AIG Women’s British Open – Syndication Server

How did this LPGA major get nearly a 10/10 player survey response? By going the ‘extra mile’

“We scored 9.8 on the player survey,” said Zoe Ridgway, the championship director.

You get well looked after at golf events these days. Just have a read, for instance, at this list of facilities, fixtures, fittings, perks, provisions and privileges on offer at this season’s AIG Women’s Open.

There was a concierge for lifestyle and travel requirements, a restaurant, a beautician, a purpose-built gym with complimentary training kit, a relaxation area with calming sounds and scents, a mobile cold plunge unit and a courtesy car service for the entire week of the championship.

All of this, of course was, just for the golf writers. After a hard day clattering away at the keys of the laptop, we do enjoy a revitalizing facial and manicure while braving an ice bath.

The players, on the other hand, are even more pampered. The aforementioned were part of a significant upgrade in competitor comforts for the final major of the women’s campaign at the Old Course in August which ended up winning the LPGA Tour’s Gold Driver award for the best player experience during 2024.

“We scored 9.8 on the player survey,” said Zoe Ridgway, the championship director of the AIG Women’s Open.

Presumably, it would’ve scored a perfect 10 out of 10 but someone must have spotted this correspondent leaping out of that bloomin’ cold plunge thingamabob like Archimedes shrieking ‘Eureka.’ It wasn’t ‘Eureka’ that was being gasped either.

More: Who could be the LPGA’s next commissioner? Here are six speculative names (and a wildcard)

Anyway, the upping of the ante on player resources is all part of the general evolution of the championship into one of the biggest in the women’s game.

It’s a queer old difference from its inaugural staging back in 1976 when a couple of professionals put in their own money to allow them to play in what was an extension of the Ladies British Open Amateur Strokeplay Championship.

These days, the AIG Women’s Open boasts a whopping purse of $9 million with the winner waltzing off with a cheque for £1.35 million. As for all those off-course furnishings?

2024 AIG Women's British Open — Day Two of the AIG Women’s Open at St. Andrew’s Old Course on August 23, 2024, in St. Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by Morgan Harlow/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)

“We have tried to go that extra mile with the Women’s Open regarding player facilities,” added Ridgway. “Most of the feedback on that is what sets us apart.”

From nutritional and dietary requirements, to darkened rooms where players can unwind or indeed weep, just about everything is catered for in this bespoke temporary structure of convenience that can be easily replicated at all the venues on the rota.

More: Newly minted Hall of Famer Lydia Ko wins 2024 AIG Women’s Open at St. Andrews

“We have access to some very good professionals in different areas,” said Ridgway. “We work closely with Dr Andrew Murray (a leader in sports and exercise medicine) and he has his eyes on cutting-edge technology across the men’s and women’s games.

“We do skin screening and work with mental health, and he understands what players require on that front.

“We work with nutritional experts on menus for all nationalities while we provide the base foods for players to build their own menus, whether that’s from lean chicken, fish, vegetables and fruit.

“Pasta and egg stations were always popular at golf events but there’s now so much more consideration to what players eat as part of their overall performance.

“Golfers are very individual. They have their own ideas on travel, schedules, and their arrangements at events. We can’t always cater for every request but if there’s something we can do to benefit a player, then we’ll try it.

“Even little things, like a well-stocked bowl of sweets in the recording area is appreciated.”

Nothing, after all, eases the anguish of. signing for a damaging five-over 77 quite like a soothing sook on a Soor Ploom.

Ridgway cut her event management teeth with the ISM group and worked on stagings of the British Masters as well as tournaments on the Challenge Tour and Seniors Tour.

She had something of a baptism of fire when she joined the R&A for the AIG Women’s Opens in the covid years of 2020 and 2021.

“In 2020, it was a great unknown and we just had to adapt as the advice evolved,” she reflected. “But 2020 was simpler than 2021 because we were behind closed doors, and we were all tested and in the bubble.

“When we started to reintroduce spectators in 2021, we were working with all sorts of different bubbles. It was very complex.”

The AIG Women’s Open breaks new ground next year when it heads to Wales for the first time and the redoubtable links of Royal Porthcawl.

The ice bath and all those other accoutrements will be going too. So, does the championship director test drive the cold plunge?

“I go for a dip in the North Sea most weekends so that’s icy enough for me,” chuckled Ridgway.

