Ashleigh Buhai to begin title defence alongside Brooke Henderson and rising star Rose Zhang; Celine Boutier starts bid for successive titles alongside 2018 champion Georgia Hall and Atthaya Thitikul; Watch the AIG Women's Open live on Thursday from 11am on Sky Sports Golf
Tuesday 8 August 2023 17:35, UK
England's Charley Hull has been handed a star-studded grouping alongside world No 1 Nelly Korda and two-time major champion Lydia Ko for the first two rounds of the AIG Women’s Open.
Hull, chasing a maiden major title this week at Walton Heath and looking to complete a season of first-time major winners, has been handed an early-late draw as she begins at 8.20am on Thursday.
The 27-year-old will tee off alongside Korda, looking to enjoy more success in England after winning the Aramco Team Series event in London last month, while Ko will be searching for a return to form as he she aims to end her seven-year major drought.
World No 2 Jin Young Ko plays alongside former champion Anna Nordqvist and Ireland's Leona Maguire, likely to play a key part in Team Europe's Solheim Cup team this September, with that group also in the morning wave on the opening day.
Defending champion Ashleigh Buhai is on the other side of the draw and begins at 12.49pm with Brooke Henderson and rising start Rose Zhang, with US Women's Open champion Allisen Corpuz in the next threeball out with fellow former major winners Hyo Joo Kim and Hannah Green.
Minjee Lee has been paired with Danielle Kang and Nasa Hataoka, while Lexi Thompson will hope to find some form and enhance her Solheim Cup prospects with compatriot Lilia Vu and Sweden's Linn Grant.
Celine Boutier, who claimed a maiden major victory on home soil at the Evian Championship last month before winning the Women's Scottish Open on Sunday, is also an afternoon starter as she joins Georgia Hall - her Solheim Cup teammate in 2019 - and Atthaya Thitikul.
Mel Reid is in the first group out on Thursday morning, with the Englishwoman handed a 6.30am tee time alongside Alison Lee and Maria Fassi.
0747 Jiyai Shin (Kor), Yuka Saso (Jpn), Gaby Lopez (Mex)
0758 Minjee Lee (Aus), Nasa Hataoka (Jpn), Danielle Kang (USA)
0809 Anna Nordqvist (Swe), Jin Young Ko (Kor), Leona Maguire (Irel)
0820 Nelly Korda (USA), Lydia Ko (Nzl), Charley Hull (Eng)
1227 Georgia Hall (Eng), Celine Boutier (Fra), Atthaya Thitikul (Tha)
1238 Lilia Vu (USA), Lexi Thompson (USA), Linn Grant (Swe)
1249 Ashleigh Buhai (Rsa), Brooke Henderson (Can), Rose Zhang (USA)
1300 Allisen Corpuz (USA), Hyo Joo Kim (Kor), Hannah Green (Aus)
Sky Sports will have extended live coverage from the final women's major of the year, with seven hours of live action for each tournament day and a special preview show looking ahead to the event.
Coverage will begin from 11am for the first two rounds and midday over the weekend, while there will be a daily one-hour highlights show to look back at the best of the previous rounds' action on Sky Sports Golf.
You can download the Sky Sports App to get news, interviews, highlights, clips, leaderboard scores and a dedicated blog, while other special AIG Women's Open programming will be available to download via Sky Sports On Demand.
Watch the AIG Women's Open this month live on Sky Sports. The preview show is live on Wednesday August 9 from 4pm on Sky Sports Golf, while coverage of the opening round starts on Thursday August 10 at 11am. Stream the AIG Women's Open with NOW.