AIG Women’s Open Rises Toward 50th Royal Lytham
Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes, featuring a record $10M purse and historic milestones in women’s golf.
Fifty years after Jenny Lee Smith claimed the inaugural AIG Women’s Open title at Fulford Golf Club, the event returns to Royal Lytham & St Annes this week, now standing as one of golf’s most prestigious events. The 50th anniversary edition offers a $10 million prize purse, a significant increase from the £500 prize fund and mostly amateur field of the inaugural event in 1976.
Early Struggles to Global Recognition
The early years were challenging. No sponsor came forward until 1979, and the 1983 edition was canceled due to insufficient funding. The Ladies Professional Golf Association included it in their 1984 schedule but dropped it again for another decade. Burberry and Weetabix stepped in as sponsors during that time, but those lean years meant limited venues and sparse crowds.
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Dame Laura Davies, who made a record 43 consecutive appearances at the championship, recalls those early days. “My very first Open was in 1980… Then we went to Woburn for a long time and the galleries were really good. I won my Women’s Open at Royal Birkdale in 1986, but there were only a couple of hundred people watching on the final round.”
The tournament gained major status in 2001 and the R&A took direct organizational control in 2017. Since then, courses like the Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie, and Royal Troon have hosted the event, with extended television coverage and improved player facilities.
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A Transformed Event
Over 50,000 fans are expected at Royal Lytham & St Annes this week, with attendance records broken at each of the previous three editions. AIG, the title sponsor, has significantly increased the prize money since taking over, turning the event into a major championship that top players target each season.
Davies notes, “I don’t recognise it from when I used to play it… It’s not an add-on anymore, it’s a stand-alone major championship of golf and it’s a superb event.” She highlights the quality of venues and the infrastructure as key factors in the tournament’s rise in popularity.
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The growth in television exposure has brought new audiences to the sport. Davies adds, “Women’s sport being more on TV now helps… People want to come and see the characters they see on TV, and you’ve seen that in the gallery growth.”
The tournament’s trajectory suggests continued expansion in the coming years, with prize money likely to keep climbing as broadcast deals and sponsorship interest grow. However, the future remains uncertain, and whether that growth mirrors the past decade or levels off remains to be seen.
