Golf’s major championship season closes out this week in Wales, as the country hosts its first AIG Women’s Open—marking its biggest women’s sporting event ever.
Attendance at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club during practice and competition rounds is expected to reach at least 36,000—easily surpassing the record 21,186 fans who watched a March England-Wales women’s rugby match at Principality Stadium in Cardiff.
Recent attendance numbers for the Women’s Open include:
- 2024: 52,887 at the Old Course at St Andrews (Scotland)
- 2023: 51,000 at Walton Heath (England)
- 2022: 33,303 at Muirfield (Scotland)
This week’s tournament could be further boosted by interest in the LPGA’s newest rising star, Lottie Woad, who won her first start as a professional on Sunday at the Women’s Scottish Open, and is the betting favorite at Royal Porthcawl, listed between +600 and +800 at most sportsbooks.
New Borders
Royal Porthcawl, which opened in 1895, has hosted several major men’s tournaments organized by The R&A (formally known as the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews), like the Senior Open, Amateur Championship, and Walker Cup (a collegiate equivalent of the Ryder Cup), but never a top women’s event.
Wales is the first country outside of England and Scotland to host the Women’s Open, which was first played in 1976, and previously known as the Women’s British Open. The R&A has been experimenting with new locales for its championships in recent years. This month’s Open Championship in Northern Ireland is likely paving the way for golf’s oldest major to one day be played in Ireland for the first time.
Next year, the Women’s Open will return to Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in England for a sixth time, and in 2027, it will head to Royal St. George’s for the first time. The famed English links hosted the Open Championship 15 times, most recently in 2021, when Collin Morikawa won his second major.
Money Matters
A record $9.75 million purse is up for grabs, a $250,000 increase over last year. Sunday’s winner will earn $1.462 million, a slight increase over the $1.425 million Lydia Ko took home for winning in 2024.
That continues the trend of prize money stabilizing in both men’s and women’s golf. Of the nine major championships this year (four men’s and five women’s), four offered no purse increase over last year’s editions. No majors decreased their prize money, though, each offering record or record-tying amounts.
