Women's British Open

Women's British Open
Tournament information
Location	United Kingdom
Established	1976, 48 years ago
Course(s)	varies; Royal Troon Golf Club, Old Course (in 2020); South Ayrshire, Scotland
Par	71 (in 2020)
Length	7,175 yards (6,561 m) (in 2020)
Organized by	The R&A
Tour(s)	LPGA Tour (1984, 1994–); LET (1979–)
Format	Stroke play
Prize fund	$4,500,000
Month played	August
Tournament record score
Aggregate	269 Karrie Webb (1997); 269 Karen Stupples (2004)
To par	−19 Karrie Webb (1997); −19 Karen Stupples (2004)
Current champion
	Hinako Shibuno
	2020 Women's British Open

The Women's British Open is a major championship in women's professional golf. It is recognised by both the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour as a major. The reigning champion is Hinako Shibuno, who won by one stroke at Woburn Golf and Country Club in 2019.

Since becoming an LPGA major in 2001 it has generally been played in late July or early August. The 2012 edition was scheduled for mid-September, due to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, while the 2014 event was played in mid-July, the week prior to the Open Championship.

In 2019 it was known as the AIG Women's British Open. From 2007 to 2018, it was called the Ricoh Women's British Open while the previous twenty editions (1987–2006) were sponsored by Weetabix, a breakfast cereal.^[1] In July 2020, the sponsorship agreement with AIG was extended through to 2025; as part of the deal the championship was rebranded, removing the word "British", as the AIG Women's Open.^[2]

History

The Women's British Open was established by the Ladies' Golf Union in 1976 and was intended to serve as the women's equivalent of The Open Championship. At first, it was difficult for the organisers to get the most prestigious courses to agree to host the event, with the exception of Royal Birkdale, which hosted it twice during its early days — in 1982 and 1986. After nearly folding in 1983, the tournament was held at the best of the "second-tier" courses, including Woburn Golf and Country Club for seven straight years, 1990 through 1996, as well as in 1984 and 1999.

As its prestige continued to increase, more of the links courses that are in the rotation for The Open Championship, such as Turnberry (2002) and Royal Lytham & St Annes (1998, 2003, 2006) hosted the tournament, in addition to Royal Birkdale (2000, 2005, 2010). In 2007, the tournament took place at the Old Course at St Andrews for the first time.

In the 2010s, two additional Open Championship venues became first-time hosts for the women's event: Carnoustie (2011) and Royal Liverpool (2012). The tournament has yet to be played at four Open Championship courses: Muirfield and Royal Troon in Scotland, Royal St. George's in southeastern England, and Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.

Unlike its male counterpart, the Women's British Open has not adopted a links-only policy. This greatly increases the number of potential venues, especially the number close to the major population centres of England. Following the 2017 merger of the Ladies Golf Union with The R&A, the tournament is now organised by the same organisation as the men's tournament.

Through 1993, the tournament was an official stop only on the Ladies European Tour, with the exception of the 1984 edition, which was co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour. Starting in 1994, it became a permanent LPGA Tour event, which increased both the quality of the field and the event's prestige. It has been an official LPGA major since 2001, when it replaced the du Maurier Classic in Canada. In 2005, the starting field size was increased to 150, but only the low 65 (plus ties) survive the cut after the second round. In both 2007 and 2008 the prize fund was £1.05 million. Starting in 2009, the prize fund changed from being fixed in pounds to U.S. dollars, and is now $3.25 million.

Tied for most victories in the Women's British Open with three each are Karrie Webb of Australia and Sherri Steinhauer of the United States. Both won the tournament twice before it became an LPGA major and once after. Yani Tseng of Taiwan and Jiyai Shin of South Korea are the multiple winners as a major championship. The other multiple winner is Debbie Massey of the U.S., with consecutive wins (1980 and 1981) well before it was an LPGA co-sanctioned event.

