2026 AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham & St. Anne

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It’s the final golf major of the year for the women and for our viewing pleasure the championship is being hosted at Royal Lytham & St. Anne which is widely considered the second hardest course in the major rota; with the most difficult course being Carnoustie.

Here are some fun facts about Royal Lytham & St. Anne:

  • It has hosted 11 Opens; including the 1926 Open won by Bobby Jones securing Jones the grand slam of his era (winning the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Open, The British Amateur, and The Open in the same calendar year).
  • It has hosted 5 Women’s Opens. This year’s will be the sixth Women’s Open hosted.
  • It has hosted 2 Ryder Cups in 1961 and 1977; both won by the United States.
  • The last winner of the Women’s Open at Royal Lytham was Georgia Hall in 2018. She is just coming off maternity leave so I doubt her game is in form to content at Royal Lytham in 2026.

Here are some of the interesting course features:

  • It starts with a Par 3 and there are seven green side bunkers protecting the green.
  • It has 174 bunkers on the course; including 17 bunkers on the 18th hole.
  • The fairways are tight so the margins are fine for a good shot.
  • There is a railway track along the right side of the course; it’s stated that on the 2nd, 3rd, and 8th hole the railway is only 20 yards from the edge of the fairway.
  • Hole 8, left side bunker is reported to be 12 to 14 feet deep.
  • One interesting fact stated is that on hole 18, standing on the tee you can see all 17 bunkers but if you are standing on the back of the 18th green none of the bunkers are visible.

So yes, I will be watching to see if Nelly can win her third major this year; or if not Nelly perhaps Charley Hull can win her first major at home; but she has already stated that she’s not a big fan of links style. Many will be watching the Chinese golfer, Haeran Ryu because she also has won two majors this year. But what I will be really interested in watching is how the golfers play the course because it really doesn’t favor long hitters; it’s all about strategy and staying out of the bunkers. And one final note, the wind is suppose to blow 25+ mph on Thursday afternoon so that always brings some drama to links golf.

Two fun groups to watch (if you want to get up early ):

(1) Nelly Korda, Lydia Ko and Haeran Ryu. at 3.42 EST

(2) Charley Hull, Brooke Henderson and Hanna Green at 8:26 EST

At the end of the post you will find times and channels for USA coverage.

Side Note: If you are a Charley Hull fan and like to watch YouTube golf; she has launched a new channel, called “Sweet Spot Golf” which is a tribute to her famous quote (click on link to see video from Pebble Beach) “Shy kids don’t get sweets.” Hull said this to her caddie on the 18th hole at Pebble Beach during the final round of the U.S. Women’s Open in 2023. Her ball was in the fairway but behind the tree and she wanted to go for the green in two for an eagle (vs laying up). The first video on her new channel is a practice round at Royal Lytham and St Anne. I watched the video and I’m guess it was filmed in the spring. It was fun to watch.

How to Watch:

Thursday, July 30: 4:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. (Golf Channel); 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. (USA)

Friday, July 31: 4:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. (Golf Channel); 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. (USA)

Saturday, August 1: 7:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (USA); 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. (NBC)

Sunday, August 2: 7:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (USA); 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. (NBC)

Streaming: GolfChannel.com, Golf Channel App and the NBC Sports app

Week in Review: U.S. Jr. Amateur, Women’s Scottish Open, and Jackson Koivun

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There was lots of golf to watch this week and I was surprised at the outcomes in men’s amateur golf, the women’s professional game and the men’s professional game.

U.S. Jr. Amateur at Saucon Valley

The USGA championships are a grind with two days of stroke play to finish in the top 64 to advance to match play.

I was fully expecting Miles Russell to win the U.S. Amateur. He is ranked #1 in the AJGA (American Junior Golf Rankings) and #7 in WAGR (World Amateur Golf Rankings). Russell sailed through stroke play as “medalist” (meaning he finished in first place in stroke play).