2024 AIG Women’s British Open prize money payouts for each LPGA player at St. Andrews

A record purse was awarded Sunday at St. Andrews.

Lydia Ko has done it again.

The newly-minted LPGA Hall of Famer was dominant down the stretch Sunday, capturing her third major title at the 2024 AIG Women’s Open at St. Andrews. Ko won by two shots over World No. 1 Nelly Korda, No. 2 Lilia Vu and No. 6 Ruoning Yin for her first major championship victory in more than eight years.

With the win, Ko will take home the top prize of $1,425,000, an increase from the $1,350,000 doled out a year ago.

Here’s the prize money payouts for LPGA players from the $9.5 million purse at the 2024 AIG Women’s Open at St. Andrews.

Prize money payouts

Position	Player	Score	Earnings
1	Lydia Ko	-7	$1,425,000
T2	Lilia Vu	-5	$641,546
T2	Ruoning Yin	-5	$641,546
T2	Nelly Korda	-5	$641,546
T2	Jiyai Shin	-4	$641,546
6	Ariya Jutanugarn	-3	$344,457
T7	Akie Iwai	-2	$254,960
T7	Casandra Alexander	-2	$254,960
T7	Mao Saigo	-2	$254,960
T10	Angel Yin	-1	$172,856
T10	Linn Grant	-1	$172,856
T10	Pajaree Anannarukarn	-1	$172,856
T10	Nanna Koerstz Madsen	-1	$172,856
T10	Lottie Woad (a)	-1	$0
T10	Alexa Pano	-1	$172,856
T10	Jin Hee Im	-1	$172,856
T17	Anne van Dam	E	$130,519
T17	Atthaya Thitikul	E	$130,519
T17	Jenny Shin	E	$130,519
T20	Albane Valenzuela	1	$116,750
T20	Charley Hull	1	$116,750
T22	Momoko Osato	2	$98,605
T22	Georgia Hall	2	$98,605
T22	Ashleigh Buhai	2	$98,605
T22	Linnea Strom	2	$98,605
T22	Celine Boutier	2	$98,605
T22	Andrea Lee	2	$98,605
T22	So Mi Lee	2	$98,605
T29	Paula Reto	3	$73,966
T29	Minami Katsu	3	$73,966
T29	Julia Lopez Ramirez (a)	3	$0
T29	Sarah Schmelzel	3	$73,966
T29	Yui Kawamoto	3	$73,966
T29	Rose Zhang	3	$73,966
T29	Alison Lee	3	$73,966
T29	Hyo Joo Kim	3	$73,966
T37	Wichanee Meechai	4	$49,152
T37	Grace Kim	4	$49,152
T37	Ayaka Furue	4	$49,152
T37	Sei Young Kim	4	$49,152
T37	Nasa Hataoka	4	$49,152
T37	Hye-Jin Choi	4	$49,152
T37	Nicole Broch Estrup	4	$49,152
T37	Carlota Ciganda	4	$49,152
T37	Ally Ewing	4	$49,152
T37	Amy Yang	4	$49,152
T37	Leona Maguire	4	$49,152
T37	Esther Henseleit	4	$49,152
T49	Arpichaya Yubol	5	$33,102
T49	Weiwei Zhang	5	$33,102
T49	Kristen Gillman	5	$33,102
T49	Haeran Ryu	5	$33,102
T49	Caroline Inglis	5	$33,102
T49	Gaby Lopez	5	$33,102
T55	Haruka Kawasaki	6	$26,906
T55	Xiyu Lin	6	$26,906
T55	Lee-Anne Pace	6	$26,906
T55	Lexi Thompson	6	$26,906
T55	Mi Hyang Lee	6	$26,906
T60	Lily May Humphreys	7	$20,608
T60	Narin An	7	$20,608
T60	Gabriella Cowley	7	$20,608
T60	Shannon Tan	7	$20,608
T60	Alexandra Forsterling	7	$20,608
T60	Marta Martin	7	$20,608
T60	Shuri Sakuma	7	$20,608
T60	Louise Rydqvist (a)	7	$0
T60	Nuria Iturrioz	7	$20,608
T60	Stephanie Kyriacou	7	$20,608
T60	Patty Tavatanakit	7	$20,608
T71	Manon De Roey	8	$15,088
T71	Emma Spitz	8	$15,088
T71	Johanna Gustavsson	8	$15,088
T71	Maja Stark	8	$15,088
T71	Peiyun Chien	8	$15,088
T76	Morgane Metraux	9	$11,500
T76	Emma Grechi	9	$11,500
T78	Bailey Tardy	10	$10,923
T78	Ela Anacona (a)	10	$0
T78	Auston Kim	10	$10,923
81	In Kyung Kim	11	$10,491
82	Ursula Wikstrom	12	$10,203

