James Hibbitt looks ahead to the Women's Open with details on Troon, the defending champion, and some potential contenders.
The course
The 2020 AIG Women’s Open, which is to be held at Royal Troon, is the 20th playing of the event as a major in the women’s game, and the 44th playing in its entirety.
Whilst this is Royal Troon’s debut in hosting the Women’s Open, it is well known to golf fans around the world. It has hosted the Open Championship nine times with the last producing a battle which is heralded as one of the greatest final round duels in major championship history – perhaps even eclipsing the famous Duel in the Sun at Turnberry.
With a 20-under total, Henrik Stenson broke the aggregate scoring record for the Open, and indeed all majors, on his way to becoming the Champion Golfer of the Year, winning his first major championship. Runner-up Phil Mickelson shot 17-under to equal the previous Open record set by Greg Norman in 1993. Remarkably, the American finished some 11 shots ahead of third place.
The opening six holes at the Old Course take the players along the sea and are often played with the support of the prevailing wind. In typical links fashion, players turn northwards for a long and difficult finish back into the sea breeze, running parallel to the opening stretch.
Royal Troon is perhaps best known for the par-three 8th hole. The 'Postage Stamp' measures only 123 yards and is the shortest in Championship golf. It earned the name when William Park, writing for Golf Illustrated, penned "a pitching surface skimmed down to the size of a postage stamp". A small and mighty hole where many dreams have been destroyed.
Defending champion
Hinako Shibuno enters the week as defending champion having defeated Lizette Salas by one shot at Woburn.
The victory was her first on the LPGA Tour and the first outside of her native country, Japan. In the process she became the second Japanese player to win a women’s major championship after Hisako Higuchi triumphed in the 1977 LPGA Championship at Bay Tree Golf Plantation in South Carolina. She also became the second player this decade to win in her major debut after Kim Hyo-joo at the 2014 Evian Championship.
Whilst Shibuno has not tasted success on the LPGA circuit since, she followed her Women’s Open victory with two wins on the LPGA Japan Tour. She will be hoping that a return to major championship golf ignites an uplift in performance. Playing in last week's Ladies Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club, she missed the cut by nine shots following rounds of 79 and 77.
Players to watch
Danielle Kang
With back-to-back victories at the LPGA Drive On Championship and the Marathon Classic, August has been kind to Kang. She entered the field at the Ladies Scottish Open in search of a famous three-peat, only to finish one shot outside of a play-off.
Victory at Royal Troon would result in Kang ascending to the top of the World Rankings. In the process, she would become only the third American to become number one since the rankings were established in 2006.
Whilst Kang enters the event as the bookies' favourite she is yet to fare better than T41 in 9 attempts at the Women’s Open.
Charley Hull
Hull is the highest-ranked British player in the field. She enters having featured in all eight of the superbly run Rose Ladies Series events; winning twice and posting five other top-10 finishes. This secured Hull the Order of Merit ahead of Solheim Cup teammate Georgia Hall.
Speaking after her T22 at the Ladies Scottish Open, Hull admitted that links golf was not her favourite. That said, she arrives at Royal Troon in fine form and is more than capable of bettering her T21, T10 and T16 finishes in the Championship.
Hull will play alongside two former Women’s Open winners in Ariya Jutanugaen and Stacy Lewis in the opening two rounds.
Georgia Hall
Georgia bears her name after Nick Faldo’s famous comeback at the 1996 Masters. It seemed she was destined for golfing success from a young age.
The world number 44 enters the Women’s Open on the back of two wins and three second place finishes in the Rose Ladies Series. A T51 in last week's Ladies Scottish Open is the only minor blip in her recent record.
Hall, who won the event at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2018, described Scotland as her favourite place in the world. She added 'winning on the Scottish links would be the ultimate'. The fan favourite will be hoping dreams become reality at Royal Troon.
Stacy Lewis
Scotland has been kind to Lewis over the years. She first tasted success in the 2008 Curtis Cup at St Andrews where she became the first player ever to win all five matches. The American was a dominant force for Team USA as they defeated Great Britain and Ireland 13-7.
Lewis returned to St Andrews for the 2013 Women’s Open where birdies on the final two holes secured a two-shot victory and her second major championship. The win ended a streak of ten consecutive major championship wins for Asian-born competitors.
The former world number one arrives at Royal Troon in fine form after victory at last week’s Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open. A birdie at the first play-off hole added another Scottish win to her ever impressive resume and her first silverware in over three years.
The American missed the cut in the 2019 Women’s Open and did not play in 2018 but has posted seven top-20 finishes in her seven starts prior.
Kylie Henry
Born some 30 miles up the road in Glasgow, Henry will be looking to take advantage of some local knowledge. With her brother on the bag, Henry returns to the scene of the Helen Holm Scottish Championship - an amateur event she featured in for many years.
Henry also enters in good spirits following an 11th place finish at the Scottish Open. Her one-under total earned her a spot in the Open and was also the best of the home nations.
Laura Davies
Whilst unlikely to mount a charge, the seven-time Ladies European Tour Order of Merit winner, and four-time major champion, will hit the opening tee shot of the Championship at 6.30am. She is joined by English Amateur, Olivia Mehaffey, and Canadian Alena Sharp.