It's hard to believe that golf's Major season is almost at an end, with the AIG Women's Open playing as the conclusion to the year.
Taking place at Royal Lytham & St Annes, a star-studded field is heading to Lancashire, where some notable names have won around the historic links before.
Gary Player, Seve Ballesteros and Ernie Els are just some of the famous faces from the men's game to secure victory here, while Annika Sorenstam, Catriona Matthew and Georgia Hall also earned coveted wins.
Royal Lytham & St Annes last staged an AIG Women's Open in 2018, when Hall shot a five-under-par final round to earn a maiden Major by two strokes.
For 2026, Miyu Yamashita comes in as defending champion, having earned a two shot win over Charley Hull and Minami Katsu at Royal Porthcawl.
Looking to become the third player in AIG Women's Open history to defend the championship, Yamashita would join Sherri Steinhauer and Yani Tseng in becoming a back-to-back winner of the Major.
As expected, Nelly Korda and Haeran Ryu are the favorites, with both securing two Majors each throughout 2026.
Korda secured the Chevron Championship and the US Women's Open, while Ryu earned the KPMG Women's PGA Championship and Amundi Evian Championship.
Defending champion, Yamashita, is the third favorite at odds of +1200, while Jeeno Thitikul (+1400), Hyo Joo Kim (+1800) and Ruoning Yin (+1800) also rank among the favorites for the final Major of the year.
In terms of the home favorites, Charley Hull leads the contingency at +2500, while Lottie Woad is +3000.
Check out who the Golf Monthly team are backing below...
Pick One: Lottie Woad To Win @ BetMGM
The Englishwoman is enjoying a great season with one victory and five top 10s from 15 starts on the LPGA Tour.
Woad is already one of the best players yet to win a Major, despite only making her third AIG Women's Open start this week and second as a pro.
She was T10th and 8th in her first two, so her record is very impressive and I'm confident she can be in the hunt for the iconic trophy come Sunday afternoon.
Pick Two: Jiyai Shin To Win @ BetMGM
The Korean, with over 60 professional victories, is always a threat at the AIG Women's Open, having won the title twice back in 2008 and 2012.
Shin comes in good form this week, with a runner-up and five top 10s from 14 starts this year, largely in Japan, and her recent record here is fantastic with a 3rd in 2023 and a T2nd in 2024.
At 38, it may be a stretch to see her lift the title for a third time, but don't be surprised to see her inside the top 10 after 72 holes.
Pick One: A Lim Kim To Win @ BetMGM
Although Kim is yet to win, she is getting closer and closer to a victory, highlighted by numerous strong performances in 2026.
In her last four starts, she has three top 10s, including a runner-up result at last week's Women's Scottish Open.
Along with the recent form, the South Korean finished T4th at the AIG Women's Open last year and has claimed a Major before, showcasing she knows what it takes to compete.
Pick Two: Esther Henseleit To Win @ BetMGM
Like Kim, Henseleit enjoyed a great tournament at last week's Women's Scottish Open, producing a solo fourth result, her best finish of the year.
Although she missed the cut at the Amundi Evian Championship, a T15th at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship shows the German is still in form.
Finishing T37th in 2024 and T23rd in 2025, Henseleit is improving every year and, off the back of her great finish on a links course, I expect her to continue this week at Royal Lytham & St Annes.
Pick One: Charley Hull To Win @ BetMGM
I was torn between Hull and Ruoning Yin but, while the Chinese pro is arguably a little more consistent, I believe Hull has a better chance of winning.
What Hull produced at the Scottish Open was far from her best, but she still managed to make the cut and I think she'll have learned a lot from the experience.
Finishing runner-up twice in the past three years at the AIG Women's Open, she is regularly inside the top 20, so links golf doesn't faze her. In a wide-open field, I'm hopeful she can finally take her opportunity and clinch a first Major.
Pick Two: Maja Stark To Win @ BetMGM
Stark has been consistently producing top 20 results all year and was T8th at the US Open, so there's enough confidence from my side to pick her.
While the Swede hasn't fared all that well at the AIG Women's Open previously, she's made three of four cuts.
Stark is also now a Major champion, so I'm hoping she can take this new-found confidence and produce a solid top 10 at Royal Lytham & St Annes
AIG Women's Open Betting Odds
- Nelly Korda (+800)
- Haeran Ryu (+1000)
- Miyu Yamashita (+1200)
- Jeeno Thitikul (+1400)
- Hyo Joo Kim (+1800)
- Ruoning Yin (+1800)
- Charley Hull (+2500)
- Sei Young Kim (+2800)
- Lydia Ko (+2800)
- Lottie Woad (+3000)
- Akie Iwai (+3000)
- A Lim Kim (+3300)
- Brooke Henderson (+4000)
- Ina Yoon (+4000)
- Gaby Lopez (+4000)
- Nasa Hataoka (+4500)
- Hye Jin Choi (+4500)
