Woad the focus as Women’s Open heads to Wales

Lottie Woad is the main subject of the AIG Women’s Open’s pre-tournament focus, which will begin at Royal Porthcawl on Thursday.

Lydia Ko, who is currently the reigning champion in her final major of the year, is the reigning champion.

However, Woad, who has emerged as the most exciting prospect in British golf, has been the focus of the build-up.

Despite having only won one major event of her professional career, the 21-year-old is unsurprisingly the bookmakers’ favorite to claim her first major victory.

However, England’s Woad must face off against the best women’s players if she wants to win.

The first men’s or women’s major to be staged in Wales is the 49th Women’s Open, which runs until Sunday, August 3, 2018.

Due to the combination of the tournament’s status, its reach, and the field’s quality, it has been hailed as the biggest women’s sporting event ever held in the nation.

On the BBC Sport website and mobile app, there will be live BBC radio commentary and text coverage of the entire four tournament days.

The R&amp, A and BBC Sport have a new multi-year agreement that will grant the Women’s Open broadcast rights from 2025 until 2027.

Woad’s remarkable run of form, which began with a resounding victory at the Irish Open when she was still an amateur, in early July, earned her the title of favorite.

She then moved on to the professional side and won the Scottish Open debut last week, finishing just one shot outside the play-off at the Evian Championship, missing out on £400, 000 in prize money at the fourth women’s major of the year due to her amateur status.

If Woad, from Surrey, wins a major once more this weekend, she would become the first British woman to do so since Catriona Matthew 16 years ago, and the first time she did so was at Georgia Hall in 2018.

Another home contender, Charley Hull, calls Woad’s recent progress “absolutely unbelievable.”

“I played with her in Ireland’s practice rounds last week, and I played with her in the first two rounds last week,” Hull said. “I feel like she’s playing with such confidence that she can’t miss a shot.”

It’s wonderful to see, I think. She brings the game a breath of fresh air.

According to Hull, she said she has been hampered by a back injury and that she has lost four kilograms in the last three weeks as a result of illness.

Hull claims that her ailments have had an impact on her swing even though she is now feeling better.

She said, “I’m not hitting it the best this week, which is very frustrating because I’ve been looking forward to playing this event all year.”

“I just need to go out there with what I have,” I said. I won’t allow it to beat me up too much.

Two Welsh players are present on the field after a promising start to life on the Ladies European Tour this year, with Porthcawl member Darcey Harry playing in her first Women’s Open with her boyfriend and professional golfer Jacob Skov Olesen serving as her caddie.

World No. 1 Nelly Korda, who hasn’t won in 2025, is one of the most admired players despite the fact that she is yet to achieve that status.

The two-time major champion finished in second place last year at St Andrews, but she has since dismissed the idea that a Women’s Open victory would be important to her.

The American, who is 27 years old, said, “I feel like I don’t really have anything to prove to anyone ever.”

Simply put, I’m passionate about the game. I enjoy playing against the best players in the world and testing my skills in these kinds of circumstances.

Jeeno Thitikul, the world’s number two, is another favorite this week along with Minjee Lee, the winner of last month’s Women’s PGA Championship, her third major success of her career.

The Ryder Cup was held at Celtic Manor in 2010, but this will be the largest individual golf competition ever to take place in Wales.

The Curtis Cup was won in 1964, and the Walker Cup in 1995, when Tiger Woods’ United States team was defeated by Great Britain and Northern Ireland, were held at Royal Porthcawl.

The Senior Open took place at the Welsh Links in 2014, 2017, and most recently in 2023 when Alex Cejka defeated Padraig Harrington in a play-off after both players had finished five over par in a tournament that sometimes featured icy weather.

Even though there should be enough wind to make it a factor on Wales’ only course with a sea view from every hole, the forecast for this week looks much better.

Korda remarked, “The views from the golf course are absolutely breathtaking.”

Ko has spent the first half of the week attempting to get familiar with a course that few people are familiar with, like many others in the field.

Due to the logistics and infrastructure involved in hosting a major, the regular 18th hole is being played as the first, with the customary first becoming the second, and so on.

Nobody really has an advantage because not many players have played here before, according to Ko, who said the field is “like a clean slate.”