In match play Russell won his first match 6 and 5, the next won 4 and 2, the next match won 2 up; and won his quarter final match 6 and 5 and his semifinal match 2 and 1. In the final, championship match, they play 36 holes (18 morning then lunch and 18 in the afternoon). Russell’s opponent was Noah Maclauchlan with an AJGA ranking of 31 and a WAGR of 2,047. Maclauchlan got into the championship as an alternate and did great finishing T39 to make it into stroke play.

Noah Maclauchlan won the U.S. Jr. Amateur against Miles Russell 6 and 5 (ending on the 31st hole). It was certainly nice to see the “under dog” win; but I also felt it was a very disappointing final. It was televised on golf channel and you could see that Russell was off his game all day (with a two-way miss). Russell fought hard but was down in the match the majority of the day. Frankly I feel like this is the problem with the national amateur championships being settled by match play. My opinion is that it just seems if you want to crown the best player in the world then you need to have the championship be stroke play.

Scottish Women’ Open

Jenny Shin won the Scottish Women’s Open. It is her first win in 10 years. Shin is Korean and her other win 10 years ago was the 2016 Volunteers of American Texas Shootout.

Happy for Shin but it was another odd tournament where the big names did not show up to the party. Nelly Korda finished T16 (+2), Lottie Woad finished T37 (+7), and Charley Hull finished T44 (+10). Now every player faced the same cold and windy conditions and only seven players were under par; Shin had two great rounds of 66 and 67 to start and that gave her a huge buffer going into Sunday so that even shooting 75 in the final round she was able to win at 9 under (two strokes ahead of second place.)

Let’s hope at the AIG Women’s Open (which follows the Scottish Open) the big names have a better week.

Jackson Koivun

You know the name Jackson Koivun if you follow college golf because he has been the top golfer for a few years; with an all time NCAA career scoring average record at 68.89 and won every major award for men in college golf. He helped Auburn win the NCAA D1 championship in June (of this year) and in his third PGA Tour tournament start this week he won the 3M Open with a score of 25 under par; and holding off world #1, Scottie Scheffler who finished 22 under par.

We have seen other players come out of PGA Tour University (a program that let’s the #1 college golfer go straight to the PGA Tour) and win (remember Nick Dunlap) but many of those players haven’t made much of a splash lately. Will Jackson Koivun be the “one in a million” that comes out and gives the current superstars a run for their money? A number of PGA Tour pro were asked about Koivun’s game. Most Pros just praised his game but the funniest reply I heard was from Ben Griffin who shared that he joked with Koivun (when he played with him while he was still an amateur), “Tell me when you are going to turn pro so I can plan my retirement.”

One final thing that was interesting, the reporter interviewing Koivun after the win asked what was written on his glove. He said “Confidence, Trust, and Dominate.” Here is the clip on Instagram

Women’s Scottish Open July 23 to July 26, 2026

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It’s the ladies turn to cross the pond and play a few weeks of links golf. Starting with the ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open at Dundonald Links. The defending champion is Lottie Woad. The purse is $2 million; for comparison the purse for the next major, the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lythan & St Annes Golf Course is $10 Million. All the big stars will play the Scottish open not for the purse but for preparation for the Women’s Open.

If you like to watch links golf then you will be up early for just a few hours of coverage on Thursday and Friday. The weekend is a bit more reasonable. Here is how to watch in the USA on television:

Thursday and Friday: Golf Channel 4:30 – 8:30 a.m

Saturday: CNBC 8:00 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Sunday: CNBC 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

As much as I like women’s golf, I will not be up at 4:30 am; however, 6 am to 8:30 is a time I can manage since I am an early riser. Not to beat a dead horse but the delegation to CNBC for women’s golf is not surprising but a bit disappointing. They also will provide live stream on the golf channel app.

The pairings came out and three of my favorite players are paired together: Nelly Korda, Charley Hull, and Lottie Woad. That is an excellent decision by the competition committee. My only concern is that they will not be in the broadcast window on Thursday but I am hoping they will be since they are a “featured group.”

So the Scottish Open will be a nice primer for the women heading to the open next week. I don’t really have a favorite to win the Scottish Open. In the past it has not been a big star but usually a well-known name. For example in 2024 Lauren Coughlin won and in 2023 Celine Boutier won.

