Ready for Royal Porthcawl

Every once in a while a player comes along and bucks every trend there is.

On the surface Lottie Woad looks like that player.

It took her 13 days to secure her first win as a professional. She looked very much like becoming the first amateur to win a major since 1967 at the Amundi Evian Championship last month. And she is already, without question, one of the world’s most exciting players at the age of 21.

Lottie, who only joined the professional ranks earlier this month, arrives at Royal Porthcawl for this week’s AIG Women’s Open as one of the standout names in a star-studded field.

However, while many consider her talent an exception to the rule, there are some patterns working in her favour as she goes seeking a maiden major on the magnificent Welsh links.

The last 13 majors have all had different winners, and three of the four majors this year have seen first-time winners – Grace Kim, Maja Stark and Mao Saigo. A victory for Lottie this week would see that trend continue.

One player looking to buck these trends and enjoy a repeat success at Royal Porthcawl is 2024 champion Lydia Ko.

The New Zealander cemented her status as one of the best players of her generation when she stormed through an elite field to claim victory and her third major title at St Andrews 12 months ago.

Lydia’s victory came two weeks after her gold medal success at the Paris Olympics, and was secured after an impressive two-under 69 saw her edge out a host of fellow superstars on a gripping Sunday.

The 28-year-old had to wait eight years between her second and third majors, but few would argue against her contending to make it four this week with back-to-back AIG Women’s Open titles.

World No1 Nelly Korda narrowly missed out to Ko at St Andrews in 2024, but for much of the week it looked like she would be the one to claim victory.

The American finished T2 at the home of golf and will have her sights set on a third major at the AIG Women’s Open, her most recent success coming at last year’s Chevron Championship.

The last two majors have been won by Australians, Minjee Lee winning the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and Kim the winner of the Evian Championship, while Sweden’s Stark won her first major at the 2025 Women’s US Open.

All have the pedigree to win this week and add the AIG Women's Open trophy to their collections.

Meanwhile, one player looking to break her major duck this week is Thai superstar Jeeno Thitikul.

The 22-year-old is ranked second in the world, and shares some similarities with Woad.

Like Lottie, she’s a previous Smyth Salver winner having been the low amateur in 2018 and 2019 (Woad managed the same feat in 2024), and she’s also fresh from a major near-miss, losing a play off at the Amundi Evian Championship to Kim.

The AIG Women’s Open will be the biggest women’s sporting event ever set in Wales, and few players know the venue like Darcey Harry.

The 22-year-old will be competing on her home course this week - having made qualification her number-one target at the start of the year - and she’ll be looking to take advantage of the Welsh backing she’ll receive as she gets up and running on Thursday.

Another player sure to have huge support will be fan favourite Charley Hull. A triumph for the Englishwoman would be met with huge acclaim, and she’s shown her ability to compete at the very top in this championship – contending at St Andrews in 2024 and finishing runner-up to Lilia Vu at Walton Heath in 2023.

With so many storylines, you won’t want to miss a moment of the action from Royal Porthcawl.