R&A Plans To Use Same Courses On Both Open Rotas With 'One Exception' For Women's Championship

The R&A's CEO Martin Slumbers has revealed there are plans to start using an almost identical list of courses on the Open rota for both the men's and women's Championships, with St Andrews "periodically" returning as host in the years to come.

The Home of Golf has welcomed the very best in the men's game around every five years since 1984 - hosting for the 30th time in 2022 - while the AIG Women's Open is visiting in 2024 for only the third time ever, following its debut in 2007 and second running in 2013.

As a result, over half of the world's top-50 female players had never played a competitive round at the iconic Scottish links course before this year - something the R&A's outgoing CEO admitted he was shocked to discover.

In his introductory AIG Women's Open press conference, Slumbers said: "What has really surprised me is how few of these great women players have never competed over these links. We take for granted that the men have played here since they were young boys playing in international events.

"Nelly [Korda] has never played a competitive round around here. I think I'm right in saying that 30 of the top-50 have never played a competitive round around here. I'm excited to see them. This is the Home of Golf. It is arguably the most important golf course in the world. I think we're going to enjoy watching them play."

The list of future host venues for The Open Championship and the AIG Women's Open has only been officially confirmed until 2026, with Royal Portrush and Royal Birkdale in line to take up the honor for the men while Royal Porthcawl and Royal Lytham & St Annes welcome the women.

Ahead of this week's AIG Women's Open at St Andrews, Slumbers - who will be replaced by Mark Darbon later in the year - was posed questions on which courses might well host subsequent Championships, with Portmarnock a potential candidate further down the line.

The R&A's CEO revealed that St Andrews will almost certainly host plenty more AIG Women's Opens in the years to come, while - with one exception - many of the other venues more commonly competed at by the men will also welcome their female peers.

Slumbers said: "I think we have historically gone with the men's game to St Andrews more often, and I think you'll see us come back here more often, as well, with the women's game."

He continued: "I think you're going to see us increasingly use exactly the same venues as we use for The Open, with one exception that we will probably want to have - periodically - a Championship in the London area.

"The reason for this being -- it's primarily linked to one of the byproducts of trying to [get] young people to play -- more women to play golf, and there are more women golfers down in the south of England than in Scotland, so we'll take advantage of that.

"But you're, increasingly over the years, going to see the same venues that we use for The Open Championship, and I think that is entirely appropriate."