Final Tip – if you don’t or can’t watch the coverage the recaps on YouTube are always a great way to see the highlights.

Ryan Fox has a New Golf Fan

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If you watched The Open you know that the PGA stars did not exactly shine at Royal Birkdale which means we have another “journeymen” win a major. Now that the four majors are completed, it is odd that other than Rory winning the Masters back-to-back; the other majors were basically won by lower ranked players: Aaron Rai (PGA Championship), Wyndham Clark (The U.S. Open) and now Ryan Fox (The Open).

I wonder if anyone had Ryan Fox to win The Open? One thing is clear, winning The Open has changed Ryan Fox’s professional life overnight. His world ranking jumped 34 spots from 56th in the world to 22. As a reference, Wyndham Clark’s rank went from 34th to 8th and Aaron Rai when from 44th to 15th. Fox now is exempt into majors for a number of years; but more life changing is the impact it will have on endorsements due to his new status and also his likeability.

I am sure I am not the only golf fan to say “Wow, what a great guy!” I am not a new fan just because he won The Open but because of his personality and all that we learned about Fox after the win. Here are the things I loved learning about Fox:

  1. He plays fast. I hate the pace of play of many professional golfers. I always thought to myself why does it take so long to decide what to do on a tee box or approach shot? Well, Fox had many questions on his “fast play” and he said a number of things like he thinks fast, he does everything fast; but the best response was where he states “it’s not that difficult to pick a shot and pick a club, it’s always going to be between one or two clubs into a green.” Interview clip from YouTube at end of this post.
  2. His Swing is not a typical beautiful swing to watch but again it shows regular golfers that you don’t have to have a perfect swing to be good at golf. In a YouTube video (prior to winning The Open) he describes his swing as “It’s repeatable and I’m too old to change it.” He knows he has “quirks” and talks about why in the video.
  3. Fox is so genuine in all his reactions to moments and questions. It has been “bleeped” on most social media posts now; but watching live television, when he won, as he was hugging a friend, he said “Holly Sh*t” which is what I could see myself saying if I ever make a hole-in-one (which would be the closest thing I would ever have happen to feel the way pros must feel when they win).
  4. Fox is an interesting person to listen to when he answers questions. Many times you hear the same answers from Pros but in many of the interviews Fox responds with thoughtful and real answers; no fluff that some PR person trained him to say.
  5. Fox is a wonderful example of anything is possible. Fox did not start playing golf until he was 18. He did not become a golfer on a major tour until the age of 20 when he got his DP World Tour card and he became a rookie on the PGA Tour at the age of 37; and just two years later at the age of 39, he is the Champion Golfer of the Year winning The Open. Clearly he is a great athlete but it’s nice to see a person show that a person can achieve at the highest level without being groomed from the age of three to be a star in a specific sport.
  6. A social media post showed a photo of Fox, on an airplane flight from Southport to Heathrow in economy class with the case for the claret jug in the overhead bin. My guess is he flew first glass from London back to Florida; but it was nice to see a “regular guy” moment; and what a fun experience for the people seated near him on the plane. Side bar: Apparently Cam Young was in the row in front of Fox.

There are other journeymen that have won majors in the last few years but this is the first golfer that after the win I want to now follow his career and will cheer for him when I see him playing.

Ryan Fox Press Conference after Winning The 2026 Open

Will an English Golfer Win The Open at Royal Birkdale

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It is the last major of the season for the men and the 2026 Open is at Royal Birkdale. If history is any indication of this years Open it should provide some memorable moments. This is the course where Jordan Spieth, in 2017, won after the crazy shot from the practice range. This is the course where in 1998 Justin Rose, as a 17 year old amateur, chipped in on the 18th hole and finished fourth. So what will happen this year that we will remember forever?

The last time an English golfer won The Open was in 1999 and it was Sir Nick Faldo. My hope is that Justin Rose will create magic again at Royal Birkdale and win The Open. Normally, I am picking Scottie to win majors but I really want Rosie to win this major. One reason I want to see Rose win is his age. He is 45 years old and although he is in amazing shape and appears to have a few more good years on tour; winning majors is a numbers game at this point.