Newly minted Hall of Famer Lydia Ko wins 2024 AIG Women’s Open at St. Andrews

What a two-week stretch it has been for Lydia Ko.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Lydia Ko walked over to husband Jun Chung and tenderly put her hand on his cheek by the practice putting green. The couple, still looking like newlyweds, seemed about as relaxed as two people could be with a major championship on the line.

After hitting a few practice putts, Ko walked over to the falconer who’d been onsite all week and chatted about the magnificent creature whose job at the Old Course was to ward off pesky seagulls. Meanwhile, over on the nearby 18th green, 2023 AIG Women’s British Open champion Lilia Vu tried to get up and down for birdie to force a playoff at 7 under.

When Vu’s best efforts failed, Ko broke down in tears on the nearby practice putting green. Two weeks after winning the Olympic gold medal in Paris, playing her way into the LPGA Hall of Fame in the process, the 27-year-old ended a major championship drought that dated to the spring of 2016. Now a three-time major winner, Ko became only the third woman to win a major at the Home of Golf, joining Lorena Ochoa (2007) and Stacy Lewis (2013).

“I don’t think there’s a word in the dictionary that can explain what just happened,” said Ko, who held off a who’s who cast of players, including World No. 1 Nelly Korda, who doubled the par-5 14th and bogeyed the Road Hole to finish two back with former No. 1s Jiyai Shin and Ruoning Yin.

After Ko birdied the 72nd hole to take the clubhouse lead, Ko’s older sister and manager Sura noted everything looked golden in the Auld Grey Toon. Relentless wind wreaked havoc on the field all week, and rain chucked down late Sunday as the group of stars battled down the stretch.

But as Ko wrapped up a two-stroke victory that not an hour before looked destined for a playoff, the sun broke through as one of the game’s most popular players continued a fairy-tale run of the ages.

When asked during the closing ceremony where a victory over the Old Course ranks in her career, Ko said, “That’s kind of like saying ‘Do you like your mother better or your father?’”

The crowd roared.

This was the most unlikely major title for Ko to claim, given that she’d only had two top-10 finishes at the Women’s Open over the course of her career and had only recently learned how to embrace the quirkiness of links golf. There were times this week when Ko found she could do nothing but laugh at the absurdity of shots hit in wind so blustery it was tough to stand.

Ko was still a teenager when she won the ANA Inspiration, now Chevron, eight years ago. It was so long ago, in fact, the only thing she remembers about the day is holding her nose as she jumped into Poppie’s Pond.

Now a 21-time winner on the LPGA, Ko has been brutally honest in recent years about the valleys of her career. Even this week, she recalled a time last year in Portland when, after missing a cut, she couldn’t taste the barbecue she was eating with Sura because there were so many tears. She felt lost.

That’s why when the two sisters embraced in Paris and in St. Andrews, it was so emotional.

“I was emptied out so much in Paris,” said Sura.

Ko’s husband Jun was sad he couldn’t go to Paris and soaked up every second of St. Andrews. He picked up the game during Covid, and his passion for golf rubbed off on Ko, who agreed to tee times on their honeymoon and even caddied for him last year in an amateur tournament. Jun had his own tee times this week, playing Kingsbarns and Dumbarnie Links after spectating duties were over. He even took a tour of the R&A museum.

When Ko had an early tee time this week, Jun, who works for a tech start-up company in San Francisco, was up at 4 a.m., stretching alongside her. With a late tee time Sunday, Jun said they slept in and then watched some Kiwi golf influencers they like on YouTube to kill time.

“What I admire a lot about her is her grit,” said Jun. “I’ve never seen such a strict routine.

“I work in tech, and I see CEOs a lot of times… the grit she has doesn’t compare to anything I’ve ever seen.”

Coming down the stretch in driving rain and wind, Ko showed that Hall of Fame grit when she hit a stunning 3-wood into the Road Hole that set up a par-birdie finish that couldn’t be beat.

