Final Qualifying for the AIG Women's Open took place at Crail Golfing Society on Monday, with 12 players out of 92 entrants making it through to tee it up at St Andrews on Thursday as the last Major of the year takes place.
Five-time China LPGA Tour winner Weiwei Zhang topped the leaderboard on five-under to land a maiden Major appearance, while big names such as Lauren Hartlage and Jodi Ewart Shadoff also did enough after 18 holes.
Shadoff was one of the three golfers to make it into the AIG Women's Open field via a playoff against 11 others, with Northern Ireland's Stephanie Meadow and Finland's Ursula Wikstrom joining her.
Otherwise, a handful of star faces have either been left waiting to discover their fate on the reserve list or confirmed as missing out on St Andrews. A handful of others may well have succumbed to untimely injuries.
Notable Absences From the AIG Women's Open
Below are seven big names who missed out on a place at the 2024 AIG Women's Open.
Anna Nordqvist
The Swede is a seven-time LET winner and featured for Team Europe in the 2023 Solheim Cup - as well as four others before that - but she will have a nervous wait to find out if there will be a tee time at St Andrews with her name next to it this week.
Hedwall is the first reserve after falling short in the playoff so may well feel hopeful of a start, regardless.
Pia Babnik
Babnik competed at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and finished 22nd, continuing her rise towards the top of the game, but the 20-year-old won't feature at the AIG Women's Open.
The Slovenian golfer carded an even-par round of 72 in Final Qualifying and will return to focus on the Ladies European Tour season, where she is a two-time winner.
Caroline Masson
Masson is a four-time Solheim Cup player with a victory apiece on both the LPGA Tour and LET, but she missed out on qualifying for the AIG Women's Open after shooting three-over at Crail Golfing Society on Monday.
The German - who turned pro in 2009 - is now ranked World No.338 and missed the cut in three of the four Majors this season.
Bianca Pagdanganan
Pagdanganan is another Paris Olympian who fell short in her quest to play in the latest big-time championship. She has a best result of T9 at a Major (the 2020 KPMG Women's PGA Championship) but is yet to play an AIG Women's Open.
The Filipino endured a tough afternoon in Scotland on Monday and shot 77 to comfortably miss out on the chance of featuring at St Andrews.
Danielle Kang
Kang proved that no matter your name or what you have achieved in the past, all that matters is what happens on the day. Kang failed to make it through Final Qualifying on Monday after carding a disappointing 78.
The 2017 KPMG Women's PGA Championship winner and six-time LPGA Tour champion has played at the four most-recent Solheim Cups for Team USA, but her form has been on the slide over the past 12 months and she now sits as World No.140.
Inbee Park
Chun is a three-time Major champion, having lifted the 2015 US Women's Open, the 2016 Evian Championship, and the 2022 KPMG Women's PGA Championship.
As a recent Major winner, she is exempt into the 2024 AIG Women's Open, but Chun has not played since the US Women's Open at Lancaster Country Club and likely remains injured so is unable to take her place at St Andrews.
Carlota Ciganda
Munoz is another player who could well have been ruled out through injury as she did not attempt qualifying. The Spanish golfer did play at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, finishing T13, but missed the cut at her three previous events beforehand.
She has top-20 finishes in all five women's Majors throughout a pro career which began in 2009.
Meadow's Return to St Andrews
Meadow posted an eagle, four birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey in a one-under-par 71 to finish in a tie for 10th out of a field of 92 players over the Craighead links at Crail Golfing Society.
A subsequent sudden death play-off for three berths saw Meadow par the first, 17th and 18th holes to progress, along with England's Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Finland's Ursula Wikstrom.
From Jordanstown in Northern Ireland, Meadow joins Cavan's Leona Maguire and Kildare's Lauren Walsh in the final women's major of the season.
The 32-year-old will be making her seventh appearance in the Women's Open.
The AIG Women’s Open: A Big Week for Golf
The world's best players are set to be tested to the extreme this week, with R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers hoping for no delays. This year's champion is to take home the highest figure in Women's Open history at almost $1.5 million.
The USA captain thinks a playoff should be introduced in the event of a tie, as seen in last year's match at Finca Cortesin. The 2009 champion says that this year's AIG Women's Open will be her last. The AIG Women’s Open will feature five amateurs among the 144-player field – here are the details on how they reached the Major.
The World No.10 shared a swing change she has been working on recently and explained why St Andrews' Old Course represents a particularly difficult challenge for her. Stephanie Meadow will compete at St Andrews in her seventh Women's Open. Several Olympic and Solheim Cup stars will not feature in the final women's Major of the season after the field was confirmed following Open qualifying on Monday.
A Glimpse Into the Future
LIV Golf have reportedly signed up with the same sports media agency as the PGA Tour - leading to hope that the prolonged merger could be moving a step closer. The world's best players are set to be tested to the extreme this week, with R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers hoping for no delays. This year's champion is to take home the highest figure in Women's Open history at almost $1.5 million. The USA captain thinks a playoff should be introduced in the event of a tie, as seen in last year's match at Finca Cortesin. The 2009 champion says that this year's AIG Women's Open will be her last. The AIG Women’s Open will feature five amateurs among the 144-player field – here are the details on how they reached the Major. The World No.10 shared a swing change she has been working on recently and explained why St Andrews' Old Course represents a particularly difficult challenge for her.
