THE MAJORS
The KPMG Women’s PGA returns to Hazeltine National the last week of June. This Robert Trent Jones design in Minneapolis (modified by son Rees) has been the scene of numerous majors, plus 2016 Ryder Cup. The Ryder Cup will be back in 2029, the first American venue to host a second. Australian Han- nah Green unexpectedly won the 2019 PGA at Hazeltine in her LPGA rookie season, wire-to-wire at that. She won three times in 2024 but has never con- tended again in a major. The AIG Women’s Open in late July is at Royal Lytham & St Annes in North-West England, across the Ribble Estuary from where the Open Champi- onship is being held two weeks earlier at Royal Birkdale. Royal Lytham was where Ernie Els won the 2012 Open, and sadly the men may never return to this bunker- strewn links. It appears to be unoffi- cially off the rota. There have been 11 Opens in the club’s history, dating back to Bobby Jones in 1926, but the links, hemmed in by housing and a railway line, is no longer considered the right fit for the modern Open infrastructure and larger crowds. There were 278 000 3 Minjee Lee (US Open, US PGA, Evian), Lydia Ko (Evian, Chevron, British,), Chun In-gee (US Open, Evian, PGA) 2 Yuka Saso (US Open 2), Nelly Korda (PGA, Chevron), Brooke Henderson (PGA, Evian), Ariya Jutanugarn (US Open, British), Ko Jin-yung (Chevron, Evian), Lilia Vu (Chevron, British), Anna Nordqvist (Evian, British)*, Park Sung-hyun (US Open, PGA) *Nordqvist also won PGA in 2009 Since 1995 10 Annika Sorenstam 7 Juli Inkster, Karrie Webb, Inbee Park 5 Se Ri Pak, Yani Tseng 3 Anna Nordqvist, Lydia Ko, Minjee Lee, Chun In-gee WOMEN’S MAJOR TITLES Since 2015
at Royal Portrush last year, and Lytham cannot accommodate more than 200 000. Portmarnock in Dublin, Ireland is going to be announced soon as a new Open venue. Lytham remains though a brilliant venue for the Women’s and Senior Opens. The last two Women’s Opens there resulted in popular victories for home players Catriona Matthew (Scot- land) in 2009, and Georgia Hall (Eng- land) in 2018. Hall was only 22, but she hasn’t had much form in the majors since. Three team events September brings three team events, beginning with the Walker Cup between the amateur squads of USA and Great Britain & Ireland. At one of the great links venues, Lahinch in Ireland. A two-day match which now receives full TV coverage. If you’re thinking that the Walker Cup was played a few months ago at Cypress Point, and shouldn’t happen again until 2027, you would be correct. However, the R&A and USGA decided to move it away from the same years as the Ryder Cup. It will be followed by the women’s
Riviera Country Club hosts its first US Women’s Open in June.
The Women’s PGA Championship returns to Hazeltine National, a future Ryder Cup site.
1962
500 100 The only year in major history where each of the four majors were won by members of golf’s Big 3: Gary Player (PGA), Arnold Palmer (Masters, Open) and Jack Nicklaus (US Open). The US Open in 2032 will be the 500th men’s major championship, at Pebble Beach.
Adam Scott plays his 100th major at US PGA, 99th in succession. The 2013 Masters champion has 20 top-10s.
80 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026
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