The last time the LPGA was in St. Andrews, a bespectacled Ko won the Smyth Salver for low amateur honors as Lewis claimed the title. So much life has transpired since that moment. So much growth.

This will likely be the last time Ko competes at the Home of Golf, and it’s appropriate to wonder how many more major starts are on the horizon for one of the best to ever play the game.

With a 5:50 a.m. flight on tap for Monday morning, Ko hadn’t planned much in the way of celebrations. They’d talked about having Thai food Sunday evening, but she worried the restaurant might have closed.

“Most of the time, I eat a burger after Sunday’s round,” she noted, “so there’s a high chance I’m going to do that.”

These days, it’s the company that matters most.

Magical Sunday in store at St. Andrews, where Lydia Ko’s legendary run continues at Women’s British Open

Sunday in St. Andrews will be a generational battle.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Jiyai Shin won her first AIG Women’s British Open 16 years ago. At age 36, she’s the winningest player left in the field on the Old Course, where she leads defending champion Lilia Vu by one stroke, World No. 2 Nelly Korda by two and the LPGA’s newest Hall of Fame member, Lydia Ko, by three.

Sunday in St. Andrews will be a generational battle. Shin has won more than 60 titles worldwide. She left the LPGA at the peak of her game in 2014, taking her talents to Japan, where she’s now won 30 times. Her career began close to home on the Korean LPGA, where she won 21 times, and kicked into another gear when she won 11 times from 2008-2013.

A rookie on the LPGA in 2009, Shin set goals for the next decade, but reached them all in short order. She struggled to find her next step and motivation.

That’s when she decided she needed a change, and joined the Japan LPGA to be closer to family. She worried about disappointing her fans, but then she met new fans.

AIG: Leaderboard | Photos

“I had a great decision,” said Shin, who wants to be a mentor to younger players the way so many were for her all those years ago.

South Korea’s Jiyai Shin smiles on the 17th tee on day three of the 2024 Women’s British Open Golf Championship on the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland. (Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images)

Count Ko, 27, among those who look up to Shin, marveling at her 6:30 a.m. practice round earlier this week and the way she pushed herself in the gym.

It was Shin who played alongside Ko when she won the Canadian Women’s Open at age 15, a dozen years ago.

“I think that takes not only a lot of work ethic but passion towards the game in what she does,” said Ko, who called Shin’s decision to leave the LPGA in her prime courageous.

Ko comes into Sunday’s final round a little lighter than most, given that she played her way into the Hall by virtue of a storybook victory at the Paris Olympics. That’s not to say she isn’t still “greedy” about wanting to win more, but there’s certainly nothing left to prove.

“It’s definitely nice to know that I can go back to my room, and even if I have a bad day, there’s a gold medal, you know, waiting for me,” said Ko, who smiled and then quickly added, “and my husband.”

Korda closed with a birdie to stop the bleeding on a back nine that included two bogeys and a double. She led by as many as three on a sunny but windy day at the Home of Golf but dipped to third after a disappointing 75.

A victory at the Old Course would change the narrative on what’s been a challenging summer for Korda, who won six times in the first half of the year, including a major.

The last player to win seven times in a season, including multiple majors, was Yani Tseng in 2011. The last American player to do so was Kathy Whitworth in 1967.

Tseng’s 2011 British Open victory at Carnoustie was the last time a player won in back-to-back years in this championship. Vu has a chance to pull off the same on Sunday as she vies for a third career major title.

Lilia Vu of the United States tees off on the 14th hole during Day Three of the AIG Women’s Open at St. Andrews Old Course on August 24, 2024, in St Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

After managing to avoid the bunkers in the first two rounds, the 2023 LPGA Player of the Year had to take her medicine on the back nine Saturday.

“I was definitely a brat about it,” said Vu, “because I thought I hit a good shot, and then it happened to roll in.”

She credited her caddie for getting her mind right.

Vu missed several months of competition earlier this year with a back injury and does all that she can to combat the cold. On Friday, she went back and forth from the cold plunge to the sauna and found the new routine helpful, along with plenty of hot chocolate.

Last year’s victory came at Walton Heath, a parkland course, outside London. The gritty Vu got a kitten to celebrate, naming him Walton. There’s already a second bribe from her father in play that if she wins another major, she can get a second cat.

She’s already thought about names, noting that she’d get a girl this time around and name her Andie.

