TADWORTH, U.K. – Auburn's Anna Foster will begin play in the 2023 AIG Women's Open, the final women's golf major championship of the year, at Walton Heath Golf Club on Thursday.
The tournament features one of the greatest fields in the sport including each of the top 10 players in the Rolex World Golf Rankings. Notable professionals in the field include world No. 1 Nelly Korda, Jin Young Ko, Celine Boutier, Lydia Ko and Brooke Henderson. This year's tournament marks the 47th playing of the event and the 23rd as a major championship.
Foster qualified for the prestigious tournament through the Hankley Common final qualifying event on Monday. The Auburn senior fired a 3-under 69 in the qualifier to secure a spot in the field, which was awarded to the top 12 finishers.
Foster, who was named All-SEC for a second consecutive season in 2023, posted a couple of top-10 individual finishes during the 2022-23 season for the Tigers and led the team in total birdies with 88. Foster also currently holds the third lowest all-time career scoring average at 73.06 (minimum 60 rounds) and sits seventh in program history in rounds under par at 25.
The Dublin, Ireland native is one of 10 amateurs and one of two Irish players participating in this year's event. Only three amateurs have ever won the tournament, with the most recent being Marta Figueras-Dotti in 1982. An Irish player has never been crowned champion of the event.
The tournament will be a standard 72-hole stroke play event over four days with the field of 144 being cut to the top 65 players with ties after the opening two rounds. The Old Course at Walton Heath Golf Club, which has hosted the European Open on five occasions, the Ryder Cup in 1981 and the Senior Open Championship in 2011, will be hosting the event for the first time. The course will be playing as a par 72 at 6,881 yards.
Foster's opening round tee time is set for 8:55 a.m. CT alongside Lindy Duncan and Celine Herbin on Thursday. USA Network will have coverage of the event from 5 a.m. CT to noon CT on Thursday and Friday as well as 6 a.m. CT to 1 p.m. CT on Saturday. On Sunday, USA Network will provide coverage from 6 a.m. CT to 11 a.m. CT before NBC continues the coverage from 11 a.m. CT to 1 p.m. CT. Live scoring of the event will also be available at aigwomenopen.com.
Auburn’s Foster to begin play at 2023 AIG Women’s Open
