Welcome to this week’s Golf Insider, everyone!
It’s my favorite time of the summer golf season. Links golf is finally here. Our next stop across the pond takes us to Dundonald Links in North Ayrshire, Scotland for the 2026 ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open from July 23–26.
This is the 10th edition of the co-sanctioned event on the LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour. Dundonald Links first played host to the Women’s Scottish Open in 2017. After a few venue changes the next three iterations, it reclaimed its host status again in 2022 and hasn’t relinquished it since.
You may remember last year’s tournament, when then 21-year-old Lottie Woad won the Women’s Scottish Open in her professional debut. She had just come off two stellar results on the pro tours—a win as an amateur at the LET’s Women’s Irish Open and a third place finish at the Evian Championship. Woad was feeling it during the summer months of the 2025 season.
This season, Woad is prepared to defend her title at Dundonald. She’s carrying warm memories into the week, but she’s also recognized how the course is playing differently than the year she picked up that first pro win.
“I think it’s just a little firmer than last year, which it was very soft last year. So it’s playing more how it’s meant to be played,” Woad said in a pre-tournament press conference on July 21.
This is great news for links golf fans tuning in this week. Often called the truest test of golf, links courses are typically firm, fast and unpredictable. You can’t get by on a links course without respecting the layout and respecting the turf.
“I think you’re hitting it further off the tee and you’re getting runs and you have short clubs in,” Woad said of strategizing around Dundonald this year.
“The wedges last year were spinning back and you could play at every pin where this year, you have to allow for four or five yards with a wedge but you can still be pretty aggressive.”
Woad’s appreciation for links golf and her English upbringing certainly give her a bit of an advantage in these tournaments. But it’s links golf; anything can happen. And Woad’s got quite the field to go up against this week.
Hannah Green, who rocketed off to a great start to the 2026 season, is in the field for her first Women’s Scottish Open since 2022. Green hasn’t historically performed well at the AIG Women’s Open; the last time she made the cut at one was in 2022. This year, she’s trying to get back into the rhythm of the links with an appearance at Dundonald.
“I have not had a good track record in the AIG the last three or four years, and I do think that comes to not playing the week before and experiencing links golf as much,” Green said in a pre-tournament press conference on July 21.
Green shared similar sentiments as Woad about Dundonald’s different conditions. She said there are additional challenges to consider with the fairways being more firm than previous years.
“I do feel like I hit it further than I did back in 2022, seeing holes whether it’s worth hitting driver; that’s the thing we’ve been working on,” Green said.
“And with how firm these fairways are compared to what I experienced in 2022, and actually having to worry about run outs versus carries, I guess, in a sense.”
There are a couple players, though, who are fully prepared to take on the Scottish links. In fact, you could say it’s in their blood. Gemma Dryburgh and Hannah Darling are set to tee it up this week in their home nation.
In 2022, Dryburgh became the first Scot to win on the LPGA Tour in over 20 years. This week, she’s in front of friends and family to hopefully take advantage of the way the course is going to play.
“It’s more linksy. So obviously using my advantage—being a home player, can use that to my advantage,” Dryburgh said in a pre-tournament press conference on July 22.
The other star Scot, Darling, earned her full LET membership card through the 2025 season’s LET Access Series. Darling had an excellent amateur career, playing on three Curtis Cup teams, even winning it with Great Britain and Ireland in 2024. Now, as she gets going in her professional career, she looks to make a mark on home soil.
We can never be short of compelling amateur storylines, and there’s a fun one at this year’s Women’s Scottish Open with sponsor invite Kiara Romero. This week, the World Amateur No. 1 has a chance to earn LPGA Tour membership through the LPGA Elite Amateur Pathway (LEAP). Romero has claimed 19 out of the 20 points required to establish membership.
LEAP rewards one point for making the cut and two points for a top-25 finish at an LPGA Tour major championship. So, if she makes the cut this week, she’ll secure that final point. It could be a huge moment for Romero, who could accept LPGA Tour membership immediately or defer membership to next season if she qualifies. There could be some big decisions on her plate after this weekend!
As the pressure builds, so may the gales from the coast of the Firth of Clyde. That’s the beauty of the links golf season. We’ll catch up next week to see how the players responded and get ready for the last major of the 2026 season.
See you then, golf fans.