Lydia Ko of New Zealand poses for a photo with her caddie and team during a Pro-Am ahead of the AIG Women’s Open at St. Andrews Old Course on August 21, 2024, in St. Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Ko, who gushes about her puppy Kai when asked, looks at what happened at the Paris Olympics as something that was too good to be true. Imagine then, how’d she’d feel about topping it off with a victory at the Home of Golf, snapping a major championship drought that stretches back to 2016.

Would she wave goodbye on the Swilcan Bridge? Ko, who has long said she wouldn’t play past 30, was asked about a walk-off retirement at the start of the week.

“I think you just have to listen to yourself,” said Ko. “The way Suzann (Pettersen) did it after holing that putt at Solheim, I mean, she couldn’t have finished her career on any more of a high.”

The same could be said for Ko, who could end her incredible career in the place where golf began. Doesn’t get more epic than that.

Photos: As she heads to retirement, here’s LPGA star Catriona Matthew through the years

Matthew is the winningest Scottish player to ever compete on the LPGA.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Catriona Matthew tried to quickly walk over the Swilcan Bridge one last time to avoid the spotlight. She was lured back for a proper sendoff, however, waving to fans who’d gathered on the 18th – on the ground and on the rooftops – to celebrate a long and successful career.

Matthew, the winningest Scottish player to ever compete on the LPGA, played her final round on the LPGA over the Old Course on Friday, closing with birdie to finish it off at the AIG Women’s British Open in style.

“Obviously had decided this was my last one, and to finish with a birdie,” said Matthew, “I couldn’t have scripted it any better.”

The 54-year-old shot 2-over 74 on Friday, in her 100th round at the AIG, to finish the tournament at 7 over, three shots outside the cut line. There’s no question she got the worse end of the draw.

“I think I’m just quite pleased that I actually came out and played respectably today, the last couple of days, and I don’t want to have to try and do that again next year,” she said. “So the right time.”

Matthew won four times on the LPGA and is the only Scot to ever win the AIG Women’s British Open. She did so only 11 weeks after giving birth to her second daughter in 2009.

In 2019 and 2021, the steady and sure Matthew led Team Europe to back-to-back Solheim Cup victories.

Next week, she’ll captain the Great Britain and Ireland team at the 43rd staging of the Curtis Cup at Sunningdale Golf Club.

Here’s a look at her storied career through the years:

LPGA rookie disqualified from 2024 AIG Women’s British Open at St. Andrews

Her caddie used a distance-measuring device on both the 10th and 18th holes.

LPGA rookie Ana Pelaez Trivino was disqualified from the AIG Women’s British Open on Friday after her caddie used a distance-measuring device on both the 10th and 18th holes.

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The use of a distance measuring device is prohibited at the championship under model local rule G5. The penalty was applied under Rule 4.3.

The 26-year-old Spaniard, who played collegiate golf at the University of South Carolina and won in her pro debut on the Ladies European Tour in the Madrid Ladies Open, shot 72-74 in the first two rounds and was in position to make the cut.

Currently ranked 190th in the world, Pelaez Trivino hadn’t made a cut in a major this season.

Watch: Rose Zhang gets stuck in pot bunker at St. Andrews, makes quadruple bogey at 2024 Women’s British Open

One of us, one of us!

One of us! One of us!

Rose Zhang shot an even-par 72 in blustery conditions Thursday during the opening round of the 2024 AIG Women’s British Open at St. Andrews, but her second 18 got off to a rocky start after finding a greenside pot bunker on the second hole.

Hoping to get up and down for par, Zhang’s first attempt slammed into the riveted face and rolled back down into the sand. Her second try ended the same way.

With her third from the sand, she rocketed her ball out sideways back into the fairway and went on to make a quadruple-bogey eight.

Zhang birdied the next hole but double-bogeyed the par-5 fifth and was 5 over through 5 holes Friday. The projected cut sat at 4 over as of 10 a.m. ET Friday.

Golf is hard.

Links golf pot bunkers are even harder. pic.twitter.com/32aQk55rAk

— AIG Women’s Open (@AIGWomensOpen) August 23, 2024

Photos: LPGA players allowed use of iconic R&A Clubhouse, upgraded services at Women’s British Open

Take a look behind the curtain.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Linnea Strom’s assigned locker number in the most famous clubhouse in the world is No. 124. Past champions of the AIG Women’s British Open and amateur champions have name cards on their lockers this week in the Royal and Ancient Clubhouse. World No. 1 Nelly Korda’s, for example, is situated next to Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific champion Wu Chun-wei. The rest of the field simply has a hand-painted gold number.

