Women’s professional golf has played four majors in 2026, but there have only been two winners. Nelly Korda won the first two majors, the Chevron Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open, and Haeran Ryu has won the two most recent, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and the Amundi Evian Championship.
As we head into the final major of the year, the AIG Women’s British Open, the biggest question is if one of these two players will take yet another major, or will someone new hoist the trophy at Royal Lytham and St. Annes?
The crowds will also be pulling especially hard for the Englishwomen in the field. In particular, Lottie Woad and Charley Hull are both trying to win their first major championship.
Here are nine players we’re watching at the 2026 AIG Women’s Open.
Georgia Hall
Age: 30 Rolex Ranking: 294 Women’s British Open starts: 13 Best finish: Won, 2018; 2025 finish: T-19
This will be a homecoming for Hall. She won the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham and St. Annes in 2018, her first and so far only major championship. What makes her return even more special is that in February 2026, Hall gave birth to her first child. Three months later, she came back from maternity leave and played in her first event. In her warmup for the AIG Women’s Open, she missed the cut Women’s Scottish Open. Crowds will certainly be supporting the Englishwoman at Royal Lytham and St. Annes.
Leona Maguire 
Stuart Franklin
Age: 31 Rolex Ranking: 79 Women’s British Open starts: 9 Best finish: T-4, 2022; 2025 finish: T-63
Maguire hasn’t had the easiest season in 2026. She’s missed eight cuts but has finished in the top 10 twice. It’s been more down than up for the two-time LPGA Tour winner, but we’re keeping an eye on her at the AIG Women’s Open because she’s a great links player. Maguire grew up in Ireland and is comfortable playing in the varying conditions one can find when playing links golf. In her tune-up, she finished T-8 at the Women’s Scottish Open. She made five birdies on the front nine on Sunday, a signal of what she’s capable of on links courses.
Lydia Ko
Age: 29 Rolex Ranking: 12 Women’s British Open starts: 14 Best finish: Won, 2024; 2025 finish: T-36
You can never count out Ko, who missed the cut in the season’s first two majors, but finished in the top 15 in the next two. She has three top-five finishes in 2026 and is a proven master of links golf. In 2024, she won the Women’s British at St. Andrews, and with that recent major links success, she can’t be ignored at Royal Lytham and St. Anne’s.
Charley Hull
Age: 30 Rolex Ranking: 7 Women’s British Open starts: 14 Best finish: 2nd, 2023, 2025; 2025 finish: T-2
It would feel appropriate for Hull to win her first major championship in England. The Englishwoman is always a fan favorite, and though she’s won three LPGA Tour events and has had strong finishes in majors, including this year’s T-2 at the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera- she’s yet to break through on the biggest stages. If she were to win her first at home in England, the reception would be electric.
Miyu Yamashita 
Thananuwat Srirasant
Age: 24 Rolex Ranking: 6 Women’s British Open starts: 4 Best finish: Won, 2025; 2025 finish: Won
Yamashita is defending her title after winning last year at Royal Porthcawl. She’s been playing well leading up to her defense, with one win and four other top-five finishes. Crucially, she’s one of the best putters on tour, and while we’ve seen some top-ranked players struggle with this stat, Yamashita is ranked No. 1 on tour in strokes gained/putting.
Lottie Woad
Age: 22 Rolex Ranking: 5 Women’s British Open starts: 2 Best finish: T-8, 2025; 2025 finish: T-8
The Englishwoman knows how to play links golf: She won her first start as a pro in 2025 at the Women’s Scottish Open. She also won the 2022 R&A Girls Amateur Championship at Carnoustie, and capturing anything there is proof that you can play some very capable links golf. In 2026, Woad has won once and her best finish in a major was T-7 at the Chevron. A first major win, at home in England, would be an epic moment for the rising star.
Haeran Ryu 
Stuart Franklin
Age: 25 Rolex Ranking: 3 Women’s British Open starts: 3 Best finish: T-21, 2023; 2025 finish: T-23
She’s won her last two starts, which also happen to be the last two majors: the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and the Amundi Evian Championship. The 2022 LPGA Q Series champion now has five LPGA Tour wins to her name. Her strokes gained stats reveal the only thing that could hold her back at Royal Lytham and St. Annes: While gaining a whopping 3.36 strokes on the field tee to green, she is losing over a stroke in putting. She’s ranked No. 2 and No. 143 in those stats, respectively.
Jeeno Thitikul
Age: 23 Rolex Ranking: 2 Women’s British Open starts: 8 Best finish: T-7, 2022; 2025 finish: T-30
It’s hard to believe that Thitikul hasn’t won a major. She’s won nine times on the LPGA Tour, has earned player of the year honors and been No. 1 in the world. She’s even made it to a major playoff, the 2025 Amundi Evian Championship. Early in her career, Thitikul says she wasn’t keen on links golf. But after missing the cut in her first experience at the AIG Women’s Open in 2017, she’s decided she likes the challenge.
Nelly Korda 
David Cannon
Age: 28 Rolex Ranking: 1 Women’s British Open starts: 9 Best finish: T-2, 2024; 2025 finish: T-36
Korda is a player to watch every time she enters a tournament. She won the first two majors of the year (along with two other LPGA tournaments), but then struggled at the most recent major, the Amundi Evian Championship, missing the cut. She bounced back a bit with a T-18 in the Women’s Scottish Open and now has another chance to complete the career Grand Slam and make the LPGA Hall of Fame.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