Now if Justin can’t pull off the win, who else might be fun to cheer for this year? Another English golfer that would be a great win would be Tommy Fleetwood. He grew up in Southport in a house not to far from Royal Birkdale. So he will have lots of local support cheering for him. And Fleetwood seems like such a good guy that I can’t imagine any golf fan not being happy if he won. Well, I guess if you are betting on The Open and don’t pick Fleetwood then you probably would be unhappy if he wins. Of course, you can’t forget about the Fitzpatrick boys; Matt and Alex. Matt Fitzpatrick tied for 4th last year and he has three PGA Tour wins in 2026 so technically he is the best bet of the British players.

How about a golfer not from England? A long shot but exciting win would be Jordan Spieth! It would be a fun and unbelievable win. I cannot imagine that Jordan could pull it off given he is so unpredictable and has not won a tournament since 2022; but that is what makes watching Jordan fun. And of course, if Rose, Fleetwood, Fitzpatrick, or Spieth are not in the mix I hope Scottie Scheffler plays well; especially after missing the cut last week at The Scottish Open.

So can an English golfer win at Royal Birkdale and make the local fans go crazy? Or will we see an unbelievable shot that changes the life of a journeyman tour player? Or will Scheffler reaffirm his status as the best golfer in the world? Who knows but I will be watching.

Side Bar: There is a fun list of winners by nationality on The Open Website.

How to Watch:

Thursday and Friday: 4 AM to 3:30 PM EST on USA Network

Saturday and Sunday: 5 AM to 7 AM EST on USA Network then 7 AM to 3 PM EST on NBC Network

You can also stream on Peacock (as early as 1:30 am est) if you have a subscription. Or stream on the Golf Channel app.

Evian Championship or Scottish Open

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Which golf championship are you going to watch this weekend; the Evian Championship or the Scottish Open?

I’m just going to be blunt. As an LPGA fan, the third major for the ladies, the Evian is the least important major for the LPGA. I doubt many general golf fans even known the Evian is the weekend because the Scottish Open is also this week with all the top PGA Tour golfers playing to get ready for The Open next week.

EVIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

This week the ladies head to France for the Evian Championship. It has always been clouded by the fact that it was added in 2000 (during the rein of Mike Whan as LPGA Commissioner) as the fifth major in the ladies professional game. I think it is “clouded” because of the debate of four vs five majors; but the unspoken thoughts are that by giving Evian the status of a major the door was closed on a women’s masters. I’m sure Mike Whan never thought Augusta National would have a women’s event and yet in 2019 the first Augusta National Women’s Amateur was held.

The 2026 Evian is July 9 through July 12 and the defending champion is Grace Kim. Of course, I believe, the golf news will be all about Nelly Korda and can she win a third major this calendar year; but for me the real story for Nelly will be can she win the next “important” major, the AIG Women’s Open which is being contested July 29 to August 2 at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in England.

But back to the Evian. The purse is $9.1 million with the champion taking home $1.365 million. I am sure Nelly Korda would love to win the Evian because she has not won this major yet. A few of the big names that have won in the past and are in the field this year include Lydia Ko, Brooke Henderson and Celine Boutier. A fun fact is that the first winner in 2000 was Annika Sorenstam and she won $270,000.

An indication of the lack of status of this championship is that all coverage will be on the Golf Channel (no Sunday afternoon NBC or CBS prime time coverage). But still I will probably watch some of the coverage; especially if Nelly Korda, Charley Hull, or Brooke Henderson are in the lead.

The USA TV times (eastern time zone) on Golf Channel are: July 9 & 10 (Thursday & Friday): 6 am to 11 am and July 11 & 12 (Saturday & Sunday): 4 am to 10 am. You can also watch one additional hour on the Golf Channel App from 11 am to Noon on Thursday and Friday.

SCOTTISH OPEN

You might have thought I would write about the Scottish open first in this blog post but technically the LPGA event is a major for the tour and the Scottish open is not a major for the PGA tour.

