Royal Lytham & St Annes to host Women’s Open in 2026
The AIG Women’s Open will return to the north-west of England in 2026
The AIG Women’s Open will return to Royal Lytham & St Annes for the sixth time in 2026.
The Lancashire layout first played host to the championship in 1998, which was won by Sherri Steinhauer – who was victorious there again in 2006.
Annika Sorenstam and Catriona Matthew, and most recently Georgia Hall in 2018, have also claimed the title at Royal Lytham.
Martin Slumbers, R&A chief executive, said: “Royal Lytham and St Annes has a long and proud history of hosting the biggest golf championships in the world and we are delighted to be taking the AIG Women’s Open there in 2026.
“It is one of the finest links courses in the United Kingdom and has produced many memorable champions, including Georgia Hall’s 2018 victory to the rapturous applause of a home crowd.
“We look forward to making more memories at Royal Lytham and adding to the history of the AIG Women’s Open on this world-class links.”
Royal Lytham has also hosted The Open on 11 occasions, with Bobby Jones winning the first edition in 1926 as an amateur, and Ernie Els lifting the Claret Jug in 2012 the last time it was held there.
AIG, meanwhile, have extended their sponsorship of the Women’s Open until 2030 and the prize fund for this year’s championship is $9 million – up 23 per cent on last year.
The winner will scoop $1.35 million.
What do you think about the AIG Women’s Open going back to Royal Lytham & St Annes? Will you be going? Let us know with a Tweet!
- NOW READ: AIG Women’s Open tee times and pairings
Matt Coles
Mention a European country, and Matt will tell you which resorts make the National Club Golfer Top 100s: European Resorts list. He might even throw in who designed the golf course and how many rooms the hotel has got at each one…
Matt got into the game of golf from a young age, following his old man to the local golf club. He fell for the sport, and now can’t seem to go a day without thinking about how to improve his game (Thanks Dad!). Matt has been a member of Howley Hall GC in Leeds since 2020, and is just about managing to maintain a single-figure handicap. He likes to remind people that he once broke 75, but won’t tell people that it was on a shortened course during the winter.
He moved to Leeds after graduating from the University of Central Lancashire with a First Class Honours degree in Sports Journalism. Matt joined NCG after almost five years travelling the world with the Professional Squash Association, working on events in all four corners of the globe.
Matt currently plays a Cobra King LTDx driver and RadSpeed 3-wood. TaylorMade monopolise the rest of his bag, with a SIM UDI, M5 irons and both Milled Grind and HI-TOE wedges, along with a Monza Redline putter. He uses a Vice Pro Plus golf ball, because he’s a bit different…
Away from golf, Matt is a Manchester United fan, and a keen runner, having ran the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon (his first and possibly last), in May 2023.
