46-657: The Women's Open (originally known as the Women's British Open , and still widely referred to by that name outside the UK) 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 Lydia Ko , who won at the 2024 tournament . Since becoming an LPGA major in 2001 it has generally been played in late July or early August. The 2012 edition
92-547: A "Career Grand Slam" by winning four different majors . There are variations in the set of four tournaments involved as the players played in different eras. The six are: Pat Bradley ; Juli Inkster ; Annika Sörenstam ; Louise Suggs ; Karrie Webb ; and Mickey Wright . During the five-major era, Inbee Park became the first woman to complete the "Career Grand Slam." Even though there has been some debate surrounding whether Park has actually accomplished this feat, as she won The Evian Championship in 2012 before it officially became
138-524: A major in 2013, LPGA acknowledged Park to have successfully achieved a "Career Grand Slam." The LPGA recognizes Webb as its only "Super Career Grand Slam" winner, since she is the only golfer to have won five events recognized by the LPGA as majors. Before the elevation of The Evian Championship to major status, the following was required for a golfer to win the Super Career Grand Slam: Webb won
184-460: A set of major championships , a series of tournaments designated to be of a higher status than other tournaments. Five tournaments are currently designated as 'majors' in women's golf by the LPGA . The LPGA 's list of majors has changed in constitution since the first major was held at the Women's Western Open in 1930. There have been four different periods, 1930 to 1972, 1973 to 2000, 2001 to 2013, and
230-549: A top invitational event on the PGA Tour since 1976 . Muirfield has halted two post-war attempts at the grand slam , denying the third major of the year to winners of the first two, the Masters and U.S. Open . Nicklaus was runner-up by a stroke in 1972 to Trevino, and Tiger Woods ran into gale -force winds and rain in the third round in 2002 and shot an 81; he rebounded with a 65 on Sunday to finish at even-par, six strokes out of
276-623: Is "the only Women's Major to be played outside the U.S." The Ladies European Tour does not sanction any of the LPGA majors which are played in the United States, and only has two events which it designates as majors on its schedule, namely the Women's British Open and The Evian Championship (historically the Evian Masters), which is played in France . The Ladies European Tour had long tacitly acknowledged
322-700: Is a public course, and this course also eventually became too crowded for the liking of the HCEG's members. In 1795 the Club applied to the Edinburgh Council for a Charter. This was granted on 26 March 1800 together with a Seal of Cause under the new title of 'The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers'. In 1891, the club built a new private 18-hole course at Muirfield, taking the Open Championship with them. This situation caused some ill feeling at Musselburgh, which lost
368-458: Is arranged as two loops of nine holes, one clockwise, one anticlockwise. This means that assuming the wind direction remains the same throughout a round, virtually every hole on the course has a different apparent wind direction from the tee. No more than three consecutive holes follow the same direction at any stage. The course borders on Archerfield Wood, which features in " The Pavilion on the Links ",
414-399: Is now included in the LPGA's official list of major victories is the 1930 Women's Western Open , although this is a retrospective designation as the LPGA was not founded until 1950. ·The Titleholders was played from 1937 to 1966 with a gap due to World War II. In 1967 there were three majors, then from 1968 to 1971 this decreased and went back to two majors. Then in 1979, the du Maurier Classic
460-732: Is the home of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers . Located in Gullane , East Lothian , Scotland, overlooking the Firth of Forth , Muirfield is one of the golf courses used in rotation for The Open Championship . Muirfield has hosted The Open Championship sixteen times, most recently in 2013 when Phil Mickelson lifted the trophy. Other past winners at Muirfield include Ernie Els , Nick Faldo (twice), Tom Watson , Lee Trevino , Jack Nicklaus , Gary Player , Henry Cotton , Alf Perry , Walter Hagen , Harry Vardon and Harold Hilton . Muirfield has also hosted The Amateur Championship (ten times),
506-589: Is unable to be on the Open rota because of political ramifications of former President of the United States Donald Trump . Unlike its male counterpart, the Women's 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, both
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#1732897935506552-454: The 2016 Women's British Open (first round). In 2014, the LPGA established the yearly Rolex Annika Major Award to recognize the overall best performance in the LPGA majors. Points are awarded for top-10 finishes in each major: 60 points for first place, 24 for second, down to 2 points for tenth place. The major winner with the most points at the end of the season wins the award. It is named after Annika Sörenstam . In men's (non-senior) golf,
598-563: The Ryder Cup in 1973 , the 1959 and 1979 Walker Cup , the 1952 and 1984 Curtis Cup , and many other tournaments including the Women’s British Open . Muirfield has an unusual layout for a links course . Most links courses run along the coast and then back again leading to two sets of nine holes, the holes in each set facing roughly in the same direction. Muirfield, however, was among the first courses to depart from this arrangement and
644-400: The du Maurier Classic , which lost its title sponsor because of sponsorship regulations. 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 . Tied for most victories in
690-582: The senior women's major golf championships . The U.S. Senior Women's Open was established in 2018 and is open to women whose 50th birthday falls on or before the first day of competition. The eligibility for the Senior LPGA Championship, established in 2017, and the Legends of the LPGA Tour are for female golfers age 45 and older. Muirfield Muirfield is a privately owned golf links which
