You are here:About>Sports>Golf> Major Championships> Women's British Open - Info and History of Women's British Open Golf Tournament
About.comGolf
Sherri Steinhauer - Women's British Open
Sherri Steinhauer blasts from a bunker at the 2006 Women's British Open, where she won for the third time.
Warren Little / Getty Images
Newsletters & RSSEmail to a friendSubmit to Digg

Women's British Open Golf Tournament

From Brent Kelley,
Your Guide to Golf.
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!
About the Women's British Open:: The Women's British Open, currently carrying the official name of Ricoh Women's British Open, has been considered a major championship in women's golf since 2001 (it replaced the du Maurier Classic as an LPGA major). The tournament was founded by the Ladies Golf Union (governing body of women's golf in Great Britain) in 1976. It became an official stop on the LPGA tour in 1994.

2008 Tournament
• When: July 31-Aug. 3
• Where: Sunningdale Golf Club, Berkshire, England

2007 Recap
Lorena Ochoa took the lead after the first round and never gave it up, cruising to a 4-stroke victory and her first career major championship. Ochoa finished at 5-under 287; Jee Young Lee and Maria Hjorth tied as runners-up.

Official Web site

Women's British Open - Records:
  • Most wins: 3 - Karrie Webb (1995, 1997, 2002) and Sherri Steinhauer (1998, 1999, 2006)
  • Low round: 62 - Minea Blomqvist, third round, 2004
  • Low total strokes: 269 - Karrie Webb, 1997, and Karen Stupples, 2004
  • Low total in relation to par: 19-under - Webb (1997) and Stupples (2004)
  • Largest margin of victory: 11 strokes - Ayako Okamoto, 1984
Women's British Open - Golf Courses:
The Women's British Open rotates yearly to courses around the U.K.

Recent Sites

  • 2007 - The Old Course at St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Scotland
  • 2006 - Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club, Lytham St. Annes, Lancashire, England
  • 2005 - Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Southport, England
Future Sites
  • 2008 - Sunningdale Golf Club, Sunningdale, Berkshire, England
  • 2009 - Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club, Lytham St. Annes, Lancashire, England
  • 2010 - Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Southport, England
Full list of Women's British Open golf courses
Women's British Open - Trivia and Notes:
  • An amateur, Jenny Lee-Smith, won the inaugural Women's British Open - then called the Ladies' British Open - in 1976.

  • Another amateur, Janet Melville, won in 1978, and Marta Figueras-Dotti won as an amateur in 1982.

  • Laura Davies was not yet playing in America when, in her second year as a pro, she won the Women's British Open in 1986. The following year she won the U.S. Women's Open and became a member of the LPGA Tour. The U.S. Women's Open victory in '87 also made Davies the first golfer to hold both the British and U.S. women's open titles simultaneously.
  • Patty Sheehan was the first to win the U.S. and British women's opens in the same year, doing so in 1992.

  • Karrie Webb first gained major notice in 1995 when, as a rookie on the Ladies European Tour, she won the Women's British Open by seven strokes.

  • The record for lowest round in a men's or women's major is 62. It's been done twice, the first time by Minea Blomqvist in the third round at Sunningdale in the 2004 Women's British Open.

  • The British cereal company Weetabix was the title sponsor of this tournament from 1987 through 2006, when it was known as the Weetabix Women's British Open.
  • Women's British Open - Past Champions:
    Recent winners of the Women's British Open:

    2007 - Lorena Ochoa
    2006 - Sherri Steinhauer
    2005 - Jeong Jang
    2004 - Karen Stupples
    2003 - Annika Sorenstam
    2002 - Karrie Webb
    Full List of Past Champions

     All Topics | Email Article | | |
    Advertising Info | News & Events | Work at About | SiteMap | Reprints | HelpOur Story | Be a Guide
    User Agreement | Ethics Policy | Patent Info. | Privacy Policy©2008 About, Inc., A part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.