The AIG Women’s Open returns to Royal Lytham and St Annes from 29 July to 2 August for its 50th staging. It brings one of the biggest tournaments in women’s golf back to a Lancashire links course that does not reward careless attacking play. Wind, bunkers and awkward angles into the greens will matter every day.
Miyu Yamashita arrives as defending champion after winning at Royal Porthcawl in 2025, while the field of 144 players will compete for a record prize fund of $10 million. The R&A has confirmed the dates, field size and prize money.
People comparing betting sites may focus on the leading names, but Royal Lytham often makes course management more important than a player’s reputation. The champion will need to control distance in the wind, find the right sections of the fairway and avoid turning one poor shot into a damaging double bogey.
A course that asks for patience
Royal Lytham is not a links course where players can simply hit driver and chase birdies. Its bunkers are placed to punish inaccurate tee shots, while the greens demand precise approaches. A player who leaves the ball below the hole can often make a confident putt. One who misses on the wrong side may be faced with a defensive two putt.
The par 71 course measures 6,601 yards, which is not unusually long by modern standards. Its difficulty comes from placement. The fairways can look generous until the wind changes direction, and a safe looking approach can quickly run into trouble if it lands on the wrong part of a firm green.
That gives players with controlled iron play a genuine opportunity. Power still helps, but the winner is likely to be someone who keeps making sensible decisions when conditions become uncomfortable.
Miyu Yamashita has a title to defend
Yamashita won the 2025 AIG Women’s Open by two shots over Charley Hull and Minami Katsu. Her victory at Royal Porthcawl showed that she can manage the demands of major championship golf on a coastal course.
Defending a major title brings different pressure. Every round is watched more closely, and every difficult hole becomes a reminder of the standard she set the year before. Yamashita will not need to force the issue early, but she will need to stay close enough to the lead to give herself a chance on Sunday.
The course should suit players who accept that par can be a good score. A major championship on a links venue rarely rewards impatience. Trying to recover too much after a single bogey can produce another mistake, especially when the wind makes distance control unpredictable.
Georgia Hall returns to a special venue
Royal Lytham also carries strong memories for Georgia Hall. She won the Women’s British Open there in 2018, producing a final round of five under par to secure her first major title.
That history will make her one of the players supporters follow most closely. Hall knows the visual demands of the course, the feel of the greens and the pressure of playing a final round at Lytham with a major on the line.
Past success does not guarantee another win, particularly in a major with such a strong field. It does give her useful knowledge. On a course packed with bunkers and hidden trouble, familiarity can make a difference when the tournament reaches the back nine on Sunday.
The tournament will reward the right kind of golf
The AIG Women’s Open is one of five major championships in professional women’s golf, and its return to Royal Lytham gives this year’s edition a distinct identity. Players cannot rely on one brilliant round. They will need four days of good choices.
A low score may be possible if the weather is calm, but the course has enough defences to change the leaderboard quickly when the wind rises. The player who wins will probably not avoid every mistake. She will be the one who limits the damage better than everyone else.
With Yamashita defending, Hall returning to the course where she won her major, and a record prize fund at stake, Royal Lytham has all the ingredients for a compelling week of championship golf.