[Photo: Courtesy Ladies European Tour]
Australasian players still basking in the glow of Ryan Fox’s Royal Birkdale coronation have two chances to emulate the Kiwi’s Open triumph this week in Scotland.
Australasia’s LPGA and Ladies European Tour stars are in action at the ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open, with the final major championship of the 2026 season, the AIG Women’s Open, looming on the horizon.
Ninety minutes to the north, 10 Aussies and four Kiwis will contest the final men’s senior major of the year, the ISPS HANDA Senior Open at Gleneagles.
Before the world’s best female golfers take on Royal Lytham & St Annes, they are teeing it up at Dundonald Links in the LPGA Tour and LET co-sanctioned event.
Minjee Lee will tee it up in the company of fellow Aussies major winner Grace Kim in the morning wave, with Hannah Green heading out in the afternoon alongside home favourite Gemma Dryburgh and 2022 Women’s Open champion Ashleigh Buhai, whose husband, David, is Green’s caddie.
The tournament holds special significance for Green, whose mother is Scottish.
“It’s going to be hard because the forecast is saying wind, and you never really know what’s going to happen,” said Green. “You have to bring your rain gear and hope that it doesn’t rain.
“I’ve got a nice pairing the first two rounds, but you don’t know if there’s going to be one side of the draw that’s better than the other.
“That’s too hard to tell until Friday night, but it’s nice to be back in Scotland.
“My mum is from Scotland, she’s from a place about 45 minutes north of Aberdeen.
“It’s an important tournament to me this week. I’ve been fortunate to win my home open in Australia this year and come off a really successful year. To be able to win the Scottish Open would be big.”
Although they have never formally met, Green said it was impossible to not draw some inspiration from Fox’s performance last week.
“Everyone is super proud of him,” said Green.
“A shame that he didn’t have his family with him.
“I don’t think we’ve formally met but seems like everyone on tour is really happy for him. Seems like a really good guy.”
It is a return to her spiritual home too for Gold Coast’s Karis Davidson.
Davidson (pictured), was born in Scotland and lived there until the age of nine and has been drawn with Kiwi Amelia Garvey and Korea’s Minji Kang for the opening two rounds.
Sandwiched between The Open and AIG Women’s Open, the world’s best over-50s golfers are competing in the ISPS HANDA Senior Open, with 14 Australasians taking part.
Scott Hend finished in fourth place last year and is on an impressive run of form that includes consecutive first, second and third-placed finishes in his last three starts on PGA TOUR Champions.
The PGA TOUR is back in action this week in Minnesota for the 3M Open, with Jason Day, Cam Davis, Karl Vilips and New Zealand’s Thomas Campbell teeing it up.
Campbell is a PGA Professional at The Wilds Golf Club in Minnesota and is playing in the 3M Open for the second time after being named Minnesota PGA Professional player of the Year for the second straight year.
LIV Golf also returns at LIV Golf United Kingdom presented by JCB, with Travis Smyth drafted in to join Cam Smith’s Ripper GC team alongside Marc Leishman and Lucas Herbert. Smith won at JCB Golf & Country Club in 2023 and Ripper GC are two-time runners-up in the team competition at the same event.
Round 1 tee times AEDT
LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour
ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open
Dundonald Links, North Ayrshire, Scotland
4:14pm Grace Kim, Minjee Lee
4:36pm* Cassie Porter
4:47pm Kelsey Bennett
5:31pm* Maddison Hinson-Tolchard
9:41pm Kirsten Rudgeley
9:41pm Robyn Choi
10:14pm Amelia Garvey (NZ), Karis Davidson
10:25pm* Hannah Green
10:58pm Momoka Kobori (NZ)
Recent champion: Lottie Woad
Past Aussie winners: Rebecca Artis (2015)
Prize money: $US2m
TV times: Live from 6:30pm Thursday, Friday; Live from 10pm Saturday; Live from 9pm Sunday on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo Sports.
PGA TOUR Champions/Staysure Legends Tour
ISPS HANDA Senior Open
Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire, Scotland
4:02pm Mark Brown (NZ)
4:46pm Michael Wright
5:24pm Cameron Percy, Richard Green
5:35pm Michael Campbell (NZ)
7:41pm Steve Allan
8:03pm Michael Long (NZ)
9:03pm Greg Chalmers
9:36pm Mark Hensby
9:52pm Stuart Appleby
10:47pm Scott Hend, Steven Alker (NZ)
11:36pm Rod Pampling
12:31am Mathew Goggin
Recent champion: Padraig Harrington
Past Aussie winners: Ian Stanley (2001)
Prize money: $US2.85m
TV times: Live from 10:30pm Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday on Fox Sports 507 and Kayo Sports.
PGA TOUR
3M Open
TPC Twin Cities, Blaine, Minnesota, United States
10:29pm Karl Vilips
10:40pm Cam Davis
4:39am Thomas Campbell (NZ)
Recent champion: Kurt Kitayama
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US8.8million
TV times: Live 9:30pm-9am Thursday; Live 11pm-9am Friday; Live 3am-8am Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo Sports.
LIV Golf
LIV Golf United Kingdom presented by JCB
JCB Golf & Country Club, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, England
Shotgun start 10:15pm
Australasians in the field: Lucas Herbert, Cam Smith, Marc Leishman, Danny Lee (NZ), Ben Campbell (NZ), Travis Smyth
Recent champion: Joaquin Niemann
Recent team champion: Legion XIII
Past Aussie winners: Cam Smith (2023)
Prize money: $US20m (individual), $US5m (team)
TV times: Live from 10pm Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday on 7 plus.
Korn Ferry Tour
Evans Scholars Invitational
The Glen Club, Glenview, Illinois, United States
3:34am Rhein Gibson
Recent champion: Johnny Keefer
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prize money: $US1million
Epson Tour
Hartford HealthCare Women’s Championship
Golf Club of Avon, Avon, Connecticut
10:50pm Su Oh
2:22am Hira Naveed
2:44am* Caitlin Peirce
2:55am Jennifer Elliott, Gabriela Ruffels
Recent champion: Gina Kim
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prizemoney: $US250,000
HotelPlanner Tour
Raiffeisenbank Golf Challenge
Kaskada Golf Resort, Brno, Czechia
4:32pm Haydn Barron
4:43pm Sam Jones (NZ)
10:24pm* Daniel Gale
10:46pm Quinn Croker
Recent champion: Palmer Jackson
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prizemoney: €300,000
LET Access Series
Pitch 15 Open
Hanbury Manor Marriot Hotel & Country Club, England
5:51pm Jordan O’Brien
6:02pm Hannah Reeves
9:24pm Munchin Keh (NZ)
9:57pm* Kristalle Blum
10:08pm Wenyung Keh (NZ)
10:19pm* Whitney Hillier
10:52pm* Amy Walsh
Recent champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prizemoney: €50,000
PGA TOUR Americas
Osprey Valley Open
TPC Toronto (Heathlands), Caledon, Ontario
10:49pm* Grant Booth
Recent champion: Carson Bacha
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Prizemoney: $US225,000