This isn’t the first time LPGA players have used the iconic clubhouse, which dates back to 1854 and is situated directly behind the first tee and 18th green at the Old Course. It is, however, the first time the best in the world have utilized the clubhouse since the membership voted to admit female members a decade ago.

Brooke M. Henderson of Canada plays her shot from the first tee during a practice round prior to the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews Old Course on August 19, 2024 in St Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by Oisin Keniry/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)

Last April, the clubhouse reopened after its most extensive renovation in 100 years, adding new women’s facilities among other upgrades. This week, LPGA players are actually utilizing the larger men’s locker room space as well as the new heritage lounge, where they can recover in comfort with compression boots and locally made protein bars and balls.

“Probably the nicest locker room we’ve had, ever,” said Scotland’s Gemma Dryburgh, adding, “They smell quite nice. Usually we get old lockers that smell like old feet and stuff.”

Jenny Shin called the stately locker room area “absolutely phenomenal,” giving a small group of scribes details on the toilet stalls, down to the look of the toilet paper holder and handles.

The new club storage room can handle up to 500 bags, and players drop theirs off daily this week. Players also have a chance to shop in the new Royal and Ancient Clubhouse Shop, which is normally open only to R&A members and their guests and features items with the exclusive R&A logo.

In addition to the facilities of the R&A Clubhouse, there’s also a nearby Players Clubhouse, a temporary structure designed to meet a variety of needs for players and their guests.

“In terms of the services,” said past champion Georgia Hall, “the players’ lounge, it’s the best Women’s Open we’ve had, like, facility-wise.”

Open two hours before the first tee time until 9 p.m., players can eat three meals a day in the stylish, first-class tent, which features a coffee bar (with free alcohol) a full gym and cold-plunge tubs.

While players can bring their caddie and two guests into the Players Clubhouse, there’s a players-only black-out room that offers a quiet respite. The mental health room includes Infrared light, eye masks, weighted blankets, coloring books and Ishga spa beds that heat up and pulse waves for those needing to block out the world.

In the makeshift salon, players can have their nails and makeup done or get a facial after a long day in the elements.

Doctors onsite can look after most ailments and even have an MRI machine at their disposal. There are three tournament-provided physios on hand to stretch and massage, though many players travel with their own.

The dermatologist offering free screenings for players, caddies and staff is booked solid and has detected cases of melanoma in recent years.

Players can look up information on everything from the benefits of an ice bath to what’s recommended for lunch using a QR code. The dining area includes food descriptors in English, Japanese and Korean. Forget cold cuts, chefs are on hand to make any kind of specialty dish a player might desire. There are egg stations and smoothie stations. The Sashimi salmon plates are especially popular.

Last year, players asked that instead of ready-made salad bowls, they have a build-your-own salad bar, with plain protein – grilled fish and chicken.

They also asked that everything open 30 minutes earlier so there’s not such a rush to eat breakfast and prepare for the day. Tournament officials took each request to heart, such as removing treadmills from the pop-up gym and adding heavier free weights.

Stacy Lewis was on the phone near the ping pong table on Thursday afternoon after her round, unwinding after a brutal day in the wind. The nearby concierge desk, which books free tours of the area, takes care of laundry and sorts out transportation, spent quite a bit of time this week tracking down lost luggage on behalf of players.

Lewis, who didn’t realize they could’ve helped, mentioned that daughter Chesnee’s bag had only arrived that day.

“This is the R&A effect,” said Lewis, “the resources and knowing the right people.”

While the public often measures progress on the quality of the course and the weight of the purse, and rightly so, these behind-the-scenes amenities go a long way toward making the best in the world feel like they’re being taken seriously as athletes.

Doors that were once closed to women have begun to crack open. Even the Royal and Ancient ones.

Check out photos from the iconic R&A Clubhouse as well as the Players’ Clubhouse:

Charley Hull overcomes blustery conditions and six-hour rounds to lead 2024 Women’s British Open at St. Andrews

Hull opened with a 5-under 67 at the Old Course.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Charley Hull and Nelly Korda are two of the fastest women in the game. Yet in the opening round of the AIG Women’s British Open, they played the Old Course alongside defending champion Lilia Vu in six hours and eight minutes.

