Golf

The Women’s British Open: Tee times, TV details, weather forecast, players to watch

Everything you need to know about the final women’s golf Major of the year

The Old Course at St Andrews will host the Women’s British Open for a third time this week. Photograph: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
The Old Course at St Andrews will host the Women’s British Open for a third time this week. Photograph: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
David Gorman
Tue Aug 20 2024 - 14:19
When and where is it on?

The final women’s Major of the year, the Women’s British Open, will begin at the Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland early on Thursday morning. First established in 1976, the best women golfers in the world will be playing for the winner’s trophy and a purse of $9 million.

How can I follow it all?

The Women’s British Open is being broadcast live exclusively on Sky Sports and NowTV all week. Coverage will begin from 12pm on the Golf channel until conclusion of play. Round-by-round highlights will be available on BBC Two from 11.05pm on Thursday and Friday, from 11.55pm on Saturday and red button on Sunday.

What are the tee times?

Leona Maguire will play with Ashleigh Buhai and Jin Young Ko at 12.37pm (7.22am on Friday). Stephanie Meadow is out at the same time from the 10th tee, with Pei-yun Chien and Yuna Nishimura. Lauren Walsh will play with Marta Martin and Jana Melichova at 2.16pm (9.01am on Friday).

Teeing from Hole One (US unless stated)

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0700 I.K Kim (Kor), Alexandra Forsterling (Ger), Moriya Jutanugarn (Tha)