As a quick reminder The Open is next week at Royal Birkdale (July 16 to 19). If you are a golf fan, you know Royal Birkdale is famously where Justin Rose, as an young amateur at 17 years old, tied 4th in The Open and became a household name in England. There is a great video on YouTube titled “Chasing Forever: Justin Rose” from the R&A that interviews Rose and others about that day and his career.

Back to this weeks Scottish Open. All the big names are playing. I believe Golf Channel reported 33 of the top 50 players in the world are playing. And Chirs Gotterup who won the John Deer last week is the defending champion at the Scottish Open.

The Scottish Open is always fun to watch because it is at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick. It’s a hard course and there always seems to be times when pros have trouble getting out of the bunkers; which makes regular golfers, like me, feel better about their game. Watch this fun YouTube video titled “Golf Is Hard” to see some of the previous tough shots for the pros.

I don’t have a particular favorite to win the Scottish Open. It will just be fun to see some great golf on a links course as a primer before next week when I will be obsessed with watching The Open at Royal Birkdale; and yes, I want Justin Rose to win his Claret Jug.

How to Watch: It will be on the golf channel on Thursday and Friday starting at 11 am (after the Evian coverage from 6 am to 11 am). If you have ESPN+ you can start watching as early as 3:15 am. On the weekends again, turn in early on ESPN+ or watch Golf Channel from 10 to Noon and then CBS coverage from noon to 3 pm.

One thing is for sure, given how hot it is right now, I think a lot of golfers will be watching golf from the lovely air conditioning of their homes.

KPMG Women’s PGA Championship June 25 to June 28

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The third major for the ladies is this week at Hazeltine in Chaska Minnesota. It feels too soon for another women’s major; but the Solheim Cup is September 7-13 so I think the majors may all be earlier than previous years to accommodate the Solheim Cup.

Contenders: The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship was last held at Hazeltine in 2019 and the winner was Australian, Hannah Green. It was her first major championship win. I like Hannah Green and it would make a great story for her to come back and win at Hazeltine again. Another Australian you can’t rule out is Minjee Lee, defending champion. Lee won her PGA championship at PGA Frisco in 2025. But we all know that the fans will be cheering for Nelly Korda to win her third major of the year. Korda came in third in 2019 so clearly can play well at Hazeltine.

Other than Nelly Korda who might lift the trophy on Sunday? Charley Hull is always on my list of contenders (although she missed the cut in 2019 but Hull’s world ranking in 2019 was 24th and today she is the #4 ranked player in the women’s game). Of course, you can’t rule out world #2, Jenno Thitikul. Lottie Woad is playing well. Woad missed a very short putt and lost in a playoff to Japan’s Miyu Yamashita last week so she may be motivated to redeem herself.

Money: KPMG announced the purse for the championship would be $13 Million which is the highest purse in women’s golf (exceeding the 2026 U.S. Open purse of $12.5 Million). And more interesting is that fact that when the championship was held in 2019 (at Halzeltine) the total purse was only $3.85 Million. It’s nice to see the women’s purses continue to grow.

How to Watch: Check your local listings for Golf Channel times (Thursday, Friday, and weekend) and NBC (weekend). Of note, the final round on Sunday will be on NBC from 1 to 4 pm est.

I’m looking forward to watching the ladies play in Minnesota on a very green, tree-lined traditional golf course.

SIDE NOTE: Hazeltine will host the 2029 Ryder Cup.

U.S Open a Father’s Day Tradition

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It’s the tradition that the leaders at the USGA will always protect – the final round of the U.S. Open falls on father’s day (in the USA). The overall theme is to honor the tradition of golf as a bonding experience between father’s and their children (or back in the old days, particularly their sons). It has created many moving moments on Sunday. For example, Justin Rose famously looking up to the sky as a tribute to his late father.

