There are five players from the Ladies European Tour (LET) and LET Access Series (LETAS) making their Major debuts at this week’s AIG Women’s Open.
Italy’s Anna Zanusso, England’s Bel Wardle, Australia’s Justice Bosio, Thailand’s Aunchisa Utama and France’s Vanessa Bouvet will all be playing in a Major championship for the first time.
A field of 144 players representing 30 countries will be competing for a $10 million USD prize fund at Royal Lytham & St Annes.
Zanusso played her way into this week after securing a spot through the 2026 LET Order of Merit.
“I’m so excited at everything, it’s so great this week. I want to enjoy it as much as possible and I’m so grateful to be here and I can’t wait to tee off on Thursday,” said the Italian.
“There are lots of fairway bunkers, so a good strategy and some good tee shots will be needed to get to a solid place to go for certain pins. I will try to take advantage of the par-5s on the front nine, there are some longer holes coming back. I’m going to be patient; they’re long days with lots of wind.
“I have been playing well this year, so of course I have some sort of expectation. I just want to enjoy it; I don’t care how it’s going to go. I put a lot of work this week to prepare and all the work I’ve been doing during the year I hope it works as well during this week.”
England’s Wardle was joint top of the leaderboard at Final Qualifying on Monday, having also come through Pre-Qualifying last month.
The 26-year-old, who represents Prestbury Golf Club, is excited to be playing in her first Major on home soil.
“I can’t believe it. It was one of those where I was stood on the 16th hole and thought I could be in the AIG Women’s Open. I can’t think like that, I’ve still got two/three holes to play and when I holed my final putt, I thought it’s actually happening,” said Wardle.
“I love playing Links, I’m always up for the challenge. I wasn’t scared going out, I can play in this weather. I’m feeling a lot better, I’ve had some tough times but this year I’ve started to play some consistent golf. I’ve made seven out of seven cuts on LETAS, which I’m really happy with, and I had a second place as well. The season has been going fairly well and this has topped it off.
“It definitely does give me confidence. It proves to me that I have still got it and it’s just about bringing it out in me. I’m very happy and very proud of myself. I’m looking forward to everything. Being in the same field as Nelly Korda is very exciting. I’m going to have some home fans, my golf club is only an hour away, so I know there’s quite a lot of them coming. I’m excited to get going.”
Similarly, Australia’s Bosio will be making her major debut after she also secured her spot at Final Qualifying on Monday.
“I just went into the day and said to myself just go out there and have some fun. Yesterday, we played a practice round and it was crazy windy, so today coming out this morning I was the fourth group off,” said Bosio.
“That was a nice draw, it felt very calm compared to yesterday and I could attack the course a bit. I’m very excited and feel like it hasn’t sunk in for the whole afternoon because I have been watching the leaderboard.
“I haven’t played Links golf for quite a few years. It will be a really big test of golf, but I’m excited to see how my game shapes up. I’m excited for the whole vibe of the major. Everything about it is just major. It will be exciting, there will be a lot of nerves, but I will try and do what I did today, pick a target and hit to there and hope it all works out. I hope I have a great week.”
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