736-494: The "Silver Club". This trophy had been requested by the HCEG from the City of Edinburgh Council, which agreed. The first competition was won by John Rattray , who signed the rules and became the first club captain. The club played on the five holes at Leith Links for nearly a century, but overcrowding forced a move in 1836 to Musselburgh Old Course 's 9-hole Old Course which, like many prestigious Scottish courses including St Andrews ,
782-497: The Company, though were permitted to play the course as guests or visitors. The exclusion of women from membership was controversial. After a May 2016 vote on the policy reached a majority, but not the two-thirds supermajority required for change, the R&;A removed Muirfield from the rotation of Open venues. Speaking shortly after the announcement, secretary Stuart McEwen said the outcome
828-816: The LPGA Tour Championship.) The LPGA of Japan Tour , which is the second richest women's golf tour , has its own set of four majors: the World Ladies , the Japan Open , the JLPGA Championship and the JLPGA Tour Championship . However, these events attract little notice outside Japan, and to a lesser degree South Korea (since a number of Koreans now play on the Japan tour). Since 2006, the Symetra Tour ,
874-651: The LPGA's developmental tour known through 2011 as the Futures Tour, has designated the Tate & Lyle Players Championship , an event which has been held since 1985, as a major championship. It was the Tour's first $ 100,000 purse. The Legends of the LPGA Tour , originally the Women's Senior Golf Tour, played its first season in 2001. The U.S. Senior Women's Open and the Senior LPGA Championship are considered to constitute
920-647: The PGA Tour is in men's golf. For example, the BBC has been known to use the LPGA definition of women's majors without qualifying it. Also, before the Evian Masters was elevated to major status, the Ladies' Golf Union , the governing body for women's golf in the UK and Republic of Ireland and the organiser of the Women's British Open, stated on its official site that the Women's British Open
966-638: The PGA Tour's FedEx Cup . In the new system, officially called the "Race to the CME Globe", the top 72 points earners during the season, plus all tournament winners, qualify for the renamed final event, the CME Group Tour Championship , in which the top nine points earners will have at least a mathematical chance of winning the season title. Eight different events are classified as having been LPGA majors at some time. The number in each season has fluctuated between two and five. The first tournament which
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#17328979355061012-609: The Tour Championship extended entry to all players in the top 120 on the official LPGA Money List. Starting in 2011, the Tour Championship was replaced by the CME Group Titleholders ; from that point through 2013, the top three finishers at all official tour events, including the majors, who had not already qualified for the Titleholders earned entries. Starting in 2014, the LPGA adopted a points race similar in some ways to
1058-737: The United States hosted three majors and the United Kingdom one. The Evian Championship is held in France. The U.S. Open, The Open Championship, and the PGA Championship match their male equivalents. The Chevron Championship is the first major of the season and through 2022 was held at a single host course (the Mission Hills Country Club ), similarly to the Masters Tournament , in 2023 it was held at The Club at Carlton Woods Unlike
1104-485: 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 only multiple winners of the championship as a major. The other multiple winner is Debbie Massey of the U.S., with consecutive wins (1980 and 1981) well before it
1150-699: The Women's PGA Championship. The U.S. Women's Open, is operated by the United States Golf Association . The Women's Open is operated by The R&A since a 2016 merger with the Ladies Golf Union . The Evian Championship is operated by the Ladies European Tour. From 2006 through 2008, the winners of the four women's majors received automatic entry to the LPGA's season championship, the LPGA Tour Championship . Beginning in 2009,
1196-475: The current version which began in 2014. The current version of tournaments is the Chevron Championship , The Evian Championship , U.S. Women's Open , Women's PGA Championship , The Women's Open . As of 2023, the order in which women's majors are played is: Before The Evian Championship became the fifth LPGA major, the setup of women's majors closely paralleled that of the men's majors. In both cases,
1242-507: The dominance of the LPGA Tour by not scheduling any of its events to conflict with any of the LPGA majors played in the U.S., but that changed slightly in 2008 when the LET scheduled a tournament opposite the LPGA Championship. Also, while the LPGA Tour did not recognize the then-Evian Masters as a major until 2013, it began co-sanctioning the tournament as a regular tour event in 2000. Because it
1288-461: The du Maurier Classic in 1999 and the Women's British Open in 2002. The table below shows the number of major championships won by golfers from various countries/regions. Note: These golfers are also included below in the Two victories section. The lowest score in relation to par recorded in a women's major championship was 21-under-par, by Chun In-gee at the 2016 Evian Championship . Chun also holds
1334-514: The event was separated from the Stroke Play Championship , which returned to being an amateur-only event. Prize money of £10,000, and a first prize of £3,000, attracted a larger number of professionals. 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,
1380-412: The event. An amateur, Jenny Lee Smith , won the event with Saunders the leading professional, tying for fourth place. Saunders won the event in 1977 on "countback", having tied with Mary Everard but having the better final round, 76 to Everard's 79. Janet Melville won in 1978, with Saunders again the leading professional and taking the first prize of £1,000. Just four professionals competed. From 1979
