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The Open preview: Lydia Ko chases back-to-back victories at iconic Major
Duncan Perkinson • July 30th, 2025 11:09 am
Lydia Ko and Lottie Woad at the 2024 AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews, in front of the R &A Clubhouse | Photo: Photosport
On Thursday (NZ time), the Women’s Open starts and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko just so happens to be the defending champion.
The final major of the year is being held at Royal Porthcawl - the first time a golf major has been played in Wales. Porthcawl is on the South Wales coast – approximately halfway between Cardiff and Swansea.
The Women’s British Open was first played in 1976, for a prize fund of 500 pounds. It was officially recognised as a major in 2001 and in last year’s Open the total prize purse was $9.5 million US Dollars.
New Zealand golf fans will be closely watching our three-time major winner and gold medal winning Lydia Ko but should also keep an eye out and cheer for Amelia Garvey and Momoka Kobori – both from Canterbury.
It will be Kobori’s first ever major and she only qualified for the Open on Monday. She shot a one under par 70, at Pyle & Kenfig Golf Club and made the field right on the number.
Both Kobori and Garvey play on the Ladies European Tour and Garvey qualified by being one of the leading players on the tour this year – she is currently 11th on the Order of Merit.
While 2024 was a stellar year for Lydia Ko, this year in the Majors has been slimmer pickings for arguably New Zealand’s greatest golfer. Her 12th place finish at the PGA in June was her highest finish in the four majors this year, and she missed the cut at The Evian Championship three weeks ago.
However, a return to links golf, and being the defending champion could be the spur Ko needs as she looks to become the first back-to-back champion since Taiwan’s Yang Tseng in 2011.
Ko is one of three players in the field this week who have won both the Open as well as the Smyth Salver - the prize given to the leading amateur at the Open. Ko was the leading amateur both in 2012 and 2013.
The other two players who have claimed this double are: Georgia Hall who won The Open in 2018 and Anna Nordqvist who won at Carnoustie in 2021.
Two players in the field who are leading chances and have previously won the Smyth Salver are Lottie Woad who was the top amateur in 2024 and Atthaya Thitikul.
Woad’s rise in the world of golf in the past few months has been meteoric and she is undoubtedly the hottest player in women’s golf at the moment.
She is the favourite with the bookies to continue her incredible run of form, paying just $7.00 to win the tournament.
Woad heads to Royal Porthcawl coming off the back of winning her first ever event as a professional player, the Scottish Open which was held this past weekend at Dundonald Links, in Scotland. She won by 3 strokes.
She became a professional leading up to the Scottish Open, having won the Irish Open in the first week of July as an amateur.
In between these two victories, she finished tied 3rd in the year’s penultimate major, The Evian Championship in France. Woad finished one shot off the playoff, eventually won by Grace Kim.
Lydia Ko celebrates her Olympic gold | Photo: AAP
Kim beat Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul in a dramatic playoff.
Thitikul has had close finishes in the two most recent majors, as she finished tied 4th in the PGA Championship in Dallas, Texas in June.
The PGA was won by Minjee Lee who is a leading contender this week. The 29-year-old Australian has three major wins and having finished 3rd at The Evian Championship is in glittering form.
Lee was in contention in all three Opens held between 2020 and 2022 where she finished in the top 5, however missed the cut in last year’s event at St Andrews.
Other players who could be in contention come Sunday are World No. 1 Nelly Korda, who finished 5th in this week’s Scottish Open and second to Lydia Ko in The Open a year ago.
The TAB is running multiple markets on the event and from a betting point of view, there are various ways to play this week’s major.
A Same-Game Multi with a couple of players to make the Top 10, could be an interesting bet, and give you even more reason to cheer on our Kiwi superstar.
Lydia Ko and Atthaya Thitikul to make the Top 10 @ $8.9 - $5 bet = $44.80.
All TAB odds are current at the time of publishing - R18, please gamble responsibly.