This week in women’s golf
LPGA News
Lottie Woad and the road to success
Nanea Cup to showcase present and future of women’s golf in Hawaii beginning in 2027
Field breakdown: 2026 ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open
Stellar field is set for the 2026 Women’s Scottish Open
How to watch the 2026 Women’s Scottish Open
Making moves: Down the stretch, the LPGA Tour season races are ramping up
Four years, five titles: Haeran Ryu’s path to the top of her game
LET News
LET begins UK swing with 2026 ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open
Watch live: 2026 Women’s Scottish Open
LET winner Chacarra ready for the challenge of links golf at Dundonald
Hall returns to favourite place in first LPGA start after welcoming baby boy
Dryburgh hoping to use home advantage at 2026 Women’s Scottish Open
Watch: LET Unfiltered with Amelia Garvey
Dun Laoghaire Golf Club, Dublin, to host the 2027 KPMG Women’s Irish Open
Buccellati title sponsor of Ladies Italian Open
Tan happy with progress after best major finish at Evian
Alexander extends Order of Merit advantage after Amundi Evian Championship
Hull continues to lead European Solheim Cup points list heading to final two events
Captain’s corner with Anna Nordqvist
Prize fund announced and tickets on sale for 2026 Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España
Epson Tour News
Players to watch: 2026 Hartford HealthCare Women’s Championship presented by Munich Re
Things to know about the 2026 Hartford HealthCare Women’s Championship
Field breakdown: 2026 Hartford HealthCare Women’s Championship
Pancake-Webb claims first career Epson Tour win at 2026 Greater Toledo Classic
Inside the Race for the Card: Standout rookies and fierce competition
Amateur/NCAA News
She the North: Canada’s Clairey Lin wins 2026 U.S. Girls’ Junior
For the second straight year, a Canadian captured the U.S. Girls’ Junior
Meet the 2026 U.S. Girls’ Junior quarterfinalists
Playoff survivor upsets No. 2 seed in U.S. Girls’ Junior round of 64
Clairey Lin claims medalist honors at 2026 U.S. Girls’ Junior
NCAA committee makes major change to .500 for women’s college golf
Five at The IX: Annabelle Pancake-Webb captures her first Epson Tour title at a shortened 2026 Greater Toledo Classic on July 19, 2026
On July 19, 2026, Annabelle Pancake-Webb won a shortened 2026 Greater Toledo Classic after posting a 9-under-par total score. Because of hazardous air quality due to the wildfires in Canada, the tournament was initially planning on finishing the final third round on Monday. Officials, though, eventually decided to shorten the tournament to two rounds, completing the tournament on Sunday.
Pancake-Webb shot 66 and 67 in her first and second rounds, respectively. Those stellar scores were enough to put her two shots above Lauren Olivares, who currently leads the Epson Tour Race for the Card standings. Olivares made a charge on Sunday’s final round. After shooting a 70 (-1) in round one, she lit it up with a 6-under-par 65 in the second round. But she came up just short.
With her win, Pancake-Webb climbed to the second place spot in the Race for the Card, putting herself in a nice spot to gain LPGA Tour membership for the 2027 season. Here are some quotes from Pancake-Webb’s post-win press conference on Sunday, July 19.
Q: We saw you hugging your family after the round. What does it mean to have them here to share this moment with you?
ANNABELLE PANCAKE-WEBB: It’s extra special because a lot of people out here are on their own. To have both my parents, my in-laws and even my host family here to watch means so much. This can be a lonely road, so being able to celebrate with them is really special. I’m so thankful they made the trip.
Q: You’ve been in contention several times this season. What got you over the hump today?
ANNABELLE PANCAKE-WEBB: Golf is such a game of inches. There have been so many weeks where a putt lips out or I get a bad bounce, but this week I got the lip-ins and the good bounces. There are so many great players out here, so my goal this year was just to be consistent, and I feel like I’ve done that pretty well. To come out on top is super rewarding, and I’m really grateful.
Q: You were bogey-free until No. 15. How were you able to reset over the final three holes?
ANNABELLE PANCAKE-WEBB: After 15, I just told myself it wasn’t over. I still had three holes to play, including two par 5s, and I’m a pretty aggressive player. I just reset and treated it like a new stretch of golf without changing anything. It was my first bogey of the tournament, and it was just a bad putt. You have to forget the bad shots and remember the good ones, and that’s what I tried to do.
Q: What does this victory do for your confidence heading into the second half of the season and the Race for the Card?
ANNABELLE PANCAKE-WEBB: It gives me a huge confidence boost. To know I can win out here against some of the best players in the world is really encouraging and makes me excited for the rest of the year. It’s a long season, so I’m just going to keep taking it one tournament at a time. I’ve been in the final group before and didn’t quite finish it off, so to do it this time feels really good.
Q: On 17 you went for the green in two and ended up in the left bunker with a difficult lie. What was going through your mind?
ANNABELLE PANCAKE-WEBB: When I walked up to it, I got on my knees and thought, “Can I even get to the ball?” I asked my caddie, Evan, if he agreed that I couldn’t stand in the bunker and basically had to do a full squat to hit it, and he said yes. At that point I just tried not to think. I told myself, “Just swing. Your body knows what to do. You’re just squatting while you’re doing it.” I hit about the best shot I possibly could have. It was probably one of the best shots of my life, so I’m glad it worked out.
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