Staff WriterThe AIG Women’s Open is heading back to Sunningdale in 2028, sending the world’s leading women’s golfers to the famous Old Course from 14-20 August for a championship return two decades in the making.
For a venue that does not need to shout to be heard, this is a suitably elegant bit of business. Sunningdale has always had the air of a place that knows exactly what it is: classic, exacting, quietly severe, and perfectly capable of making elite golfers look as if they have turned up to a violin recital carrying a banjo.
Sunningdale’s Old Course Gets Another Major Moment
The 2028 championship will mark the first time in 20 years that the AIG Women’s Open has been played at Sunningdale, one of the great names in English golf and a course with a serious habit of identifying proper champions.
The Old Course has already hosted the Championship four times, producing winners of considerable substance: Karrie Webb in 1997, Se Ri Pak in 2001, Karen Stupples in 2004 and Jiyai Shin in 2008. Between them, that quartet collected 15 major titles, which tells you rather neatly that Sunningdale does not hand out silverware like party bags.
It asks questions. Usually the kind that arrive softly, then remove your shoelaces.
The R&A Hails A World-Class Stage
Mark Darbon, Chief Executive of The R&A, said, “Sunningdale continues a run of world class venues for the AIG Women’s Open. Venue selection is incredibly important to The R&A and AIG as we remain committed to making the AIG Women’s Open one of the world’s leading women’s sports events.
“With a track record of producing outstanding champions, Sunningdale will provide a fantastic test of golf and we look forward to an exciting AIG Women’s Open in 2028.”
That last point matters. The AIG Women’s Open has been steadily building its identity around venues with weight, texture and golfing consequence. Sunningdale fits that brief like a well-cut blazer: traditional without being tired, beautiful without being soft, and strategic enough to keep a field of world-class players honest from the first tee shot to the final putt.
AIG Continues Its Push For Iconic Venues
Peter Zaffino, Chairman & CEO, AIG, added, “Since the start of AIG’s title sponsorship in 2019, we have worked closely with The R&A to present the AIG Women’s Open on golf’s most prestigious and iconic courses. AIG remains committed to showcasing professional women’s golf at the best venues and we are thrilled that the AIG Women’s Open will be played at Sunningdale in 2028. The Old Course is exceptional and will challenge the elite field of golfers, inspire fans around the world and deliver a memorable Championship experience.”
There is a clear strategy here, and it is a good one. Put the best women players in the game on courses that carry history, then let the golf do the talking. No gimmicks, no forced theatre, no neon sign screaming “heritage” from the clubhouse roof.
Sunningdale brings its own gravitas. It has the architecture, the roll, the angles and the kind of understated danger that tends to reveal itself just as a player starts feeling comfortable.
A Championship With Sunningdale History
The AIG Women’s Open has not merely visited Sunningdale before; it has left behind a few proper chapters.
Karrie Webb’s winning total of 269 in 1997 set a championship benchmark at the venue. Karen Stupples matched that number in 2004, but did so with one of the most extraordinary opening bursts in major championship golf: eagle, albatross, five-under-par after two holes. Most golfers would need a fortnight and a friendly calculator to manage that.
Stupples’ closing 64 remains the lowest final round by an AIG Women’s Open champion, a performance that still sounds slightly fictional even when written plainly.
Then came Jiyai Shin in 2008, when Sunningdale again produced a champion of international quality. Alongside her that week was Anna Nordqvist, who won the Smyth Salver as low amateur. Nordqvist would later become AIG Women’s Open champion at Carnoustie in 2021 and now leads Europe as captain at the Solheim Cup.
That is the sort of long thread championship golf does so well: an amateur learning the room, then returning years later as one of the leading figures in the sport.
More Than A Women’s Major Venue
Sunningdale’s championship credentials stretch well beyond the AIG Women’s Open. The club has hosted the Senior Open four times, the Walker Cup in 1987 and the Curtis Cup in 2024, when Great Britain and Ireland triumphed under Catriona Matthew as captain.
That matters because championship venues are not created by postcode or reputation alone. They earn their standing by repeatedly holding up under scrutiny.
The Old Course has done that for generations. It is not long merely for the sake of length, nor difficult simply because someone found a mower and a sadistic streak. Its challenge sits in decision-making, placement, recovery, patience and touch. In major golf, that combination tends to separate players rather quickly.
Sunningdale Ready To Welcome The World
Paul Chase-Gardener, Chairman of Sunningdale, said, “We are very pleased to have been chosen to host the AIG Women’s Open in 2028. It is a great honour for the Club and a reflection of the standing of our courses within the game. Sunningdale has a long and valued association with championship golf, having previously hosted this Championship on four occasions.
“Our Club is firmly committed to supporting the continued growth and increasing significance of the AIG Women’s Open within the global game. We look forward to welcoming the world’s leading players, officials and spectators to Sunningdale and to presenting the Old Course as a true and memorable test of golf as befitting this Championship.”
That word “test” is doing plenty of work, and rightly so. Sunningdale will not just be a handsome backdrop in 2028. It will shape the championship. It will reward thought. It will expose impatience. It will punish shots that are almost good enough, which is often the cruellest and most compelling part of proper major golf.
What The 2028 AIG Women’s Open Means
By returning to Sunningdale, the AIG Women’s Open continues its climb as one of the most important events in women’s sport. The venue gives the championship instant authority, but also a useful sense of continuity.
The past winners at Sunningdale are not decorative names from a dusty honours board. They are proof of concept. Webb, Pak, Stupples and Shin all had the game, nerve and imagination to solve the Old Course under major pressure.
In 2028, another elite field will be asked to do the same.
And that is the beauty of this announcement. The AIG Women’s Open is not simply going back to Sunningdale for nostalgia’s sake. It is returning because great venues still matter, great tests still matter, and women’s major championship golf deserves stages where the consequences feel as large as the talent on display.
