2023 AIG Women's Open Preview, Picks & Analysis

THERE have been a few surprise winners of the Women’s Open but surely few more so than last year’s champion Ashleigh Buhai.

At one point the South African had a five-shot lead at Muirfield before things began to unravel. After finding a bunker from the tee at the 15th hole, she then mishit her next shot into thick rough when trying to play out safely, before failing to make clean contact with her third. The end result was a triple-bogey seven that left her level with In Gee Chun at 10-under and also brought Hinako Shibuno - Buhai’s playing partner in the final group - back into the equation.

Chun came agonisingly close to converting a long-range birdie putt at 16, while she and Buhai both missed excellent chances on 17. After the Korean had parred the last and signed for a one-under 70 to post 274, Buhai raced a lengthy putt for victory five feet past the hole, but then held her nerve superbly to convert the return and force a play-off, with Shibuno (71) finishing just one behind on nine-under.

The pair then headed out for a sudden death playoff that finally came to an end in fading light at the fourth extra hole when Chun made bogey after driving into a fairway bunker and Buhai got up and down superbly from a greenside bunker to clinch victory with a par.

Buhai will defend her title at the magnificent Walton Heath and all eyes will be on Rose Zhang. After a record-breaking amateur career, the 20-year-old American sensationally won on her professional debut at the Mizuho Americas Open in June, before finishing joint eighth at the recent KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, her first major since turning pro.

Arguably the brightest young star in golf, Zhang is sure to command plenty of attention at Walton Heath as she makes her third AIG Women’s Open appearance and first as a professional.

Zhang said: “It will be really fun to go out there and see new people bringing their kids out. It’s just a fun time to bring everyone together and introduce people to the sport.

“Just getting into golf, I feel like a lot of people when they get into new sports, there’s an intimidation factor, right, because of maybe how athletic one is or how difficult something will be. But I feel like golf is such an open space for everyone to enjoy themselves, at all levels. You can be a professional player, but you can play with someone who’s shooting in the 100s. There’s no division in there. Everything is an equal platform and as long as everyone enjoys the sport and has fun, I think that’s what the golfing world is all about.

“I think for all the women, all the young kids that want to come into golf, you get to meet new people and you get to put yourself out there.

“I think there is a lot of innovation that can happen with everyone entering the sport and I just want to serve as someone who can potentially bring more people into the game and just spread more awareness of the women’s game.

“And I know now is such a great time for female sports and there’s so many respected athletes who are trying their best to bring forth more exposure to the game, so I think it’s a cool time to see that.”

Zhang was around nine years old when she first picked up one of her dad’s golf clubs and it did not take long for her to become hooked.

“I was very athletic as a kid, so I tried every sport,” she explained. “I ultimately just fell in love with the game.

“I’m very naturally competitive but I think for me to test my abilities against myself and just keep practicing individually, it really intrigued me and I loved whacking golf balls, so I just kept doing it. And I’m still doing it!”

Women’s majors are notoriously difficult to predict but you can expect to see Georgia Hall, Charley Hull and Nelly Korda attracting a huge amount of attention. 

And Linn Grant, of Sweden, will be looking to continue the astonishing start she has made to her professional career, winning for fun on the LET and now also a winner of the LPGA Tour.

It will also be fascinating to see how Evian winner and Scottish Open champion Celine Boutier fares this week. She was sensational in claiming an emotional victory in France and following it up at Dundonald and will now be full of confidence.

It also has to be worth putting an each-way bet on Canada’s Brooke Henderson, who has a remarkable record in the majors and finished second at the recent Evian Championship.

But I cannot wait to see how Sweden’s Maja Stark tackles the challenge. She is a fabulous young golfer who knows only one way to play, and that is to attack every flag. She makes birdies for fun and although her approach to the game leads to the odd disaster, Walton Heath is a course that should suit her down to the ground.

This could be a cracker.

Tournament Winners

It was won in 2015 by Inbee Park, in 2016 by Ariya Jutanugarn, in 2017 by In-Kyung Kim, in 2018 by Georgia Hall, in 2019 by Hinako Shibuno, in 2020 by Sophia Popov, in 2021 by Anna Nordqvist and last year by Ashleigh Buhai.

The Course

Walton Heath was founded in 1903 and has staged the European Open, the 1981 Ryder Cup and the 2011 Senior Open. It is a classic heathland course with tree-lined fairways. It is a par 72 that can be stretched to 7,406 yards but will be closer to 6,780 for the Women’s Open.

Form Guide

Linn Grant just can’t stop winning and has claimed titles on both sides of the Atlantic. It can’t be long before she lands her first major. Canada’s Brooke Henderson has won 13 times on the LPGA Tour, is a two-time major winner and has had 15 top-10 finishes in majors. But I have a sneaky feeling that Maja Stark is going to go close. She is a birdie machine.

To Win:

Linn Grant. Serial winner

Each Way:

Rose Zhang. A fabulous prospect

Each Way:

Maja Stark. Attacking player.

Five to Follow:

Linn Grant. A major is the next step for the Swede

Rose Zhang. Won on her LPGA debut

Maja Stark. Not afraid to go really low

Nelly Korda. Has every shot in the book

Brooke Henderson. A big-time player

Outsiders to Watch:

Charlotte Heath. Highly rated amateur

Laura Davies. Sentimental favourite

Mel Reid. Looking to recapture her best

Stephanie Meadow. Has the game - just needs to believe

Stacy Lewis. Still a brilliant ball striker