Royal Lytham & St Annes

Royal Lytham & St Annes is a fitting venue for what will be a landmark edition of the AIG Women’s Open.

The Championship’s 50th staging will take place at the legendary Lancashire links from 29 July to 2 August, with the game’s top players attempting to add their name to the roll call of icons to have won at the course.

The venue has hosted the AIG Women’s Open five times before and some of the biggest names in the game have lifted the trophy in front of the famous Lytham clubhouse.

Who will step up to the challenge, master this world-famous test of golf and write their own name into the history books this summer?

Following in the footsteps of legends

Some places bring out the best in the most talented players. Lytham is certainly one of them. The venue could rival any on the planet for the quality of its champions.

Three-time winner Sherri Steinhauer won twice there – in 1998 and 2006 – while it was also the setting for Annika Sörenstam’s triumph in 2003. Annika’s victory meant she became just the sixth woman to achieve the career Grand Slam.

Another all-time great in Catriona Matthew celebrated a special victory in 2009, becoming the first Scot to win a major – and doing so just 11 weeks after giving birth to daughter Sophie.

And nine years later Georgia Hall enjoyed her own crowning moment when the AIG Women's Open returned to Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2018.

The then 22-year-old, whose dad Wayne was caddie for the week, delighted the home crowds with an awesome display of skill and composure on the biggest stage, capped off with a magnificent five-under-par final round of 67 to secure the win.

This remains the most recent AIG Women’s Open victory by an English player – and, in an unusual quirk, remains the only time a British player has lifted the trophy since Catriona’s victory at the same venue 17 years ago.

However it’s not only the quality of its champions Lytham is noteworthy for.

While Georgia was celebrating her maiden major, a 15-year-old Jeeno Thitikul was underlining her credentials as one of the game’s most impressive young players by winning the Smyth Salver for low amateur.

Jeeno, who is the top ranked player in the world, made her mark at the Championship one year after becoming the youngest player to ever triumph in a professional golfing event.

Another of the game’s superstars, Amy Yang, won the Smyth Salver in 2006 before going on to cement her place as one of the finest players in the game.

In addition to its five AIG Women’s Opens, Royal Lytham and St Annes has staged The Open 11 times, with Ernie Els lifting the Claret Jug there most recently in 2012.

He joins a pantheon of legends to have won there; Seve Ballesteros, Gary Player, Peter Thomson and Bobby Jones to name but a few.

Some of the greatest names in golf have recorded career-defining victories at Lytham, but it's never come easy.

A fierce challenge

“This golf course is really, really tough and to play the round bogey-free, I’m actually really happy.”

That’s what eventual Champion Georgia Hall said after her opening round in 2018, illustrating the outstanding test of golf this venue poses.

Royal Lytham & St Annes, complete with its 174 pot bunkers and traditional links layout, provides a fierce challenge to the very best players in the world. Equally, it has been known to bring out the best in them.

Annika’s landmark victory 23 years ago was sealed with what she regards as the finest shot of her career, on Lytham’s famous 18th hole.

“It’s one of the tougher par-4s,” said Annika. “It’s really tricky. There are a lot of bunkers, especially some fairway bunkers [which] come into play. So the strategy off the tee is really important.”

She added: “So I was debating hitting an iron or hitting a driver – and my caddie said ‘hit the driver’.

“I teed the ball up and hit one of the best drives I’ve ever hit, simply because it was a major.

“Being a European, the [AIG Women's] Open meant so much to me, so I was quite nervous on that tee shot [but] I made one of my best swings ever. [The ball] started down the right side and curved in a little bit to set me up for an easier shot into the green.

“That was a crucial shot and one of the best of my career, it was the 72nd hole, and I needed to hit the fairway to have a chance to win.”

While the final hole is fraught with danger, the first poses a different challenge.

The par-3 opener, surrounded by five tricky bunkers, will test any player’s short-game from the off with an accurate approach required.

In 2009 Jeong Jang thrilled crowds with a hole-in-one here. Expect more big moments when play gets under way on 29 July.

A great place to watch world class golf

The challenge of the course. Its history of producing great champions. And more big moments guaranteed. Royal Lytham & St Annes is primed to host an unforgettable edition of the AIG Women’s Open as the Championship reaches its 50th birthday.

Fans can be part of the action with tickets and hospitality packages for all four days still available.