0711 Jenny Shin (Kor), Bronte Law (Eng), Olivia Cowan (Ger)

0722 Sophia Popov (Ger), Ai Suzuk (Jpn), Jodi Ewart Shadoff

0733 Ariya Jutanugarn (Tha), Linnea Strom (Swe), Julia Lopez Ramirez (Esp) (x)

0744 Rio Takeda (Jpn), Jinhee Im (Kor), Chun Wu (Tpe) (x)

0755 Albane Valenzuela (Sui), Jasmine Suwannapura (Tha), Manon Roey (Bel)

0806 Grace Kim (Aus), Kokona Sakurai (Jpm), Shannon Tan (Sin)

0817 Chanettee Wannasaen (Tha), Sei Kim (Kor) Emma Spitz (Aut)

0828 Lucy Li, Paula Reto, Trichat Cheenglab (Tha)

0839 Wichanee Meechai (Tha), Bailey Tardy, Nicole Broch Estrup (Den)

0850 Alexa Pano, Morgane Metraux (Swi), Yealimi Noh

0901 Nanna Koertz Madsen (Den), Hira Naveed (Aus), Amy Taylor

1215 Akie Iwai (Jpn), Andrea Lee, Steph Kyriacou (Aus)

1226 Celine Boutier (Fra), Lydia Ko (Nzl), Ally Ewing

1237 Ashleigh Buhai (Rsa), Jin Young Ko (Kor), Leona Maguire (Ire)

1248 Hyo Joo Kim (Kor), Jeeno Thitikul (Tha), Maja Stark (Swe)

1259 Patty Tavatanakit (Tha), Allisen Corpuz, Nasa Hataoka (Jpn)

1310 Lilia Vu, Nelly Korda, Charley Hull (Eng)

1321 Yuka Saso (Jpn), Megan Khang, Alison Lee

1332 Jiyai Shin (Kor), Carlota Ciganda (Esp), Mao Saigo (Jpn)

1343 Yani Tseng (Tpe), Sakura Koiwai (Jpn), Ela Anacona (Arg) (x)

1354 Chisato Iwai (Jpn), Ryann O’Toole, Somi Lee (Kor)

1405 Perrine Delacour (Fra), Anne van Dam (Ned), Chiara Tamburlini (Swi)

1416 Sara Kjeller (Swe), Noora Komulainen (Fin), Lily May Humphreys (Eng)

Starting at Hole 10

0700 Lauren Coughlin, Miyu Yamashita (Jpn), Madelene Sagstrom (Swe)

0711 Amy Yang (Kor), Hannah Green (Aus), Brooke Henderson (Can)

0722 Hinako Shibuno (Jpn), Ruoning Yin (Chn), Linn Grant (Swe)

0733 Stacy Lewis, Karrie Webb (Aus), Catriona Matthew (Sco)

0744 Minjee Lee (Aus), Lexi Thompson, Gemma Dryburgh (Sco)

0755 Georgia Hall (Eng), Ayaka Furue (Jpn), Rose Zhang

0806 Jennifer Kupcho, Emily Pedersen (Den), Lottie Woad (Eng) (x)

0817 Angel Yin, Gaby Lopez (Mex), Marina Alex

0828 Anna Nordqvist (Swe), Haeran Ryu (Kor), Louise Rydqvist (Swe) (x)

0839 Xiyu Lin (Chn), Esther Henseleit (Ger), Gabriela Ruffels

0850 Minami Katsu (Jpn), Lauren Hartlage, Caroline Inglis

0901 Kristen Gillman, Patricia Schmidt (Ger), Haeji Kang (Kor)

1215 Mi Hyang Lee (Kor), Arpichaya Yubol (Tha), Alice Hewson (Eng)

1226 A Lim Kim (Kor), Aditi Ashok (Ind), Cheyenne Knight

1237 Pei-yen Chien (Tpe), Yuna Nishimura (Jpn), Stephanie Meadow (NIrl)

1248 Hikaru Yoshimoto (Jpn), Diksha Dagar (Ind), Casandra Alexander (Rsa)

1259 Sarah Schmelzel, Haruka Kawasakai (Jpn), Nuria Iturrioz (Esp)

1310 Narin An (Kor), Pajaree Anannarukarn (Tha), Shuri Sakuma (Jpn)

1321 Hyejin Choi (Kor), Yui Kawamoto (Jpn), Johanna Gustavsson (Swe)

1332 Lee-Anne Pace (Rsa), Weiwei Zhang (Chn), Emma Grechi (Fra)

1343 Gabriella Cowley (Eng), Lisa Pettersson (Swe), Ursula Wikstrom (Fin)

1354 Maria Hernandez Munoz (Esp), Ana Pelaez Trivino (Esp), Annabell Fuller (Eng)

1405 Auston Kim, Klara Davidson Spilkova (Cze), Momoko Osato (Jpn)

1416 Marta Martin (Esp), meado (Ire), Jana Melichova (Cze)

Who are the Irish players playing at St Andrews?

Leona Maguire, Ladies European Tour rookie Lauren Walsh, Stephanie Meadow are in the field for St Andrews. Walsh earned a debut maiden appearance in a Major through the current season eligibility pathway, which gave five places to players not already exempt for the AIG Women’s Open at the late-July cut-off point on the LET. Meadow made it through final qualifying on Monday as she was one of 12 players to emerge from the field of 92 who took part in the single round at Craighead links.

Leona Maguire will be looking for a change in her Major form after missing the cut in three of the four this season. Photograph: Paul Devlin/Getty Images
Leona Maguire will be looking for a change in her Major form after missing the cut in three of the four this season. Photograph: Paul Devlin/Getty Images

Maguire has had a mixed season so far which included her first victory in Europe, but also some disappointing performances including three missed cuts in the four Majors, and an illness-impacted Olympics that saw her last of the finishing competitors. In 2022, Maguire finished tied fourth at the Women’s British Open, only three shots behind winner Ashleigh Buhai, her best finish in a Major. But since leading the 2023 Women’s PGA Championship after 54 holes before finishing tied 11th, Maguire has not been particularly close to contending a Major, and she would need to find some form to match her best ever result.

Who are the main contenders?

World number one Nelly Korda has had an odd year. She won six out of seven tournaments in an ultra-dominant run until the end of May, when a 10 at a par 3 at the Women’s US Open, en route to a missed cut, seemed to rattle her confidence. She has not been in the top 20 since then. So punters might be inclined to look elsewhere, where the contenders include defending champion and world number two Lilia Vu, Evian Championship winner Ayaka Furue, last week’s Scottish Open winner Lauren Coughlin and Olympic gold medallist Lydia Ko.

What is the course like?

This is the third time the Old Course at St Andrews hosted the Women’s British Open, in 2007 when it was won by Lorena Ochoa and in 2013 when it was won by Stacy Lewis. There is not really much left to be said about the Old Course, which is considered the “Home of Golf” and one of the most famous golf courses in the world, with features like the Road Bunker and Swilken Bridge intrinsically linked with the game. Unlike the men’s game where there are fears that power will leave the course obsolete for elite golfers, St Andrews is considered a good test for the women’s best players and closer to the original intentions of how the course should be played.

What is the weather forecast?

It will be breezy all week at St Andrews, which should provide a test, with rain is expected on Thursday and Friday, clearing up at the weekend.

David Gorman

David Gorman

David Gorman is a sports journalist with The Irish Times