Tag Archives: AIG Women’s Open

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 Korean 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

Lilia Vu – a New World #1 on the LPGA

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Congratulations to Lilia Vu winning the AIG Women’s British Open by six strokes! An even more impressive feat given she was six back of the leader when she started her round on the weekend. Vu is now a two-time major champion in a single year and the new #1 player in women’s golf. Another way to think of it, Vu has three wins in eight months and two of those wins are majors.

I doubt many had Vu on their radar to win the last major of the season given she has played spotty since her win at Chevron in April but her record on the Epson tour and her top 10s in 2022 on the LPGA tour were clear indicators of her talent.

If you don’t know much about Vu, she is 25 years old, is American (born in California) but her family comes from Vietnam (Grandfather moved family to USA in 1982). She played her college golf at UCLA and was on the winning Curtis Cup team in 2018. She graduated in 2019 and started her rookie year on the LPGA. Her rookie year was a disaster with 7 missed cuts out of 8 tournaments; only making $3,830. She almost quit but her mother encouraged her to stay the course and so she went to the Epson tour in 2020 where her journey to outstanding golf started to take shape.

Lilia Vu was a standout on the Epson tour (feeder tour for LPGA) in 2021 with four wins and 10 top 10 finishes; then transitioned to the LPGA tour in 2022 and she recorded eight top ten finishes.

Vu appeared to be on the way to great things when she won the first major of the year, The Chevron. However, after Vu’s win at Chevron, she missed the cut at the next two majors (The KPMG PGA Championship and the US Women’s Open) and had a T42 at the Evian.

During various press conferences, when asked about her game, She mentioned she was struggling with some back issues; and she also was learning how to juggle demands after winning a major because so much more is expected of winners with the sponsors, etc. For instance, before her win at Chevron she didn’t even have an agent. Now she has an agent to deal with all the requests of her time outside the ropes.

Prior to the win at the AIG Women’s Open, Vu’s world golf rank was 6 (Race to CME rank 7). Vu is now ranked the #1 player in the world (Race to CME rank 1). This season on the LPGA, Vu has 4 top 10 finishes and 3 wins (including two majors). That’s a very impressive 2023.

While being interviewed after winning the AIG Women’s Open Vu said she had felt (at times) like her first two wins in 2023 were a fluke. When asked if she believed in herself after winning the AIG Women’s Open, she said “Yes. And she mentioned that “the only thing that get’s in her way of winning is herself.” The players on the LPGA should watch out for a Vu who now believes in herself.

She is a talented golfer and deserving of her wins. You can read all about Vu on the LPGA website Player Profile