Golf has been played in Scotland since the 15th century, but the LPGA Tour’s presence in the “Home of Golf” dates back just more than two decades.
The women are adding to their legacy this week though, as the RICOH Women’s British Open takes place at Trump Turnberry’s Ailsa Course. It is just the seventh LPGA-sanctioned tournament to take place in Scotland, but follows an impressive group of big-time events that have included some amazing moments through the years.
Scottish golf faithful got their first taste of LPGA golf in 1992 when the Tour and the Ladies European Tour hosted the second Solheim Cup. It was held at Dalmahoy Hotel Golf & Country Club in Edinburgh, and the Europeans were victorious by a score of 11.5-6.5.
Eight years passed before the Solheim Cup returned to Scotland in 2000, and Team Europe stayed unbeaten in the country with a 14.5-11.5 victory at Loch Lomond Golf Club in Alexandria by Luss.
This week’s facility was selected as the host of the 2002 Women’s British Open, and event won by Hall of Famer Karrie Webb. Webb finished two strokes clear of Paula Marti and Michelle Ellis to secure her third career WBO title and first win at the tournament with it holding major championship status.
The 2007 Women’s British Open was steeped in history, as it marked the first time women played a professional event at the Old Course at St. Andrews. Hall of Famer Lorena Ochoa finished at 5-under-par to win by four strokes over Maria Hjorth and Jee Young Lee as the world got its first chance to see how the women pros approached the famed course.
Four years later, Yani Tseng successfully defended her WBO title with a four-stroke win over Brittany Lang at Carnoustie Golf Links in Carnoustie, Angus. The ladies returned to the Old Course at St. Andrews two years later for the 2013 RICOH Women’s British Open, and Stacy Lewis stole the show there.
The American hit a 5-iron she will remember forever on the 17th hole that came to rest just three feet from the hole and helped propel her to the victory. Lewis – who went 5-0 for the victorious 2008 U.S. Curtis Cup Team at the Old Course – birdied the final two holes to finish two strokes ahead of Na Yeon Choi and Hee Young Park and end a 10-major winless drought for U.S.-born players.
This week’s event is far from the end of women’s professional golf’s presence in Scotland, and the 2017 RICOH Women’s British Open will take place at Kingsborn Golf Links in Fife. Conventional wisdom says that another Solheim Cup will be contested in the Northern European nation.
Another chapter in the Tour’s history at the home of golf is being written this week, and it is shaping up to be a wonderful story.
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