| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | United Kingdom |
| Established | 1976; 49 years ago (1976) |
| Course(s) | varies;Royal Porthcawl (2025) Porthcawl,Wales |
| Par | 72 (in 2025) |
| Length | 6,748 yards (6,170 m) (2024) |
| Organised by | The R&A |
| Tour(s) | LPGA Tour (1984,1994–) LET (1979–) |
| Format | Stroke play |
| Prize fund | $9,750,000[1] €8,464,937 £7,356,759[2] |
| Month played | August |
| Tournament record score | |
| Aggregate | 269Karrie Webb (1997) 269Karen Stupples (2004) |
| To par | −19 Karrie Webb (1997) −19 Karen Stupples (2004) |
| Current champion | |
 Miyū Yamashita | |
 2025 Women's British Open | |
The Women's Open (originally known as theWomen's British Open, and still widely referred to by that name outside the UK) is amajor championship inwomen's professional golf. It is recognised by both theLPGA Tour and theLadies European Tour as a major. The reigning champion isMiyū Yamashita, who won at the2025 tournament.
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 the2012 Summer Olympics inLondon, while the 2014 event was played in mid-July, the week prior to the Open Championship.
In 2019 it was known as theAIG Women's British Open. From 2007 to 2018, it was called theRicoh Women's British Open while the previous twenty editions (1987–2006) were sponsored byWeetabix, a breakfast cereal.[3] In July 2020, the sponsorship agreement withAIG was extended through to 2025; as part of the deal the championship was rebranded byThe 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 theAIG Women's Open.[4]
The first Women's British Open was played in 1976 when theLadies' British Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship was extended to include professionals. The Amateur Stroke Play Championship had been organised by theLadies' Golf Union since 1969. In early 1976 two professionals,Vivien Saunders andGwen 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.[5][6] Eventually total prize money was £500, with five professionals competing in the event.[7] An amateur,Jenny Lee Smith, won the event with Saunders the leading professional, tying for fourth place.[8] Saunders won the event in 1977 on "countback", having tied withMary Everard but having the better final round, 76 to Everard's 79.[9]Janet Melville won in 1978, with Saunders again the leading professional and taking the first prize of £1,000.[10] Just four professionals competed.[11]
From 1979 the event was separated from theStroke 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 ofRoyal 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, includingWoburn 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 thelinkscourses that are in the rotation for The Open Championship, such asTurnberry (2002) andRoyal Lytham & St Annes (1998,2003,2006) hosted the tournament, in addition to Royal Birkdale (2000,2005,2010). In2007, the tournament took place at theOld 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), andMuirfield (2022). The tournament has yet to be played at two Open Championship courses:Royal St. George's in southeastern England, andRoyal Portrush in Northern Ireland. Currently, Turnberry is unable to be on the Open rota because of political ramifications of its owner, the currentPresident of the United States,Donald Trump (who has hosted LIV Golf tournaments on his courses; the owner of that tour, the Saudi Public Investment Fund, organises the Ladies European Tour'sAramco Team Series tournaments).
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 the men's and women's Opens are operated by The R&A.[12]
Through 1993, the tournament was an official stop only on theLadies European Tour, with the exception of the 1984 edition, which was co-sanctioned by theLPGA Tour. Starting in1994, 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 since2001, when it replaced theCanadian Women's Open, which lost its title sponsor because of tobacco 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 in2009, the prize fund changed from being fixed inpounds toU.S. dollars.
Tied for most victories in the Women's British Open with three each areKarrie Webb ofAustralia andSherri Steinhauer of theUnited States. Both won the tournament twice before it became an LPGA major and once after.Yani Tseng ofTaiwan andJiyai Shin ofSouth Korea are the only multiple winners of the championship as a major.[13] The other multiple winner isDebbie Massey of the U.S., with consecutive wins (1980 and 1981) well before it 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 2025):
| Year | Edition | Course | Location | Dates | Previously hosted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026[25] | 50th | Royal Lytham & St Annes | Lytham St Annes,Lancashire,England | 29 July – 2 August | 1998, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2018 |
| 2027[26] | 51st | Royal St George's Golf Club | Sandwich, Kent,England | 28 July – 1 August |
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 theLadies' Golf Union.[27]
| Overview | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technical | |||||||||
| Facilities | |||||||||
| Governing organizations | |||||||||
| Majors (Grand Slam, Triple Crown) |
| ||||||||
| International events |
| ||||||||
| Rankings | |||||||||
| Golfers | |||||||||
| Lists of golf courses |
| ||||||||
| Countries | |||||||||
| Years | |||||||||
| Variations | |||||||||
| Media | |||||||||
| Miscellaneous | |||||||||
