Photo: Ricoh Women's British Open/Twitter
This week, the best women in golf are showcasing their talents at Royal Lytham & St Annes in England for the 42nd Ricoh Women’s British Open. This will be the championship’s fifth appearance at the iconic venue and 31 ANNIKA alumnae are set to compete.
Of the 31 former ANNIKA players, five are amateurs. Leading the pack is Swedish superstar Linn Grant, who qualified to play after carding a career-low round of 10-under-par on Monday. Joining her is fellow swede Frida Kinhult, who has competed in five ANNIKA Invitationals in Europe and the U.S. Her most recent victory came in March where she defended her title at the Spanish Ladies’ Amateur Championship. The other ANNIKA alumnae amateurs participating this week are Hollie Muse, Leonie Harm and Agathe Laisne.
As for some of our professional alumnae to watch this week, Bronte Law is enjoying a very solid year. Winner of the 2016 ANNIKA Award presented by 3M while at UCLA, Law has had eight top-20 results this year including her career-best sixth-place finishes at both the Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic and the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic.
Another is Austin Ernst, who began her career on the LPGA Tour in 2013 and has had 2 top-5 finishes in her last four events. Ernst was the first ANNIKA alum to win an individual NCAA Championship.
Jessica Korda, who is ranked No. 9 in Rolex Rankings, has also had an impressive season so far. Starting the year off strong with a win at the Honda LPGA Thailand, she’s tallied four top-5 finishes in LPGA events, including a T-4 finish at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. In just her second year on tour, younger sister Nelly has enjoyed a strong 2018 as well, with a T-2 at the HSBC Women’s World Championship her best result to date.
Among other ANNIKA alumnae who will be competing this week in England are Angel Yin, Aditi Ashok, Celine Boutier, Danielle Kang, Tonje Daffinrud, Casey Danielson, Emma Talley, Yu Liu, Cloe Frankish, Lynn Carlsson, Mariah Stackhouse, Julia Engstrom, Jaye Marie Green, Annie Park, Noemi Jimenez Martin, Nuria Iturrioz, Nicole Broch Larsen, Laetita Beck, Nanna Koerstz Madsen, Robynn Ree, Olivia Cowan and Megan Khang.
We wish the best of luck to all our former ANNIKA competitors playing this week and will be cheering everyone on from this side of the pond!