The LPGA Tour kicks off two weeks of play with the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open in Ayrshire, Scotland. The jointly sanctioned event features a field of 142 players comprised of members of both the LPGA and Ladies European Tour, and they will compete for $2 million in prize money over 72 holes at Dundonald Links. Here are five things you need to know about the tour’s return to Scotland.
In case you missed me
Last week, Lydia Ko of New Zealand topped the podium in the women’s golf competition at the Paris Olympics. Ko, who won the silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, shot a final round of 71 to take gold, winning by two strokes over silver medalist Esther Henseleit of Germany. Xiyu Lin of the People’s Republic of China took home the bronze medal. Ko’s gold medal also earned her the final point she needed to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame, making the 27-year-old the youngest player ever inducted into the Hall. Both Ko and Henseleit are traveling from France to Scotland to compete in the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open this week.
Boutier defends
Frenchwoman Celine Boutier, who grew up just 30 minutes from Le Golf National, had a dream start to the Paris Olympics when she surged to the top in the first round and was buoyed by the overwhelming support of her fans. Boutier ultimately finished 18th in the Olympic women’s golf competition and heads to Scotland this week where she will attempt to defend her title at the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open. In 2023, Boutier won by two strokes over Hyo Joo Kim, and her victory at Dundonald Links was her second win in back-to-back starts, having also won her first major title the week before at the Amundi Evian Championship. Boutier says she has always loved playing on the links course, where she also finished runner-up in 2022.
Field
Three dozen Olympians are travelling from the Paris area to Ayrshire for the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open. Former Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 Jin Young Ko, who finished tied 25th in Paris, returns to the Women’s Scottish Open for the first time since 2022. In her last appearance, the Korean struggled with the wind at Dundonald Links and shot rounds of 74-76 over the weekend, finishing tied 71st. Lilia Vu, who finished tied 35th in Scotland last year, is also back in the field this week after finishing tied 36th in her Olympic debut. Australian Minjee Lee returns to Scotland, where she finished tied 13th last season after an opening round of 80. Lee finished tied 22nd in Paris last week. Canada’s Brooke Henderson makes her tournament debut at the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open after finishing tied for 13th at the Olympics. Rose Zhang of the US team also makes her tournament debut after finishing tied for 8th in her first Olympic appearance. Zhang said she has heard great things about Dundonald Links and is looking forward to taking on the unique challenge of Scottish golf.
Sponsorship exemptions
The ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open has extended four sponsor exemptions for this week’s tournament. One of those recipients is Stacy Lewis, the U.S. Solheim Cup captain and winner of the 2020 ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open. Lewis has struggled in recent months, missing the cut in six of her last seven starts, which she made up for with a top-10 finish at the Dana Open. Three other invitations were awarded to two-time LET winner Kylie Henry, a native of Glasgow, Scotland, Laura Beveridge, who is competing in the tournament for the second time, and Erika Hara, a five-time winner on the JLPGA.
The course
For the third year in a row, Dundonald Links will host the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open. The course, which is about an hour’s drive from Glasgow, has been a regular host of the Women’s Scottish Open since 2017, when it was added to the LPGA Tour calendar as a co-sanctioned event. The course also hosted the tournament in 2015 and 2016 before becoming an annual stop on the LPGA Tour. The traditional links style provides a tough test and is perfect preparation for the sportswomen who will travel across Scotland to St Andrews next week to compete in the AIG Women’s Open. The course plays to a par of 72 and over 6,500 yards.