Winners

Year	Dates	Champion	Country	Venue	Score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up	Purse ($)	Winner's share ($)	Ref
2020	Aug 20–23			Royal Troon, Old Course					4,500,000	675,000
2019	Aug 1–4	Hinako Shibuno	Japan	Woburn, Marquess Course	270	−18	1 stroke	Lizette Salas	4,500,000	675,000
2018	Aug 2–5	Georgia Hall	England	Royal Lytham & St Annes	271	−17	2 strokes	Pornanong Phatlum	3,250,000	490,000
2017	Aug 3–6	In-Kyung Kim	South Korea	Kingsbarns	270	−18	2 strokes	Jodi Ewart Shadoff	3,250,000	504,821
2016	Jul 28–31	Ariya Jutanugarn	Thailand	Woburn, Marquess Course	272	−16	3 strokes	Mirim Lee Mo Martin	3,000,000	412,047
2015	Jul 30 – Aug 2	Inbee Park	South Korea	Turnberry Ailsa	276	−12	3 strokes	Ko Jin-young	3,000,000	464,817
2014	Jul 10–13	Mo Martin	United States	Royal Birkdale	287	−1	1 stroke	Shanshan Feng Suzann Pettersen	3,000,000	474,575
2013	Aug 1–4	Stacy Lewis	United States	St Andrews	280	−8	2 strokes	Na Yeon Choi Hee Young Park	2,750,000	402,583
2012	Sep 13–16	Jiyai Shin	South Korea	Royal Liverpool	279	−9	9 strokes	Inbee Park	2,750,000	428,650
2011	Jul 28–31	Yani Tseng	Taiwan	Carnoustie	272	−16	4 strokes	Brittany Lang	2,500,000	392,133
2010	Jul 29 – Aug 1	Yani Tseng	Taiwan	Royal Birkdale	277	−11	1 stroke	Katherine Hull	2,500,000	408,714
2009	Jul 30 – Aug 2	Catriona Matthew	Scotland	Royal Lytham & St Annes	285	−3	3 strokes	Karrie Webb	2,200,000	335,000
2008	Jul 31 – Aug 3	Jiyai Shin	South Korea	Sunningdale	270	−18	3 strokes	Yani Tseng	2,100,000	314,464
2007	Aug 2–5	Lorena Ochoa	Mexico	St Andrews	287	−5	4 strokes	Maria Hjorth Jee Young Lee	2,000,000	320,512
2006	Aug 3–6	Sherri Steinhauer	United States	Royal Lytham & St Annes	281	−7	3 strokes	Sophie Gustafson Cristie Kerr	1,800,000	305,440
2005	July 28–31	Jeong Jang	South Korea	Royal Birkdale	272	−16	4 strokes	Sophie Gustafson	1,800,000	280,208
2004	July 29 – Aug 1	Karen Stupples	England	Sunningdale	269	−19	5 strokes	Rachel Hetherington	1,600,000	290,880
2003	July 31 – Aug 3	Annika Sörenstam	Sweden	Royal Lytham & St Annes	278	−10	1 stroke	Se Ri Pak	1,600,000	254,880
2002	Aug 8–11	Karrie Webb	Australia	Turnberry Ailsa	273	−15	2 strokes	Michelle Ellis Paula Martí	1,500,000	236,383
2001	Aug 2–5	Se Ri Pak	South Korea	Sunningdale	277	−11	2 strokes	Mi Hyun Kim	1,500,000	221,650
2000	Aug 17–20	Sophie Gustafson	Sweden	Royal Birkdale	282	−6	2 strokes	Becky Iverson Meg Mallon Liselotte Neumann Kirsty Taylor	1,250,000	178,000
1999	Aug 12–15	Sherri Steinhauer	United States	Woburn, Duke's Course	283	−5	1 stroke	Annika Sörenstam	1,000,000	160,000
