Titanic's AIG Women's Open Preview (2025)
- Nate (@WeKnowFantasy)
- Jul 28
- 6 min read
The LPGA Tour heads to the southern coast of Wales for the final major of the season at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club for the AIG Women’s Open in 2025. Situated in Porthcawl, Bridgend, this historic venue has hosted several premier events including The Senior Open (2014, 2017 and 2023) and the Amateur Championship (sevem times,) but this will mark the club’s first time hosting the AIG Women’s Open — and expectations are high for a dramatic, wind-swept test.
Founded in 1891 as a nine-hole course on Lock's Common. The current location and course was laid out in 1898 by Ramsay Hunter, but was renovated most notably by Open Championship course whisperer Martin Ebert. Royal Porthcawl offers everything you'd expect from a world-class links: a rolling terrain, punishing rough, strategic bunkering and weather that can change everything in a matter of minutes.
The Notes
Royal Porthcawl is a pure links experience, exposed to the Bristol Channel and the elements on every hole.
The course will play as a Par-72, stretching across 6,580 yards (per the LPGA Tour’s site) for the championship setup — though, as is the case for many links courses, playing length will vary dramatically depending on wind direction.
The layout features four par-3's, ten par-4's and four par-5's, with multiple doglegs and elevation changes that challenge club selection and accuracy and it’s worth noting that for this event they are playing 18 as the first hole.
Most importantly - the course has Billy, Ruby and Wilma as course dogs. Per my sources these three staffordshire bull terriers are VERY good dogs.
Porthcawl’s location offers no protection from the sea breeze. Holes shift in orientation frequently, meaning the wind can swirl and flip direction multiple times during a round.
Conditions can range from benign and scorable to brutal and penal — often in the same day.
As with many open and exposed links courses the fescue fairways are generously wide (35-40 yards,) but if you are off with your drives, native fescue grows quickly with moisture and while only 2-inch in length officially it can be thick and tangle clubfaces or smother lies.
There are 116 sand bunkers, many of which are deep and riveted and are more or less a 0.5-to-a-full stroke penalty. The fairway bunkers often pinch key landing zones, demanding precise placement off the tee — especially in wind.
Putting surfaces are firm and fescue-dominant (include Bent and poa,) with traditional linksy contours, raised knobs, fall-offs, and run-offs.
Greens typically run at 10.5–11 on the Stimpmeter, firm and fast enough to repel poorly struck approaches and challenge pace control from distance, but slow enough to hold balls steady in the winds.
There is water in play on four holes, but the rough, dunes, and wind offer more than enough defense.
I am personally looking for ladies who can have maximum control of their ball (especially those who can control launch angle and spin from the fairway,) elite scramblers, those with links experience and the mental fortitude to deal with the bad breaks that come with this style of golf, and I would ideally look for a strong short game as chipping from awkward lies, using slopes creatively, and lag putting is always important at these types of tests.
Ultimately, this is a thinking golfer’s venue where birdies must be earned, not gifted. If the wind cooperates, players may go low. If not, expect a battle of attrition.
Holes to Watch
(with the change in routing I apologize if these are odd by one, I’m struggling to find the official card)
Hole 1 – The opening hole plays straight into the wind more often than not. A tight tee shot sets up an approach to a narrow green guarded by bunkers short left and long.
Hole 5 - The longest par-3 on the course, requiring a full carry into prevailing winds. Seven bunkers guard the green with a narrow entrance and ridged tiers
Hole 11 – One of the best views on the course. A downhill tee shot into a sloping fairway is followed by a blind approach into a crowned green that rejects anything off-line.
Hole 18 – The closing hole is a winding par five that presents with a risk vs reward decision whether to go for the green in two or do the three pot bunkers that guard the front half the green scare the ladies off.
The History
2024 – Lydia Ko took home her third major just two weeks after winning Olympic gold (both outright winners for us!!) when she shot -7 to beat Nelly Korda, Jiyai Shin, Lilia Vu, and Ronnie Yin by two strokes at St. Andrews
2023 – Lilia Vu captured her second major of the year when she shot -14, beating Charley Hull by six shots at Walton Heath
2022 – Ashleigh Buhai won a dramatic playoff on the fourth playoff hole over In Gee Chun after both finished -10 at Muirfield. Buhai led by five entering Sunday but scrambled her way to the title after a back-nine collapse..
2021 – Anna Nordqvist captured her third major by shooting -12 to edge Georgia Hall, Lizette Salas, and Madelene Sagstrom by one stroke at Carnousite.
2020 – Sophia Popov shocked the world with a wire-to-wire victory, finishing -7 to defeat Jasmine Suwannapura by two strokes at Royal Troon. Ranked 304th in the world and playing on a medical exemption, Popov leaned on flawless ball striking and mental fortitude to win her first LPGA event.
2024 Picks
Lydia Ko 25/1 - WIN
Minjee Lee 35/1 - CUT
Ally Ewing 45/1 - T37
Nasa Hataoka 50/1 - T37
Gabriela Ruffels 100/1 - CUT
2025 Picks
Lydia Ko (25/1) - I went back and forth between Lydia or going shorter with Minjee. Minjee’s new found putting prowess is good but I worry about long putters in wind while Lydia is defending champion and there has never been a question about how elite she is on and around greens, especially in the wind given she grew up playing in windy New Zealand.
Celine Boutier (45/1) - I can’t believe Boutier is this price and when I saw it I had to bet it. She’s won on links before and brings the perfect blend of form and skills to grab this event.
Rio Takeda (50/1) - This price seems like a vast over reaction to a bad final round last week. Yes, she doesn’t have much links experience but was right in the hunt last week until her disaster Sunday. She’s a bright shining young talent and I think he shot making ability could see her right in this mix at a decent price.
Lauren Coughlin (60/1) - I missed the best of the number but I’m still okay at 60/1. She’s someone I won twice with last year and I’m seeing the same green shoots that led me to back her then. I was terrified she’d win last week and ruin her value this week, but she came strong T10 after winning on the links last year and I think she could perform well this week!
Esther Henseliet (65/1) - If you’ve been with me a while you’ll know my love for this German. She has shown that she can handle big events as she came in top ten in two majors last year and was second place in the Olympics with us on her. She’s also shown she can play links golf with her performance in last year’s Scottish Open. I love the idea of her shot making and strong short game on this course.
Nanna Koerstz Madsen (100/1) - Yes, I am going back to this well. As I said last week - I might end up dead wrong here but I think these odds are more reflective of a dip in form she had and doesn’t reflect the improved play we’ve seen of late. She brings a total tee to green game that I love to lean on in links golf. If you had enough of the Nanna experience last week - here is another option for you and you could play both if you were so inclined. Linn Grant (90/1) - I know, I know. Linn Grant again?!? Yup! She’s a tremendous player, but similar to Nanna last week and Linn during the US Open, we are going to need her to play her best for four rounds which is a big ask but her Scandinavian background and the fact some of her childhood was spent with her grandfather traveling and playing in his native Scotland means she should go quite well on links.
Georgia Hall (160/1) - Same view as last week -A links specialist for my last shout here. It’s pretty hard to find anyone who has links form like Georgia and at 160/1 with e/w places I’m loving the idea of her in the mix on the weekend!
As is my norm, I plan on playing these ladies in the FRL market at 5pl e/w (always keep FRL risk small).
Weather Report
Playing Porthcawl
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