But really, for me it is all about the golf and who I am cheering for to win. And this year it is Scottie Scheffler. I’m not cheering for him just because I like him as a player, or that he is the #1 golfer in the world. I’m cheering for him because it would give Scottie his grand slam since the U.S. Open is the only major he has yet to win. Plus championship Sunday is Scheffler’s 30th birthday. A grand slam would be a pretty amazing gift.

Other players that I would not mind hoisting the trophy are Cameron Young (New York native grew up playing his golf at Sleep Hollow), Tommy Fleetwood, or Chris Gotterup (Jersey Boy). For those wondering which player might be a great bet and be primed to win look at Tommy Fleetwood. In 2018 Tommy Fleetwood had the lowest score on Sunday with a 7 under 63 and was one shot off the winning overall score. The winner in 2018 was Brooks Koepka with a score of 1 over par. I don’t see Koepka winning because on Sunday he withdrew from the RBC Canadian Open with a hand issue.

The Course and the USGA – Shinnecock has hosted the U.S. Open in 2004 and 2018 and both times the “course got away from” the USGA. Most fans will remember Phil Mickelson famously hitting his ball while it was still moving because he was so frustrated. This week the early coverage on Golf Channel they have shown that the greens are constantly being watered. The USGA clearly does not want to be embarrassed this year.

I hope that the U.S. Open at Shinnecock is more interesting than the PGA Championship was at Aronimink; which just seemed to be a putting contest on difficult greens. I understand the reasons golf courses remove trees including saving the turf from shade and humidity; or the club says they are “restoring the course” to its original design. But I miss the courses that are tree lined and make it much more interesting off the tee. Often times, I think why do the USA courses all want to now have a links look and feel? Now, I understand that Shinnecock (and long island in general) has always been big and open and the greens (with wind) the big defense; but overall I hope the USGA and PGA of America don’t always pick links style courses to present to golf fans in their future championships.

Let’s hope for an exciting week for the U.S. Open.

U.S. Women’s Open June 4 – June 7 at Riviera Country Club

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Another major golf championship and another week of “must watch golf television.”

REASONS TO WATCH

(1) The Course: Riviera Country Club in LA is an old school course and always a “test” for the men on the PGA Tour. It’s the first time a women’s major has been brought to this iconic course. The most famous hole is the 6th hole, par 3 with the bunker in the middle of the green. Fun fact, regular members are not allowed to chip over the bunker while on the green; but pros can chip during a championship (and that is because they can do it without taking a divot). The other hole that is discussed frequently is hole #10 where the player needs to decide which fairway to drive (the right or left side).

If you want to see every hole the USGA has a good YouTube Flyover video.

(2) The Players: For me, it’s about the best women golfers in the world wanting to win the oldest and most important major for women’s golf. Who do I want to see get lots of television coverage and win:

Nelly Korda – this is obvious as the #1 player in the world. But more interesting is that she has not played well in previous U.S. Women’s Open. Perhaps it’s been a mental issue – it means too much? Or just fatigue. Nelly has completely changed her routine to “rest and not play” LPGA events the week before big events. It’s seems to be working since she won the first major of the year, The Chevron. And, it’s also exciting to watch to see if she can win the first two majors of the year. She has been playing great – she has played 7 events, won three times (including a major) and placed second three times.

And I am a fan of Charley Hull, Brooke Henderson and Lauren Coughlin so I would be happy if any one of them won the championship; but I think it might be an up hill battle if Korda comes to Riviera in great form. If Nelly doesn’t win then I think Hannah Green or Lottie Woad might be a good bet.

(3) New Pro that just played in the NCAA D1 Women’s Championship: Megha Ganne (from Stanford) and the reigning 2025 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion. She is on a high with Stanford winning the Team NCAA D1 Championship just a few weeks ago. Ganne has an infectious personality and a solid game so hopefully she plays well and gets tv time.