1998	Aug 13–16	Sherri Steinhauer	United States	Royal Lytham & St Annes	292	+4	1 stroke	Brandie Burton Sophie Gustafson	1,000,000	162,000
1997	Aug 14–17	Karrie Webb	Australia	Sunningdale	269	−19	8 strokes	Rosie Jones	900,000	129,938
1996	Aug 15–18	Emilee Klein	United States	Woburn, Duke's Course	277	−11	7 strokes	Amy Alcott Penny Hammel	850,000	124,000
1995	Aug 17–20	Karrie Webb	Australia	Woburn, Duke's Course	278	−10	6 strokes	Annika Sörenstam Jill McGill	600,000	92,400
1994	Aug 11–14	Liselotte Neumann	Sweden	Woburn, Duke's Course	280	−8	3 strokes	Annika Sörenstam	500,000	80,325
Weetabix Women's British Open
1993		Karen Lunn	Australia	Woburn, Duke's Course	275		8 strokes	Brandie Burton	£300,000	£50,000
1992		Patty Sheehan	United States	Woburn, Duke's Course	207^[a]		3 strokes	Corinne Dibnah	£300,000	£50,000
1991		Penny Grice-Whittaker	England	Woburn, Duke's Course	284		3 strokes	Helen Alfredsson Diane Barnard	£150,000	£25,000
1990		Helen Alfredsson	Sweden	Woburn, Duke's Course	288		Playoff^[b]	Jane Hill	£130,000	£20,000
1989		Jane Geddes	United States	Ferndown	274		2 strokes	Florence Descampe	£120,000	£18,000	^[3]
1988		Corinne Dibnah	Australia	Lindrick	295		Playoff^[c]	Sally Little	£100,000	£15,000
1987		Alison Nicholas	England	St Mellion	296		1 stroke	Laura Davies Muffin Spencer-Devlin	£100,000	£15,000	^[4]
Women's British Open
1986		Laura Davies	England	Royal Birkdale	283		4 strokes	Peggy Conley Marta Figueras-Dotti	£60,000	£9,000	^[5]
Burberry Women's British Open
1985		Betsy King	United States	Moor Park	300		2 strokes	Marta Figueras-Dotti	£60,000	£9,000	^[6]
Hitachi Women's British Open
1984		Ayako Okamoto	Japan	Woburn, Duke's Course	289		11 strokes	Betsy King Dale Reid	£160,000^[d]	£24,000	^[7]
Pretty Polly Women's British Open
1983	No tournament
1982		Marta Figueras-Dotti (a)	Spain	Royal Birkdale	296		1 stroke	Rosie Jones Jenny Lee Smith	£23,000	(£6,000)	^[8]
1981		Debbie Massey	United States	Northumberland	295		4 strokes	Belle Robertson (a)	£19,000	£5,600	^[9]
1980		Debbie Massey	United States	Wentworth	294		1 stroke	Marta Figueras-Dotti (a) Belle Robertson (a)	£15,000	£4,500	^[10]
1979		Alison Sheard	South Africa	Southport & Ainsdale	301		3 strokes	Mickey Walker	£10,000	£3,000	^[11]
1978		Janet Melville (a)	England	Foxhills	310		2 strokes	Wilma Aikten (a)		(£1,000)	^[12]
Women's British Open
1977		Vivien Saunders	England	Lindrick	306		Countback^[e]	Mary Everard (a)	£500	£210	^[13]
1976		Jenny Lee Smith (a)	England	Fulford	299		2 strokes	Mary McKenna (a)		(£210)	^[14]

