The Favorites, Sleepers, and Wild Cards to Watch at the AIG Women's Open

I can't think of a better way to end the major season than with the AIG Women's Open—celebrating it's 50th iteration—at one of the most prolific courses in the UK. Because if there's one thing links golf loves, it's a surprise.

The unruly nature of this style of course has a funny way of turning unlikely contenders into major champions, rewarding the players who can embrace the chaos. And a venue like Royal Lytham & St Annes has delivered some of the best finishes in the championship's history. From Catriona Matthew capturing her career-defining major just 11 weeks after giving birth, to Georgia Hall delivering a breakthrough victory in front of a home crowd in 2018, the fairways here are storied.

One of the best parts about this major is that the player who lifts the trophy won't necessarily be the one with the most impressive resume, but the one who can navigate every unpredictable bounce, brutal bunker and difficult decision this historic links throws their way.

Here are the names we're watching a little bit closer this week and why.

Royal Lytham will favor those who can expertly land and place there shots in the right spots. This course is littered with bunkers, making things challenging enough, but throw in some wind and rain (which the forecast is predicting quite a bit of) and we're likely to be watching one of the more interesting weeks play out.

Some of the best ball strikers in the women's game have already cemented themselves with titles this year, can they capitalize on the final major of the season?

Coming off back-to-back major wins at the KPMG Women's PGA Champion and the Amundi Evian Championship, Ryu has shown us exactly why her name deserves to be in heavy rotation this week. Though it is interesting to note that the 25-year-old has never competed in the ISPS HANDA Women's Scottish Open (usually held right before the AIG), and has never had a finish better than a tie for 21st in a links competition.

The other major winner this season and the top-ranked player in the world, Nelly Korda will once again have a shot at completing the career grand slam this week.

Korda has undergone a frustrating few weeks, she left Hazeltine disappointed in her performance, she then missed the cut at Evian, and she had to grind through a tough test at Dundonald Links, but her final round was her best overall round in terms of her stats. She hit the most fairways and greens, showing improvement in her accuracy despite the windy conditions and carded a 3-under 69 to sneak inside the top-20.

Korda has been outside of the top-10 just three times all year.

Despite having two wins on Tour this season, I still feel like the World No. 2 just hasn't had the year I would have like to have seen her have. Backing up a historic season collecting three wins and setting the Tour's lowest scoring average in history was always going to be a tough act to follow, but Thitikul is just so consistent in her playing style that I just always expect her to be in the mix.

She took some time off after Evian, and is coming into the week a bit fresher than most of the field. If she can find rhythm with her irons this week, I like her chances at making a charge.

Defending a title, let alone a major, is never easy, but Miyu Yamashita is one of the unlikely players that has a way of surprising you, and her AIG win last year was proof enough. To win your first LPGA title during one of the most historic weeks of the season during your rookie year is no small feat, and she's backing up her sophomore season with strong performances.

The Japanese star won the Meijer LPGA Classic last month, and has collected seven other top-10s, with her most recent just last week in Scotland. So it appears that the defending champ is going to put up a fight.

With her bunny earmuffs in tow, A Lim Kim surged at the Women's Scottish Open, and I think the 2020 U.S. Women's Open champion has the potential to do it again this week. Though she has quite a bit of length off the tee, her towering iron shots and ability to maneuver the ball will be a strong suit at Royal Lytham.

After winning is consecutive weeks earlier this season, it's been a little quiet for Hyo Joo Kim, but she's the type of player to emerge at the right time. As one of the short game players on Tour I think she possesses the skills to navigate Royal Lytham.

She finished T-16 last week in Scotland, and historically has played well at the AIG Women's Open, with her best finish came three years ago at Walton Heath in a tie for fourth.

Seeing LC's name atop the leaderboard last week at the Women's Scottish Open was unexpected, but not surprising. She has already shown a knack for links golf, winning the event back in 2024.

Her strength lies in her ability to control her ball and staying patient. She's had a rocky summer so far, but a top-10 finish ahead of a major week is a nice little confidence boost to remind herself, and us at home, that her game is actually a natural fit for Royal Lytham & St Annes.

This might be the sneaky most important category, and I wouldn't be surprised if this year's champion is someone that flies under the radar. These are the gutsy, gritty players that love to scramble, and can make magic happen at any given moment.

The lady of the hour is Jenny Shin, who arrives at Royal Lytham & St Annes riding the biggest wave of momentum in the field. Last week, the LPGA veteran snapped a decade-long winless drought in storybook fashion, going wire-to-wire to capture the ISPS HANDA Women's Scottish Open for just the second LPGA title of her career.

The obvious question is whether she can carry that form into the AIG Women's Open. Confidence is a powerful thing in golf, especially on links courses where conviction often matters as much as execution—and she said that she fell in love with links courses years ago at Carnoustie. Shin has proven she can handle the wind, the firm conditions and the mental grind that comes with links golf. Now, she'll try to do what only a handful of players have accomplished: turn a Scottish Open victory into a major championship run the very next week.

Trying to categorize the Brit was quite challenging, but ultimately there's no better phrase for Charley Hull than wild card. Her golf game both bewilders and amazes me. She wastes practically no time hitting her shots, and when watching her, I feel like she's already thinking about the next hole.

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She obviously will be a crowd favorite this week, and after finishing as the runner-up last year behind Yamashita, I think this is the title she wants more than anything.