Nineteen major champions and 44 LPGA Tour winners are in the field at Dundonald Links this week, with Scots Hannah Darling and Gemma Dryburgh among those chasing home success.
World No. 1 Nelly Korda leads seven top-10 ranked players into the 2026 ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open, which gets under way at Dundonald Links on Thursday.
Korda is joined by fellow major champions Hyo Joo Kim, Hannah Green, Minjee Lee and Jin Young Ko in a field of significant depth ahead of the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham St Anne’s next week.
Home interest
Scotland’s leading female professional Gemma Dryburgh returns to her national championship as the first Scot to win on the LPGA Tour in more than two decades, having claimed the 2022 TOTO Japan Classic. Fellow Scot Hannah Darling, a former Junior Solheim Cup and Curtis Cup player, makes her latest appearance since turning professional.
(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
Darling said playing against the best players in the world on home soil was something every Scottish golfer dreams of, and that she was looking forward to returning to Dundonald Links.
Depth of the field
This year’s championship features 19 major champions with a combined 35 major titles, 44 LPGA Tour winners with 181 victories between them, and 64 Ladies European Tour winners with 151 titles. Sixteen players with previous Solheim Cup appearances are also in the field, including Charley Hull, Carlota Ciganda, Linn Grant, Maja Stark and Esther Henseleit, with 33 nationalities represented in total.
Defending champion Lauren Coughlin returns alongside past winners Ayaka Furue, Ryann O’Toole, Ariya Jutanugarn and Mi Hyang Lee. England’s Lottie Woad also returns following her breakthrough season.
Romero eyes LPGA card
Sponsor invite Kiara Romero, the World No. 1 amateur, arrives at Dundonald Links with the chance to secure LPGA Tour membership through the tour’s Elite Amateur Pathway. Players earn LPGA status once they reach 20 points from elite amateur performances; Romero currently has 19, meaning a strong week in Scotland could hand her a tour card.
Ashleigh Buhai, the 2022 AIG Women’s Open champion, is also among this year’s sponsor invitations, adding further links experience to the field.
To buy tickets and find out more about the ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open
Why not read our review of Dundonald Links and see one of the difficult bunkers the players face!