1426-526: The four majors are agreed globally. All the principal tours acknowledge the status of the majors via their sponsorship of the Official World Golf Ranking , and the prize money is official on the three richest regular tours (the PGA , European , and Japanese tours). This is not the case in women's golf, but the significance of this is limited, as the LPGA Tour is much more dominant in women's golf than
Women's British Open - Misplaced Pages Continue
1472-401: The mainstream men's equivalents, all but one of the women's majors have title sponsors. Each of the five majors falls under a different jurisdiction. The LPGA organizes The Chevron Championship. Through 2014, it also organized the LPGA Championship, but since 2015 that tournament has been taken over by the PGA of America , the body that organizes the men's PGA Championship , and has been renamed
1518-426: The men's and women's Opens are operated by The R&A. 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
1564-399: The playoff in a tie for 28th place. The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, now based at Muirfield, holds the claim of being the oldest verifiable organised golf club in the world, although the game of golf is several centuries older. The club's records date continuously back to 1744, when it produced thirteen "Rules of Golf" for its first competition which was played at Leith Links for
1610-469: The record for lowest aggregate score for 72-holes, at 263, for her performance at that tournament. The single round scoring record is 61 held by three golfers, Kim Hyo-joo at the 2014 Evian Championship , Lee Jeong-eun and Leona Maguire , both at 2021 Evian Championship . A score of 62 has been shot by Minea Blomqvist at the 2004 Women's British Open (third round), Lorena Ochoa at the 2006 Kraft Nabisco Championship (first round), and Mirim Lee at
1656-452: The right to hold the Open from that point forward. Old Tom Morris designed the new course, which met with wide approval from the start; it has been modified and updated several times since, in significant ways up to the late 1920s, after which it has remained stable. The first Open held on the new course in 1892 was the first tournament anywhere contested over four rounds, or 72 holes. Until 2017, women were barred from holding membership of
1702-578: The short story by Robert Louis Stevenson . Jack Nicklaus won three Open Championships, the first at Muirfield in 1966 , which completed the first of his three career grand slams . Nicklaus has described Muirfield as "the best golf course in Britain." He later developed a championship golf course and community in Dublin, Ohio , a suburb north of his hometown of Columbus . Opened in 1974, Nicklaus named it Muirfield Village ; it has hosted his Memorial Tournament ,
1748-473: The sponsorship agreement with AIG was extended through to 2025; as part of the deal the championship was rebranded by The R&A (which has organised the event since 2017) by removing the "British" qualifier, in line with The R&A's men's and senior men's championships, as the AIG Women's Open . The first Women's British Open was played in 1976 when the Ladies' British Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship
1794-608: The tournament took place at the Old Course at St Andrews for the first time. Since 2010, four additional Open Championship venues became first-time hosts for the women's event: Carnoustie ( 2011 ), Royal Liverpool (2012), Royal Troon ( 2020 , year where only women had The Open), and Muirfield ( 2022 ). The tournament has yet to be played at two Open Championship courses: Royal St. George's in southeastern England, and Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. Currently, Turnberry
1840-478: 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 ,
1886-425: Was 'a blow to the club, the local community and Scotland'. The public backlash led Muirfield to re-ballot on the issue. In March 2017 the club voted to admit women as members for the first time in its history. In August 2022 Muirfield hosted the Women's British Open for the first time. The course has been extended by 211 yards (193 m) since the 2002 Championship to 7,245 yards (6,625 m). Lengths of
Women's British Open - Misplaced Pages Continue
1932-483: Was an LPGA co-sanctioned event. (a) denotes amateur The Women's Open has been played at the following courses, listed in order of number of times hosted (as of 2023): 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 . Women%27s major golf championships Women's golf has
1978-478: Was extended to include professionals. The Amateur Stroke Play Championship had been organised by the Ladies' Golf Union since 1969. In early 1976 two professionals, Vivien Saunders and Gwen Brandom , and the LGU, agreed that the event would be opened up to professionals, with Saunders and Brandom providing £200 in prize money for the professionals. Eventually total prize money was £500, with five professionals competing in
2024-435: Was first played and immediately considered a major leading to three majors again from 1979 to 1982. In 1983, when Nabisco Dinah Shore gained major championship status, there were four majors. No woman has completed a four-major Grand Slam , much less one with five majors. Babe Zaharias won all three majors contested in 1950 and Sandra Haynie won both majors in 1974 . During the four-major era, six women have completed
2070-562: Was played the week before the Women's British Open (except in 2012, when the latter event was moved to September to avoid conflict with the London Olympics ), and the purse was (and remains) one of the largest on the LPGA Tour, virtually all top LPGA players played the Evian Masters before its elevation to major status. The Evian Championship has now moved to September. (During the 2006–08 period, its winner also received an automatic berth in
2116-612: 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. In July 2020,
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