(a) denotes amateur

Source for later tournaments:^[15]

^ In 1992 the second day was washed-out and the event reduced to 54 holes.
^ Alfredsson won with a par at the fourth extra hole.
^ Dibnah won with a birdie at the second extra hole.
^ Tournament was co-sanctioned by the LET and LPGA Tour. Prize money for this event was in US dollars; £ values here are based on an exchange rate of $1.25–£1.
^ Saunders won the title because she had a better last round; 76 to Everard's 79.

Champions by nationality

This table lists the total number of titles won by golfers of each nationality since the Women's Open has been recognised as an LPGA major (2001–present).

Nationality	Number of wins
South Korea	6
United States	3
England	2
Taiwan	2
Australia	1
Japan	1
Mexico	1
Scotland	1
Sweden	1
Thailand	1

Host courses

The Women's Open has been played at the following courses, listed in order of the most times they have hosted (as of 2019):

Future venues

Year	Edition	Course	Location	Dates	Previously hosted
2020	44th	Royal Troon Golf Club	Troon, Scotland	20–23 August	Men's: 1923, 1950, 1962, 1973, 1982, 1989, 1997, 2004, 2016
2021	45th	Royal Porthcawl Golf Club	Porthcawl, Wales	TBD

Note: As 2017 is the first year of The R&A organising the tournament, the tournament, like the Women's PGA Championship, is often conducted on the same venues as its male counterpart.

Smyth Salver

The Smyth Salver is awarded to the leading amateur, provided that the player completes all 72 holes, for one year. The winner also receives a silver medal. The salver was donated by Moira Smyth, a past president of the Ladies' Golf Union.^[16]

1979 – Sue Hedges
1980 – Marta Figueras-Dotti & Belle Robertson
1981 – Belle Robertson
1982 – Marta Figueras-Dotti
1983 – No championship
1984 – Mary McKenna
1985 – Jill Thornhill
1986 – Vicki Thomas
1987 – Joanne Furby
1988 – Kathryn Imrie
1989 – Joanne Morley
1990 – Sarah Bennett
1991 – Akiko Fukushima
1992 – None
1993 – Patricia Meunier & Joanne Morley
1994 – Tina Fischer
1995 – Lisa Dermott
1996 – Barbara Hackett
1997 – Silvia Cavalleri
1998 – None
1999 – Giulia Sergas
2000 – None
2001 – Rebecca Hudson
2002 – None
2003 – Elisa Serramia
2004 – Louise Stahle
2005 – Michelle Wie
2006 – Amy Yang
2007 – Melissa Reid
2008 – Anna Nordqvist
2009 – None
2010 – Caroline Hedwall
2011 – Danielle Kang
2012 – Lydia Ko
2013 – Georgia Hall & Lydia Ko
2014 – Emma Talley
2015 – Luna Sobrón
2016 – Leona Maguire
2017 – Sophie Lamb
2018 – Atthaya Thitikul
2019 – Atthaya Thitikul

References

^ "Championship History". Archived from the original on 19 August 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
^ "Women's Open drops 'British' from title in sponsorship rebrand". BBC Sport. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
^ "Descampe charges but Geddes is champion". The Glasgow Herald. 7 August 1989. p. 18.
^ "Nicholas breaks through at last". The Glasgow Herald. 3 August 1987. p. 10.
^ "Laura outscores foreign invaders". The Glasgow Herald. 13 October 1986. p. 10.
^ "Miss King begins a new reign". The Glasgow Herald. 7 October 1985. p. 8.
^ "Dale deserves prize for her lone battle". The Glasgow Herald. 8 October 1984. p. 17.
^ "Professional win for a new Spanish graduate". The Glasgow Herald. 2 August 1982. p. 15.
^ "Debbie pulls away from the field". The Glasgow Herald. 3 August 1981. p. 15.
^ "Belle second with a 69". The Glasgow Herald. 28 July 1980. p. 13.
^ "Birdie finish gives Alison British title". The Glasgow Herald. 30 July 1979. p. 15.
^ "Janet in youngest British champion". The Glasgow Herald. 29 July 1978. p. 15.
^ "Vivien's title on last 18". The Glasgow Herald. 3 September 1977. p. 16.
^ "Sandra's hopes dashed". The Glasgow Herald. 4 September 1976. p. 14.
^ "Ricoh Women's British Open Past Winners". LPGA. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
^ https://issuu.com/lgucl/docs/lguyearbook2016 LGU 2016 Yearbook

External links

[3] In 1992 the second day was washed-out and the event reduced to 54 holes.

[4] Alfredsson won with a par at the fourth extra hole.

[6] Dibnah won with a birdie at the second extra hole.

[10] Tournament was co-sanctioned by the LET and LPGA Tour. Prize money for this event was in US dollars; £ values here are based on an exchange rate of $1.25–£1.

[17] Saunders won the title because she had a better last round; 76 to Everard's 79.

