complete the career Grand Slam.<\/p>\n
Cassie Porter<\/p>\n
World ranking: 67
Age: 23
Major wins: 0
LPGA wins: 0
Previous Women\u2019s Open starts: 1
Best finish at Women\u2019s Open: MC (2025)
The lowdown: Porter has experienced an up-and-down month heading into the week, following a missed cut at the KPMG Women\u2019s PGA Championship with an impressive tie for 26th at the Amundi Evian Championship. She will be looking to bounce back after missing the cut at last week\u2019s Women\u2019s Scottish Open.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nine Australians, including a major championship debutant, will tee it up at Royal Lytham & St Annes this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":43820,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[17010,44,2761,5636,17098,5638,4734],"class_list":["post-43819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-aig-womens-open","tag-golf","tag-grace-kim","tag-hannah-green","tag-justice-bosio","tag-minjee-lee","tag-royal-lytham-st-annes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43819\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}