The 2017 Women’s British Open begins tomorrow at Kingsbarns Golf Links in Fife, Scotland. Lexi Thompson and So Yeon Ryu are both strong contestants to win the title this year.
The Ricoh Women’s British Open is the fourth major of the year and the stand-out three-ball goes off just after midday in round one with the top three ranked players in the world together. This event runs from August 3-6 and offers a total prize fund worth $3.25 million.
Kingsbarns features big, undulating greens and views pretty much everywhere of the North Sea coastline and, like any true links test, it will be weather dependent and the forecast suggests we could be in for a similar ride to what we treated to on the west coast of Scotland last week.
The unpredictability of the conditions should make the tournament a challenge for these ladies’.
Every golfer involved will be attempting to pass Ryu this week. The world No. 1 is an amazing player, one who has won two majors already this year. The 27-year-old South Korean shares a swing coach — Cameron McCormick — with Jordan Spieth, who two weeks ago won the British Open at Royal Birkdale.
There will be some fierce competition against second-ranked Lexi Thompson. The 22-year-old has never been ranked this high at any other time during her career, according to the LPGA.
Aside from the top two, reigning champion Ariya Jutanugarn will also be a strong contender. The 21-year-old has proved she is capable of winning this tournament, but her chances of successfully defending her title look slim given her form and a shoulder injury.
She has “struggled on links style courses,” according to Amy Rogers of the LPGA official website:
“Her victory at Woburn Golf Club, site of last year’s Ricoh Women’s British Open, wasn’t on a traditional links layout, but more like a parkland course with heavily tree-lined fairways.”
Rogers also pointed out how the champion is hardly in the best form entering this year’s tournament:
“But it’s not just the venue that draws into question how Jutanugarn might perform this week, but also her play over the last month, which includes missed cuts at the last two majors.”
Despite the strength of the field, Ryu has been playing well enough to take the title this week. We’ll just have to wait and see the events unfold these next few days. Stay tuned for more updates.
Schedule and Viewing Details:
Date: Thursday, August 3
Time: 11 a.m. BST, 6 a.m. ET.
TV Info: Sky Sports Golf, NBC Golf Channel.
Live Stream: Sky Go, NBC Sports App.
Fans can follow the action via live scoring at www.LPGA.com as well with television coverage via the Golf Channel and NBC. On Aug. 3-4, Golf Channel will air live from 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., on Aug. 5 Golf Channel will have coverage from 7-11 am and on Aug. 6 from 7:30-11:30 a.m. NBC will close the coverage on Aug. 5 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Aug. 6 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
For more information about the event visit, LPGA.com