On a blustery day in St. Andrews the par-3 11th, the most exposed hole on the golf course, had as many as four groups waiting to play. Andrea Lee waited 45 minutes to hit her tee shot, sitting on her bag for 15 of them.

Hull took a bathroom break on the 11th tee and then went over to have a chat with her boyfriend and good friend James Northern, the mate she famously got Paula Creamer’s autograph for after beating her in Sunday singles at the 2013 Solheim Cup.

“It took ages,” said Hull. “I had a bet with my caddie. I said, ‘I reckon it’ll take six and a half’; he said, no way, he said, five hours (and) 30 (minutes). I was right.”

Hull, who prefers parkland golf to links, opened with a 5-under 67, nearly holing her approach on the par-4 18th for eagle, to take a one-shot lead over world No. 1 Korda and Ruoning Yin, who played in tougher conditions as one of the first groups out.

Six players – including Vu and Lee – opened with a 69 to take a share of fourth. A total of 17 players broke par, with the vast majority coming in the afternoon.

The morning wave saw winds consistently blow 30-35 mph, with gusts up to 39 mph. The winds reduced some as the day wore on, but pace of play was glacial as backing off the ball became routine.

It didn’t help that officials were forced to use a two-tee start due to the Paris Olympics moving back the championship by two weeks. That meant one less hour of daylight for the field of 156.

The last group to tee off No. 10 played the first four holes in two hours and 45 minutes.

Nelly Korda of the United States plays her shot from the 11th tee during Day One of the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews Old Course on August 22, 2024 in St Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by Luke Walker/Getty Images)

When asked if rounds of more than six hours were acceptable at a major championship, Korda said “obviously not.”

“But with circumstances of the wind and then with it kind of intersecting between two holes, it’s kind of a given,” she said “I think we all knew that kind of playing the golf course for the first time on Monday.”

England’s Hull, who has yet to win a major championship, credited her longtime coach, Matt Belsham, for getting her prepared for this week by working on three-quarter shots, ball position and patience. She also played Turnberry with her boyfriend on Monday and finished fifth at the Scottish Open last week.

For Hull, who was unofficially diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) last summer, slow play has long been an enemy. She conquered all the hurdles in fine fashion on Thursday, delighting crowds along the way as she vaped down the fairways of the venerable course, her stylish aviators on to block out the wind.

Charley Hull walks onto the 17th green while she has a vape during day one of the 2024 AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews. Picture date: Thursday August 22, 2024. (Photo by Steve Welsh/PA Images via Getty Images)

“It was loads of fun out there today,” said Hull. “Actually, before my round I was in there watching it on the TV when I saw the scores, and I thought, how is (Yin) 4-under par; that was an unbelievable score. I’d take that now because it was gusting a lot on the range, and I said to my coach, feels like they could call it at any minute because I don’t know how the balls are staying on the greens.

“To go out there, shoot 5-under, play pretty solid, it was a lot of fun.”

This marks the third time an LPGA major has ever been contested over the Old Course, with Lorena Ochoa (2007) and Stacy Lewis (2013) winning the first two.

2024 AIG Women’s British Open at St. Andrews Friday tee times, how to watch

Tee times and how to watch info for Friday.

After the first round of the 2024 AIG Women’s British Open at St. Andrews, there is plenty of star power at the top of the leaderboard. Charley Hull posted a 5-under 67 around the Old Course on Thursday, a truly impressive feat considering the wind and weather the field had to deal with on Day 1.

World No. 1 Nelly Korda, who hadn’t played the Old Course before Monday, shot a 4-under 68 and is one back of Hull. Ruoning Yin is tied with Korda at T-2 while there’s a large pack of players at 3-under, two back.

Here’s what you need to know for the second round of the AIG Women’s British Open at St. Andrews, including Friday tee times and how to watch information.

Women’s Open: Big Pickle podcast with Stacy Lewis | 5 things to know

Friday tee times

How to watch

Friday, August 23: 7 a.m.-2 p.m. (USA)
Saturday, August 24: 7 a.m.-12 p.m. (USA); 12-2 p.m. (NBC)
Sunday, August 25: 7 a.m.-12 p.m. (USA); 12-2 p.m. (NBC)