The 2016 Ricoh Women’s British Open is set to be one of the strongest and most international majors of the year as entries have now closed for this year’s Championship at Woburn Golf Club, England, 28th – 31st July.
With 15 spots in the field still to play for in the 144 player field, the current line-up of players competing for a prize fund of £2,072,253 includes 28 of the world’s top 30 on the Rolex World Rankings, along with 49 of the current top 50 on the LPGA Race to CME Globe and 30 of the top 30 on the LET Order of Merit.
Defending Champion, Inbee Park, will not only have to contend with recent Major winners Lydia Ko (World No.1) and Brooke Henderson (World No. 2) but with 24 other Major Champions including past winners, Stacy Lewis, Mo Martin, Jiyai Shin and Yani Tseng as well as household names Michelle Wie, Paula Creamer, Lexi Thompson and home favourite Charley Hull .
England’s Number One and Woburn member, Hull commented, “It’s an amazing field and I am absolutely buzzing to have the chance to play in a Major at my own club against the world’s best players. It will be a fantastic week and I hope I play well and give my friends and family lots to cheer about!”
The Star studded field is also one of the most international of the year, with 26 nationalities represented and boasting more than 850 titles between them across all major global tours. The complete field will be finalised at the conclusion of Final Qualifying on Monday 25th July at John O’Gaunt Golf Club.
The Championship is played at Woburn for the 10th time, having first been played there in 1984 when Ayako Okamoto became the first and only Japanese winner of the event.
The Ricoh Women’s British Open was founded by the LGU in 1976 and has been staged in conjunction with IMG, the world’s largest sports marketing company, since 1984. The event has been co-sanctioned by the LPGA and LET since 1994 and gained Major status in 2001.
