The 2023 AIG Women’s Open will showcase the abilities of the world’s best current players and previous winners of the Major, but there are also opportunities for some of the world’s leading amateur players to tee it up alongside the better-known stars at Walton Heath.
Here are the amateurs in the AIG Women’s Open field and the stories of how they qualified.
Saki Baba
- World Amateur Golf Ranking: 2nd
- How She Qualified: 2022 US Women’s Amateur champion
- Nationality: Japan
Japanese player Baba appears in the 2023 tournament courtesy of victory in the 2022 US Women’s Amateur at Chambers Bay with an 11&9 win over Canadian Monet Chun.
Baba produced a dominant final round to clinch victory, with a string of birdies to run up the largest 18-hole lead for over 60 years in the 36-hole final.
She was equally as impressive in the final 18 holes, with five birdies in six holes between the fourth and ninth.
The win saw Baba become only the second Japanese player to win the US Women’s Amateur after Michiko Hattori in 1985. As well as that accolade, it gained her exemptions into the 2023 US Women’s Open, the Amundi Chevron Championship and the AIG Women’s Open.
Baba missed the cut in both the Pebble Beach Major and the one held at Evian Resort Golf Club, but she’ll be hoping it’s a case of third time lucky at Walton Heath as she looks to build on an impressive amateur career to date.
Eila Galitsky
- World Amateur Golf Ranking: 97th
- How She Qualified: 2023 Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific champion
- Nationality: Thailand
Galitsky earned exemptions to the Chevron Championship, Amundi Evian Championship and AIG Women’s Open courtesy of victory in the 2023 Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific at the age of 16.
She held a three-shot lead going into the final round in Singapore, and that had stretched to five by the 12th. Following three birdies in her final four holes, that was her eventual margin of victory over Minsol Kim.
The win ensured Galitsky – who holds dual nationality of Thailand and Canada – joined former World No.1 Atthaya Thitikul as a Thai winner of the tournament.
Following the win, she said: “I am looking forward to playing the AIG Women’s Open, as I feel like it is ‘the’ championship for women’s golf. Honestly, any Major would be great, but I just really like that one.”
In the Chevron Championship in particular, Galitsky showed she had what it takes for the biggest occasions, and was near the top of the leaderboard during the first round before eventually finishing T28.
Charlotte Heath
- World Amateur Golf Ranking: 9th
- How She Qualified: Highest-Ranked player in Women’s Amateur Golf Ranking from Great Britain and Ireland as of week 26, 2023
- Nationality: England
The 21-year-old, from England, qualifies for the 2023 AIG Women’s Open courtesy of her World Amateur Golf Ranking, with an exemption available to the highest ranked player from Great Britain and Ireland.
The Florida State University player has an ambition of becoming an LPGA Tour pro, and if her amateur career is anything to go by, there’s every chance she will achieve it.
She won the 2020 Australian Women’s Amateur and represented Great Britain and Ireland to face the USA in the 2021 and 2022 Curtis Cup. Also in 2022, she finished runner-up in the European Ladies Amateur Championship.
Earlier this year, Heath competed in the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship, where she finished T7 in the individual standings, four shots behind winner Rose Zhang. She also competed in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur earlier in the year, where she finished 25th.
Chiara Horder
- World Amateur Golf Ranking: 140th
- How She Qualified: 2023 Women’s Amateur champion
- Nationality: Germany
Texas Tech student Horder produced a dominant performance in June’s Women’s Amateur at Prince’s to beat Annabelle Pancake 7&6 in the 36-hole final.
Horder led by three at the halfway stage of the final, and turned the screw further with a host of birdies to close out the win.
As a result, Horder played in the Amundi Evian Championship and also earns an exemption into the AIG Women’s Open. She will also play in the 2024 Chevron Championship and US Women’s Open.
On the opportunity to play at Walton Heath, Horder said: “Competing in the AIG Women’s Open is just amazing. It’s definitely a dream.”
Ting-Hsuan Huang
- World Amateur Golf Ranking: 39th
- How She Qualified: 2022 Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific champion
- Nationality: Chinese Taipei
After a slow start, Ting-Hsuan Huang claimed the Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific title at Siam Country Club last November thanks largely to six birdies over her last 11 holes to finish on 11 under. That handed her a victory by two shots over Natthakritta Vongtaveelap and an exemption to the 2023 AIG Women’s Open.
The UCLA player said after her win: “I did not have any expectations coming into this week. I just wanted to play good golf and enjoy myself on the golf course. To be able to do this is amazing.”
Thanks to that win, Haung also played in the Amundi Evian Championship, where she missed the cut finishing on nine-over in testing conditions. However, she has another chance to show what she’s capable of at Walton Heath.
There, Huang will hope to follow in the footsteps of her idol, five-time Major winner Yani Tseng, who won the title in 2010 and 2011.
Julia Lopez Ramirez
- World Amateur Golf Ranking: 6th
- How She Qualified: 2023 European Ladies Amateur champion
- Nationality: Spain
Lopez Ramirez earned her place in the AIG Women’s Open courtesy of her win in the European Ladies Amateur Championship just two weeks before the Major.
The Mississippi State player claimed her third win of the year – and biggest of her career – courtesy of three birdies on her final three holes at the tournament in Sweden, seeing off strong competition from compatriot Carla Bernat and home favourite Ingrid Lindblad, who is currently ranked top of the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
That marked the high point of a hugely successful year for Lopez Ramirez so far. She also played in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in March and achieved victories in the SEC Women’s Golf Championship and NCAA Westfield Regional before her latest win.
Valentina Rossi
- World Amateur Golf Ranking: 413th
- How She Qualified: 2022 Women’s Amateur Latin America champion
- Nationality: Argentina
Rossi booked her place in the AIG Women’s Open with victory in last November’s Women’s Amateur Latin America in her homeland of Argentina.
The Michigan State player claimed a one-shot win over Maria Jose Martin after a three-under final round of 69 to become the first Argentinian to claim the title.
Exemptions to the Chevron Championship, Amundi Evian Championship and AIG Women’s Open followed, and Rossi remarked afterwards: “I want to play those three Major championships now! I’m so happy to have these opportunities and I am going to work really hard so I can give them my best.”
