The AIG Women’s Open, the fifth and final major of the year, is taking place in Wales for the very first time this week. Royal Porthcawl Golf Club will be on hosting duties, taking place from 31st July to 3rd August.
Royal Porthcawl is known for its challenging links course, which will test even the most seasoned players. Founded in 1891, Royal Porthcawl is historic, the second Royal club in Wales after Royal St David’s and the only club in Wales from which the sea is visible from every hole.
The 49th edition will see a prize fund of USD $9,500,000, including US $1.425 million for the winner. The 144-player field features 31 nationalities and 48 of the top 50 players as part of the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.
New Zealand’s Lydia Ko returns as defending champion where she claimed her third major title by two strokes over Lilia Vu, Jiyai Shin, Nelly Korda and Ruoning Yin. The final day saw Ko fire a round of three-under par (69) at St Andrews, to claim the title.
Ko is one of 11 former champions in the field this week, which also include Lilia Vu (2023), Ashleigh Buhai (2022), Anna Nordqvist (2021), Sophia Popov (2020), Hinako Shibuno (2019), Georgia Hall (2018), Ariya Jutanugarn (2016), Stacy Lewis (2013), Jiyai Shin (2012, 2008), and Yani Tseng (2011, 2010).
(The AIG Women’s Open Trophy at Royal Porthcawl. Credit R&A/Getty Images)
Fresh off a sensational victory at last week’s ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open, Lottie Woad has made a flawless start to her professional career, where she claimed her first title in her debut appearance. The victory however marked her second Ladies European Tour (LET) title, adding to her earlier triumph as an amateur at the KPMG Women’s Irish Open.
The 21-year-old makes her major championship debut this week, returning to familiar ground where she made headlines last year as an amateur with a T-10 finish.
Of the 52 LET Members in the championship field, there are nine LET players making their AIG Women’s Open debuts. They are Germany’s Helen Briem, Italy’s Alessandra Fanali, New Zealand’s Amelia Garvey and Momoka Kobori, Wales’ Darcey Harry, Hong Kong’s Anna Huang, Czechia’s Sara Kouskova, England’s Mimi Rhodes, and France’s Nastasia Nadaud.
South Africa’s Casandra Alexander will again be teeing it up in the final major. The LET winner came in a tie for seventh place last year at St Andrews, alongside Japan’s duo Akie Iwai and Mao Saigo.
A total of 31 major winners are in the field, and all four major champions from 2025 are also in attendance. Japan’s Mao Saigo (Chevron Championship), Sweden’s Maja Stark (U.S. Women’s Open), Australia’s Minjee Lee (KPMG Women’s PGA Championship) and Grace Kim (The Amundi Evian Championship) are all hoping for more major success.
There are 11 LET tournament winners from 2025, vying for more success at Royal Porthcawl. They are England’s Cara Gainer (Lalla Meryem Cup), Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul (Saudi Ladies International), Belgium’s Manon De Roey (Australian Women’s Classic), England’s Mimi Rhodes (Ford Women’s NSW Open, Joburg Ladies Open, Dutch Ladies Open), France’s Perrine Delacour (Investec SA Women’s Open), Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim (Aramco Korea Championship), Czechia’s Sara Kouskova (Jabra Ladies Open, Tenerife Women’s Open), Wales’ Darcey Harry (Hulencourt Women’s Open), South Africa’s Casandra Alexander (Tipsport Czech Ladies Open), Singapore’s Shannon Tan (Amundi German Masters), Lottie Woad (KPMG Women’s Irish Open and ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open).
At the top of the Rolex Rankings list, Nelly Korda (USA) is firmly established as world number one, with two major victories to her name (Chevron Championship, 2024 and Women’s PGA Championship, 2021). Just behind her is her Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul who’s had a great start to her 2025 campaign winning both the PIF Saudi Ladies International and Mizuho Americas Open.
The final qualifier was held on Monday, 28th July at the nearby Pyle & Kenfig Golf Club, where 17 spots were up for grabs – 11 of which were claimed by members of the LET.
A total of three amateur players will also be lining up at the start of final major of the season, including Jeneath Wong, Carla Bernat, and Paula Martin Sampedro.
At last week’s ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open, Julia Lopez Ramirez, Paula Reto, and Mary Liu secured their spots for this week’s major, after coming T3, 7th, and 15th, respectively.
All four rounds of the AIG Women’s Open will broadcast around the world. Further details here.
The full entry list can be found here.
You can also follow all the action throughout the tournament on our socials – @LETgolf on Instagram, TikTok and X, and Ladies European Tour on YouTube and Facebook – #aigwomensopen.
