A week at the Women's Open: Dave Tindall and Matt Cooper report from Royal Lytham

Solheim stress

Dave Tindall

While following the Nelly Korda-Lydia Ko two-ball on the 7th hole on Saturday, I also caught sight of Europe’s Solheim Cup skipper, Anna Nordqvist, teeing off at 11 which runs parallel in the opposition direction. Clearly unhappy with her drive, the Swede slammed her club into the ground and cursed her way off the tee and up the fairway. Knee-jerk thought: that looks like someone feeling the strain.

Yes, she’d bogeyed 10 to fall to two-over and out of contention but the true reason for the somewhat addled mind was revealed on Sunday. The night before Saturday’s show of frustration, the Swede had had to make a series of phone calls to the players who would or wouldn’t be getting a pick in Monday’s wildcard announcement. “Mentally, I was just exhausted after everything on Friday,” she told Sky Sports.

There’s a feeling in the media centre that Nordqvist – a three-time major winner and veteran of nine Solheim Cups – should be playing the event herself (an impressive closing 68 on Sunday only added to that) but she’s emphatically ruled that out as a possibility. Europe’s four wildcards will be revealed on Monday while the US team (three wildcards) will be finalised after the CPKC Women’s Open in Canada on August 23.

Looking at the betting for next month’s showdown at Bernardus in the Netherlands and it couldn’t be tighter. Some bookies have it Europe 10/11, USA 11/10 but you’ll see those odds flipped elsewhere. Asking around the room, several close followers of women’s golf reckon Angela Stanford’s USA are real value at 11/10. A reminder that the Americans hold the trophy after a 15½-12½ win in Virginia in 2024 while the last time Europe hosted (2023), the match ended in a thrilling 14-14 tie in Spain.

Bunker mentality

Dave Tindall

Bunkers, bunkers, don’t go in the bunkers. That’s been a hugely popular refrain at Royal Lytham this week, and it’s no surprise given that there are so many of them to avoid. So it was somewhat appropriate that the first competitive shot I saw on Saturday was Japan’s Yuna Araki finding sand with her iron off the tee at the par-three opening hole.

Pot bunkers aren’t there for decoration in Opens; they’re a genuine penalty. And when Araki approached the green her shoulders dropped. Not only was her ball in sand, it was uncomfortably near the face of the trap. It meant an awkward one foot in, one foot out stance which was good for her sponsors as she wears pulled up black adidas socks in the style of a footballer and the left one was on prominent display.

Unfortunately, the awkward body position meant her first attempt landed back in sand. The next attempt had to be played away from the hole and it meant a double bogey ‘5’ on the card. As if spooked she doubled the next par-three (5th) too and limped through the first five holes in five-over. Bunkers have played a huge part at Lytham this week, as they will for the men’s Open here in 2028.

Marvellous Matthew

Dave Tindall

At Wednesday’s practice round, the first golfer I bumped into was Sophia Popov at the 16th green. The entourage of players and caddies also included a lady carrying close to her chest a... yes, after double checking, a tiny baby. I later found out that it was Popov’s mum swaddling the little 10-week-old Julian.

For those of us of a certain age, we can’t see the name Popov without thinking of the BBC children’s programme, Rentaghost. So I was particularly delighted when the golfing Miss Popov won the Open Championship at Royal Troon in 2020.

It was a very different story for her this week though. With such little practice, Popov finished dead last on 20-over. There was a similar, if slightly less extreme, outcome for Georgia Hall, the champion here at Lytham in 2018. She returned at last week’s Scottish Open after taking a six-month break following the birth of her son in February and also missed the cut after carding six-over.

It’s a balance that is very difficult to negotiate: being a mum but also trying to keep pursuing a career as a professional sportswoman. The ‘look, it can be done’ example we often hear is Scotland’s Catriona Matthew winning the 2009 Open here just 11 weeks after giving birth. What we have to take from that is Matthew is absolutely astonishing. Popov and Hall’s early comeback struggles are surely the norm. What Matthew did was frankly incredible.

