A great year ahead
It’s set to be a stellar year in competitive golf and I think a significant one in the women’s game. Interest in women’s golf – and in women’s sport in general – is, quite rightly, on a significant upward trajectory. With this year’s exciting golfing calendar and the superb players packing the upper echelons of the game, that ascent should be expedited.
The AIG Women’s Open will be played at Walton Heath in Surrey for the first time from August 10-13. Not only is it a tremendous club, but, close to London and the populous home counties, it’s also in the perfect location to draw sizeable crowds and generate significant interest. Other big events include the US Women’s Open, staged at the iconic Pebble Beach Golf Links for the first time, and the Solheim Cup, where Europe will defend at Spain’s Finca Cortesin in September.
These tournaments would be little without the talented players contesting them. The international strength of women’s golf has never been higher. From North America, the Kordas, Lexi Thompson and Canada’s Brooke Henderson; from Oceania, Lydia Ko and Minjee Lee; and from Asia, Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul and the likes of Jin Young Ko and In Gee Chun of Korea. Closer to home, Ireland’s Leona Maguire is widely tipped to make a Major breakthrough. Then there’s
England’s Charley Hull, about whom Lewine Mair has written an excellent feature on page 36. Could she be Britain’s next
Major Champion?
When I started my tenure as editor of Golf Monthly some
18 years ago, I wouldn’t have been writing this letter. Our focus was very much on men’s golf. Our target audience was the average male golf club member and we delivered content appealing to them. It was a successful but restrictive approach. Golf Monthly has moved forward as this century has progressed and we now aim to deliver a product that appeals to all golfers, irrespective of gender and age, both in print and online.
We have a women’s golf editor in Alison Root and a team of experienced female contributors producing comprehensive coverage of women’s golf, from the elite to the grassroots. It’s an exciting time for Golf
Monthly and an exciting time for golf.