Sorenstam heads field for Scotland's first major

World number one Annika Sorenstam heads 126 of the best women golfers entered for the Weetabix Women’s British Open Championship, played over Turnberry GC from 8th to 11th August.

The 31-year-old Swede has racked up seven wins around the globe in 2002 and is one of the five top players representing the world’s major golfing continents and with England’s Laura Davies, Korean Se Ri Pak, Australia’s Karrie Webb and Juli Inkster from the USA have won a total of 24 majors and 190 tournaments worldwide between them.

McKay – Ayrshire expert

The Weetabix Women’s British Open is the first Women’s major championship ever to be held in Scotland and the star studded field, which also includes the four world class Scots players, Janice Moodie, Mhairi McKay, Kathryn Marshall and Catriona Matthew, is expected to lure galleries normally reserved for an Open Championship.

All four Scots are handily placed for either top seven automatic qualification, or one of five wild card picks in compatriot Reid’s team.

With the opportunity to shine on home soil, and with a partisan crowd, they are likely to be in the running, especially as Moodie and McKay learned their trade on the seaside courses of the Ayrshire coastline.

With 126 players currently exempt and possibly a further five to come from the P4 Norwegian Masters, 13 places in the field of 144 will come from Final Qualifying at Kilmarnock Barassie and Turnberry Kintyre on Monday 5th August.