Royal Troon Golf Club looks forward to welcoming the world’s best women golfers to Ayrshire for this year’s AIG Women’s Open (20-23 August 2020).
A long list of women’s amateur events have been held at Troon, dating back to 1904 when The Womens Amateur Championship was won by England’s Lottie Dod. Royal Troon’s relationship with the women’s game developed over the years and today, the storied links at Troon play host to some of Europe’s top amateur golfers each year as they compete for the prestigious Helen Holm Scottish Women’s Open.
One of the great links courses in Scotland, Royal Troon has hosted The Open on nine occasions, most recently in 2016 when Sweden’s Henrik Stenson triumphed over America’s Phil Mickelson in what will go down as one of the greatest Open’s of all time. It has also hosted The Senior Open, The Amateur Championship, The Womens Amateur Championship, Home Internationals and the Scottish Men’s Amateur Championship. The AIG Women’s Open will write a new chapter in the Club’s history being the first professional women’s event to be held at Royal Troon.
Clive Brown, chairman of The R&A’s championship committee, said: “Royal Troon has one of the most impressive resumes of championships hosted of any world-renowned golf club but their determination and enthusiasm to host the Women’s British Open shows just how prestigious the Women’s British Open has become in world golf.”
Scotland’s leading golfer, Catriona Matthew, said: “Royal Troon is a fantastic venue and test of golf.”
A Club spokesperson said: “It is the event that we have had our eye on for some time and we are very much looking forward to hosting the best women golfers and seeing how these fantastic players handle the challenges of our course.”
The 2020 AIG Women’s Open takes place from 20-23 August without spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The prize fund is worth a total of $4.5m.
Defending the title she won at Woburn last summer will be Japanese sensation Hinako Shibuno who won the hearts of golf fans last year. On what was her competitive debut outside her home country, the then-20-year-old won over the home galleries with her winning smile as much as her scintillating golf and whose cheerful on-course demeanour earned her the nickname the Smiling Cinderella.
Recent venues for the tournament have also included Royal Lytham & St Annes, Kingsbarns, Trump Turnberry, Royal Birkdale and the Old Course at St Andrews.
For further information on the AIG Women’s Open, please visit www.aigwomensopen.com