(4) Amateurs to Watch: Kiara Romero (University of Oregon from the USA) is the #1 Female Amateur in the world. Romero shot a final round 5 under (67) in the last round of the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills. What was truly remarkable was the fact that on Saturday she shot an 84 (so a 17 shot improvement). Farah O’Keefe (University of Texas from the USA) just won the NCAA D1 Individual title a few weeks ago. Maria Jose Marin (University of Arkansas from Columbia) is the 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur Champion. Asterisk Talley is a 17-year-old that took home co-low amateur at the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open. Aphrodite Deng (from Canada) is the 2025 U.S. Girls Junior Champion. There are many more I could list but these are the one’s I will keep an eye on for the low-amateur title.

Finally, it is “must watch television” because it is the most important major in women’s professional golf!

HOW TO WATCH

THURSDAY AND FRIDAY: Watch on USA Network from 2 pm to 7 pm and then replay on NBCSN (or Steam on Peacock) 7 pm to 10 pm

SATURDAY (Moving Day): Watch on NBC from 5 pm to 7 pm and Peacock 7 pm to 10 pm

SUNDAY (Championship Round): Watch on NBC from 3 pm to 5 pm on NBCSN and 5 pm to 8 pm on NBC; or stream 3 pm to 8 pm on Peacock.

Age Differences in Men and Women in Elite Amateur Four-Ball Competition

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I was looking at the USGA website to follow the Men’s Amateur Four-Ball championship and I was struck by the ages of the men; especially after following the Women’s Amateur Four-Ball earlier this year.

If you are not familiar with the USGA Four-Ball Amateur Championship, there are 128 sides (two golfers on a side or team) and 256 total competitors. They play two rounds of four-ball stroke play to get the field down to 64 sides (teams) that will participate in match play over three days. Day 1 has 64 sides (or 32 matches), Day 2 has 16 matches, and Day 3 is the semifinal matches and the final match for the championship.

The USGA Website lists the age breakdown of championship events and If you look at the Women’s field versus the Men’s field it is really striking but after thinking about it, not as surprising as I first thought.

So here is a quick comparison of ages for the 4-ball championships:

For me the striking comparison is the total players age 31 to 60 with 149 men playing in the 2026 Amateur 4-ball and only seven (yes, seven) women in the age range of 31-60 in the 2026 Women’s Amateur 4-ball.

After some thought I basically believe it is the cycle of life that represents the age difference; and you see this in professional golf too. If you are a fan of the LPGA you know that when the ladies get into their 30s many retire (or take a leave) to have children. Yes, the LPGA has great day care but I think it is still very difficult for women to be professional golfers and raise their children. But it can be done! Julie Inkster is famous for balancing her professional golf career and raising her two daughters.

I did google the topic and a number of other “reasons” were listed such as:

(1) Physical Development – I found it interesting that one point made was that young female golfers can achieve the driving distance of their older female counterparts sooner. While boys do not have the physical ability to achieve the same driving distance that is required in the power game of men’s golf (hitting drives over 300 yards). So you will see a thirteen year old girl driving it as far as an LPGA player but you won’t see a thirteen year old boy driving it as long as a PGA Tour player. Interesting premise.

(2) Women that have the skills to turn professional do it at a younger age then men turning professional. I think it is true that women turn professional sooner because they are aware that by 30 they may want to start a family. And of course there was the “Michelle Wei” effect on the LPGA. However, this may also be changing as you see players like Blades Brown turning pro at 16 and playing on the Korn Ferry tour. But what that doesn’t solve is the question as to why so many elite amateur female golfers that do not turn pro, also do not continue competing in elite amateur golf.

There are women that continue to play after college golf if you look at the USGA Mid-Amateur Championships which are for men or women 25 years or older. It is interesting to note that the field size is different. The men’s Mid-Am. has 264 competitors and the women’s Mid-Am field is 132 competitors.

Even in the amateur golf (casual leagues) I play in you see that most of the women are past child rearing age so it’s not just about having a job that keeps them from playing. But once the kids are off to college a lot of women find golf again and enjoy playing.

I will say it is nice to see more women in their 20 and 30s recognizing the importance of golf from a business/career perspective; and I do see more young couples playing on the weekends. But as far as serious amateur competition goes I do think we will continue to see the age gaps. However, with young girls being the fastest growing demographic in golf it would not surprise me if in the future more women find their way to elite competitive golf.