Pitch and putt

Matt Cooper

First established in 1934, the Little Links pitch and putt on the St Anne’s seafront is well worth a visit if you’re in the town for the Open in 2028 (or before). A new owner took over three years ago and he’s revitalised the layout. In the lingo of modern renovators he has, “returned the course to it former glory and the spirit of the original design.”

He’s cut back the rough and it’s now a free-flowing little gem comprising 18 holes (all 53-84 yards in length) that test the good golfer, but allow those new to the game to have fun as well. There are some cracking little holes that make the most of the contoured land and there’s a wonderfully relaxed and egalitarian atmosphere, too. Even the pace of play was top notch.

Terrific value for £10 including the hire of a wedge and putter. I liked playing it so much on Saturday morning I was back there with Dave 24 hours later.

Let them eat cake

Matt Cooper

An Open media centre tends to be a frantic spot – an enormous structure featuring journalists typing away with heads down and radio presenters nattering away behind glass. The AIG Women’s Open media centre is always a more sedate scene. A smaller building, a friendlier bunch, the pace less frenetic.

It has also, in an echo of Test Match Special, always featured the daily arrival of teatime cakes. In St Andrews we are always fond of the Fisher & Donaldson fudge doughnuts, possibly the finest treat on tour from a combination that sounds like the final two-ball in the 2014 Czech Masters but is actually the finest baker in Fife.

This week, however, a new bar has been set by Beurre Patisserie in Lytham with such delicacies as blueberry & lavender macarons, lemon & yuzu tart, strawberry & candy floss swirls and mango, passion fruit & lime domes. As such a fancy food suggests, Lytham is the upscale place to stay if you’re looking towards the 2028 Open.

Blackpool is to the north of St Anne’s, Lytham to the south, and it might be said that gentrification in the region has had gravitational pull – or, at least, has drifted south.

The good news is that this region has lots of accommodation. The bad news is that there is very little space on the course itself. If the Old Course forces the fans to stand on the outside looking in, Royal Lytham squeezes fans on the inside of the property looking out at the holes. All week people have been wondering how modern Open attendances are going to fit in two years’ time.

Mistaken identities?

Dave Tindall

The mind can play tricks during a long day on the golf course. And I could well have been suffering from mild sunstroke after failing to apply cream ahead of spending four hours following the action on Saturday.

Therefore, take the following with a pinch of salt. At various points I was convinced I saw Labour politician Angela Rayner, ex-footballer turned pundit Stephen Warnock and, perhaps, most strange of all, former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher having his cap signed by Charley Hull.

Warnock is a fan of women’s golf and his home club is Hillside (next door to Royal Birkdale). These celebrity spots were probably nonsense but I’ll take some convincing that it wasn’t the real Dermot Gallagher.

Open closing thoughts

Dave Tindall

Despite having watched many editions on TV, this was my first time attending a Women’s Open and I honestly couldn’t have enjoyed it more. The tournament certainly feels on a smaller scale to the men’s but often that’s in its favour. There is more space to breathe and yet you absolutely know you’re watching world-class sport.

I followed world number one Nelly Korda and 2024 Women’s Open champ Lydia Ko for nine holes on Saturday and there was a nice blend of being able to see them hit and putt while still feeling the buzz of a busy crowd. Sometimes I was craning my neck but, overall, I got lots of clear views of two icons playing some wonderful shots.

Korda’s swing is a thing of beauty and she cashed in with back-to-back birdies on the par-fives at 6 and 7 while Ko chipped in for par at 3 when looking in a heap of trouble and clattered the flag at 5 with another greenside chip.

I’d rate the fan experience higher than the men’s. On entry, spectators were offered a free programme and an autograph board (as a rule, the women seem more willing and friendly signers than the men). There were even free golf lessons being offered (and taken up to the max) in the fan area along with plenty of other activities for those bringing kids.

There’s a slight dilemma in that, ultimately, the R&A wants more spectators through the gates for the Women’s Open. And yet, at the current levels (there were still healthy attendance figures), it’s a more relaxed day out than battling crowds (for food as well as viewing spots) at the men’s Open. Anyway, forget comparisons. The two deserve their own praise and attention and it’s been a memorable summer attending both.