*All times are local.
Inbee Park, Jessica Korda, Azahara Munoz - 7:14 a.m.
Inbee Park, the 2015 Ricoh Women’s British Open champion, returns to action this week at Royal Lytham & St Annes. Park’s last start came in June at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, where she missed the cut. With her absence from golf over the last month, Monday she was eclipsed by Ariya Jutanugarn at No. 1 in the Rolex Rankings, bumping Park to No. 2. But the 7-time major champion has had a solid season in 2018 with a victory at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup and four more top 10s. She’s one of the few players to have competed in the Ricoh Women’s British Open when it was last held at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2009, when she finished 24th. The Hall of Famer will play the opening rounds alongside Jessica Korda and Azahara Munoz. Korda is also making her first start since KPMG and, like Park, also has four top 10s and a victory in 2018. But she’s had mixed success at the Women’s British Open, where she has missed the cut four times. Her career best finish in the major is a T5 in 2014 at Royal Birkdale. That same year, Munoz finished T12 for her best finish at the Women’s British Open. Munoz is coming off a short break of her own, her last start came in July at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic where she was T62 for the week.
In Gee Chun, Ariya Jutanugarn, Georgia Hall – 11:54 a.m.
This week, In Gee Chun is making her fourth appearance at the Ricoh Women’s British Open. The championship has been a challenge for the Korean who has one top 10, a T8 finish, in her prior starts. The two-time major champion has three top 10s to start 2018 as she looks to add a victory in the U.K. to her list of major victories. She’ll play the first two days alongside the new Rolex Rankings world No. 1 player, Ariya Jutanugarn. The Thai won her first major title at the Ricoh Women’s British Open in 2016 and she added a second major to her resume in May at the U.S. Women’s Open. She’s also riding the momentum of picking up her third win of the season last week in Scotland. England’s Georgia Hall rounds out the group. The rookie burst onto golf’s radar last season when she finished T3 at Kingsbarns Golf Links with rounds of 68-67-70-70. She arrives back home with some momentum after picking up her first top 10 of the year last month at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic where she finished T7.
Yani Tseng, Catriona Matthew, Minjee Lee – 12:05 p.m.
Yani Tseng was the last player to capture back-to-back titles at the Ricoh Women’s British Open with her victories in 2010 and 2011. In recent weeks, the former world No. 1 has showed signs of her old self. In July, she carded her lowest round in nearly a year and a half with a 66 in the opening round of the Marathon Classic. Tseng had a solid showing the last time the Ricoh Women’s British Open was held at Royal Lytham & St Annes when she finished T20. The woman who won that year, Catriona Matthew, will play alongside her during Thursday and Friday’s rounds. The European Solheim Cup captain hasn’t missed the Women’s British Open since it became an LPGA major in 2001. Minjee Lee, the runner-up last week in Scotland, is the final member of this group. She’s making her fifth appearance at the Ricoh Women’s British Open where she’s missed the cut twice. Her best finish was a T9 at Turnberry in 2015.
Laura Davies, Sung Hyun Park, Carlota Ciganda – 12:49 p.m.
Hall of Famer Laura Davies arrives in England as one of the biggest stories in women’s golf following her 10-stroke victory at the U.S. Senior Women’s Open. But the major champion, who has 45 victories on the Ladies European Tour, hasn’t found much success atthe Ricoh Women’s British Open. She has twice finished in the top 10 since the event became a major on the LPGA’s schedule in 2001. She is grouped with Sung Hyun Park and Carlota Ciganda during the opening rounds of the season’s fourth major. Park is also a major champion in 2018. She picked up her second major title earlier this summer by defeating So Yeon Ryu in a playoff. But the Korean has spoken openly about her dislike for links golf. In her two prior starts, she has yet to crack the top 15. But she appears to have turned a corner last week in Scotland where she finished T11 at the windy Gullane Golf Club. Ciganda is one of the hottest players on Tour in 2018 as she’s trending towards a win. She’s coming off her fourth top 10 of the year with a T5 last week in Scotland. Her best major finish came in 2012 at Royal Liverpool when she was T17. She missed the cut when this championship was last played at Royal Lytham & St Annes.
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