Full marks for Open field

All of the world’s top 10 ranked players on the Rolex Women’s World Rankings are in the field at close of entries for the 2018 Ricoh Women’s British Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club from Thursday.

World No 1 and 2015 Ricoh Women’s British Open Champion, Inbee Park, heads the field of the world’s best women golfers for the 42nd edition of the Championship along with all of the year’s Major winners. Pernilla Lindberg, the 2018 ANA Inspiration winner, Ariya Jutanugarn, the 2018 US Open Champion and World No 3, and Sung Hyun Park, the 2018 KPMG Women’s PGA Champion and World No 2, are joined by defending Champion, I K Kim and a host of former champions including Mo Martin, Yani Tseng, Karrie Webb and local favourite and 2009 champion, Catriona Matthew.

Inbee Park, who won her seventh and most recent Major at the 2015 Ricoh Women’s British Open at Turnberry, commented: “I love playing links golf and am really looking forward to returning to Royal Lytham.

“I feel like I have learnt so much about how to play on links courses since I played there in 2009 that I am excited to see how I get on there this time.

“When I won at Turnberry, I felt so proud as to how I handled the wind and the difficult conditions, and now, as I look ahead to the Ricoh Women’s British Open, I am actually enjoying the thought of all the challenges ahead.”

Charley Hull is the top ranked British player in the field at No 23 in the world. Her Major form in 2018 will lead to high hopes for spectators looking for a home player to follow in Matthew’s footsteps at Lytham having finished in the top 10 in all three of the Majors this year.

Hull explained: “I think Majors suit my game and I always really look forward to them. I like the pressure of a Major week and the way the courses are set up tougher which I think suits me.

“I am pleased with my form the first six months of the year as it is my best spell on the LPGA so far. I feel my game is in great shape and I can’t wait for my next Major opportunity at Lytham.”

The Ricoh Women’s British Open also welcomed a new sponsor this week in Max Golf Protein.

The Ricoh Women’s British Open was founded by the Ladies’ Golf Union in 1976 and has been staged in conjunction with IMG, a global leader in sports, events, media and fashion, since 1984. The event has been co-sanctioned by the LPGA and LET since 1994, and gained Major status in 2001.

Ricoh has been the title sponsor since 2007.