[history-1] "Championship History". Archived from the original on 19 August 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.

[2] "Women's Open drops 'British' from title in sponsorship rebrand". BBC Sport. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.

[5] "Descampe charges but Geddes is champion". The Glasgow Herald. 7 August 1989. p. 18.

[7] "Nicholas breaks through at last". The Glasgow Herald. 3 August 1987. p. 10.

[8] "Laura outscores foreign invaders". The Glasgow Herald. 13 October 1986. p. 10.

[9] "Miss King begins a new reign". The Glasgow Herald. 7 October 1985. p. 8.

[11] "Dale deserves prize for her lone battle". The Glasgow Herald. 8 October 1984. p. 17.

[12] "Professional win for a new Spanish graduate". The Glasgow Herald. 2 August 1982. p. 15.

[13] "Debbie pulls away from the field". The Glasgow Herald. 3 August 1981. p. 15.

[14] "Belle second with a 69". The Glasgow Herald. 28 July 1980. p. 13.

[15] "Birdie finish gives Alison British title". The Glasgow Herald. 30 July 1979. p. 15.

[16] "Janet in youngest British champion". The Glasgow Herald. 29 July 1978. p. 15.

[18] "Vivien's title on last 18". The Glasgow Herald. 3 September 1977. p. 16.

[19] "Sandra's hopes dashed". The Glasgow Herald. 4 September 1976. p. 14.

[past-20] "Ricoh Women's British Open Past Winners". LPGA. Retrieved 31 July 2013.

[21] ttps://issuu.com/lgucl/docs/lguyearbook2016 LGU 2016 Yearbook

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v t e The Women's Open as an LPGA major
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020 2021 2022 2023

v t e Women's major golf championships
Current	Chevron Championship U.S. Women's Open Women's PGA Championship The Evian Championship Women's British Open
Past	du Maurier Classic Titleholders Championship Women's Western Open
Related	The Women's Amateur Championship U.S. Women's Amateur
See also	Winners Chronological Grand Slam

v t e LPGA Tour events
Major championships	The Chevron Championship U.S. Women's Open Women's PGA Championship The Evian Championship Women's British Open
Other tournaments	Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio LPGA Drive On Championship HSBC Women's World Championship Honda LPGA Thailand JTBC Classic Lotte Championship Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship Ford Championship Palos Verdes Championship Cognizant Founders Cup Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play ShopRite LPGA Classic Meijer LPGA Classic Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational Trust Golf Women's Scottish Open ISPS Handa World Invitational CP Women's Open Dana Open Kroger Queen City Championship Portland Classic Walmart NW Arkansas Championship Volunteers of America Classic LPGA Mediheal Championship Buick LPGA Shanghai BMW Ladies Championship Taiwan Swinging Skirts LPGA Toto Japan Classic The Annika CME Group Tour Championship
Team events	Solheim Cup (odd-numbered years) International Crown (even-numbered years)
Unofficial events	Olympic Games
Other	Former events
All events listed in chronological order.

v t e Ladies European Tour events
Major championships	The Evian Championship Women's British Open
Other tournaments	Magical Kenya Ladies Open Aramco Saudi Ladies International Lalla Meryem Cup Women's NSW Open (AUS) Australian Women's Classic (AUS) Joburg Ladies Open (SLT) Investec South African Women's Open (SLT) Amundi German Masters Jabra Ladies Open Helsingborg Open Scandinavian Mixed (EUR) Ladies Italian Open Tipsport Czech Ladies Open VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open Dutch Ladies Open Women's Scottish Open (LPGA) Women's Irish Open La Sella Open Lacoste Ladies Open de France Women's Indian Open Mallorca Ladies Open Andalucia Costa Del Sol Open De España
Team events	Solheim Cup (even-numbered years) Aramco Team Series USA South Korea UK Asia Saudi Arabia
Events listed in chronological order. Co-sanction by the LPGA Tour (LPGA), the WPGA Tour of Australasia (AUS), the Sunshine Ladies Tour (SLT), or the European Tour (EUR).