Though the Old Course at St. Andrews hosts professional golf on the regular, it is rarely of the major championship variety. As we all know, there is a big difference between pro golf and major championship golf, and that will be on display this week at the Women’s Open at St. Andrews, which will host this tournament for just the third time.
While the PGA Tour heads to Colorado for the second of three FedEx Cup Playoff events, attention in the golf world will be focused on its genesis, the most famous golf course in Scotland and perhaps the entire world. The Old Course at St. Andrews.
Let’s take a closer look at this event.
Women’s Open schedule
Dates: Aug. 22-25
Location: Old Course — St. Andrews, Scotland
Par: 72 | Yardage: 6,784
Purse: $9.5 million
Women’s Open field, odds
This is the last women’s major of the year, and the field is loaded with surging stars as well as massive names to follow. Here’s a look at some of the favorites.
Nelly Korda (11-1): Korda has had a strange year. After winning six of seven events early in the year, she has struggled of late, missing the cut at three of her last four (not including the 2024 Paris Olympics), including two major championships. Still, given the talent and the run she’s on, it’s impossible to not put the No. 1 player in the world as the favorite.
Ayaka Furue (12-1): Furue has picked up where Korda left off, winning the Evian Championship for her first major and finishing T3 at the Scottish Open. She has six top 10s in her last eight starts.
Jin Young Ko (20-1): Ko has 11 top 10s at majors, including two top threes at this event, but she hasn’t won one since 2019.
Lilia Vu (22-1): Vu is the reigning champion of this event, winning it at Walton Heath a year ago. She has three top two finishes at majors in her last seven starts.
Lauren Coughlin (22-1): Coughlin might be the hottest player in the world right now. She’s won two of her last three starts — including last week’s Scottish Open — and finished in the top nine in all four of them. It’s also been her best major year; she’s finished in the top five in two of the four majors that have been played.
Atthaya Thitikul (22-1)
Lydia Ko (30-1): Ko is coming off her gold medal performance in Paris, but she has struggled in the majors recently. She does not have a win since 2016 and does not have a top 10 since 2022.
Rose Zhang (30-1)
Lexi Thompson (70-1): Thompson is playing in ostensibly her last Women’s Open as she is planning on retiring at the end of this year. She only has one top 10 in 11 starts at this tournament.
Women’s Open history
There have surprisingly only been two Women’s Opens at the Old Course.
In 2007, Lorena Ochoa beat Maria Hjorth and Jee Young Lee by four shots. It was her first major championship, and she would go on to win her second consecutive (and only other) major the following year at the first major of the season, the Chevron Championship (formerly the Kraft Nabisco Championship).
Then in 2013, the last time the event was played at St. Andrews, Lewis beat Na Yeon Choi and Hee Young Park by two with an insane birdie at the Road Hole.
2024 Women’s Open course
There are a couple of intriguing storylines as it relates to the Old Course this week. The first is something Geoff Shackelford covered a bit more in depth in his recent newsletter: “We could see the Old’s strategy shine thanks to hitting distances in proportion with its design.”
The Old Course was not designed to withstand the onslaught of modern technology that the men have assaulted it with (Gordon Sargent was driving greens on par 4s at the Walker Cup a year ago). Perhaps it will get a chance to be the star once again this week on the women’s side. Hopefully, anyway.
The other storyline is simply links golf. We see so little of it, and this is a tremendous opportunity to get a glimpse of it played at the most interesting and elite level.
“It definitely feels different,” said Vu, who won a year ago. “We’re at St. Andrews, which is like the place that everyone wants to play. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance. There’s a little bit of pressure, but I think I know it’s going to be a battle for everyone, not just me. So I’m going to try my hardest, do my best out here.”
Also, the weather looks interesting. The Thursday forecast calls for temperatures in the 60s, spells of rain and winds anywhere between 10-40 miles per hour. A proper Open.
2024 Women’s Open golf schedule, TV coverage
Round 4 – Sunday
Round 4 begins: 2 a.m.
Early TV coverage: 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. on USA Network, fubo (Try for free)
Live TV coverage: 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. on NBC, fubo (Try for free)