The Scottish Open has been a fixture on the LPGA calendar for nearly a decade, and for two seasons running, some of the sport’s biggest stars, Nelly Korda, Charley Hull, and Lottie Woad, were grouped together for the tournament’s opening rounds. That run appears to be over.
At a player meeting during the FM Championship in late August, LPGA officials gave players an early look at the 2027 schedule. Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols later reported that both the Aramco Championship in Las Vegas and the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open at Dundonald Links were missing from the early schedule. The tour has not officially confirmed the replacement yet, but Golfweek reported that the PIF London Championship is expected to take the Scottish Open’s spot. The event would also become a co-sanctioned tournament with the LPGA.
The Scottish Open has been around since the mid-1980s and became an LPGA co-sanctioned event in 2017. Over the years, some of the biggest names in women’s golf have won the title. Ariya Jutanugarn won in 2018, followed by Stacy Lewis in 2020, Ayaka Furue in 2022, and Celine Boutier in 2023. Lottie Woad also won her first professional LPGA title there in 2025. This year’s tournament was won by Jenny Shin, who ended a 10-year wait for an LPGA title. With a $2 million purse, it was also a big week for Shin and the event. Losing a tournament with that kind of history would certainly be a major change for the LPGA.
Despite that pedigree, the tournament has reportedly become a financial strain. Golfweek notes the LPGA has had to subsidize running costs in recent years, a factor that likely weighed heavily on the decision to drop it. IMG, which runs the event with backing from the Scottish government, isn’t giving up without a fight, though. Tournament director Harry Owen told Golfweek the team is “currently working on a solution and a date that will work for all partners,” adding, “this tournament has become one of the players’ favorite events on tour.”
The timing here is impossible to ignore. LIV Golf, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, officially filed for bankruptcy earlier this month. That collapse raises real questions about how much the PIF intends to keep investing in women’s golf going forward, even as the PIF London Championship, previously an LET-only event, prepares to step into a bigger role with LPGA co-sanctioning. It’s not yet clear where the new event will be held or how it fits into any broader series.
This is not the first time the PIF has been involved with the LPGA schedule. Last November, the tour partnered with Golf Saudi to launch the Aramco Championship at Shadow Creek after T-Mobile ended its long-running sponsorship of the match-play event. Lauren Coughlin won this year’s tournament, which was played as a stroke-play event with a $4 million purse. However, the event spent only one season in Las Vegas and is reportedly set to move overseas in 2027.
The impact could go beyond the trophy and prize money. For the past few years, the Scottish Open has been the LPGA’s main chance to prepare for links golf before the AIG Women’s British Open, the final major of the season. If the event is removed, players could lose an important chance to practice on links courses. Golfweek compared it to tennis players going into Wimbledon without playing any grass-court events first.
LPGA Vice President of Communications J.D. Sterba gave a more positive view in a statement to Golfweek. He pointed to new events like the Nanea Cup in Hawaii, a new tournament in Hong Kong, and the return of Corning as signs that the tour is still focused on its schedule, courses, and prize money. Still, with only one Scottish player, Gemma Dryburgh, currently on the LPGA Tour, the possible loss of a popular event is likely to create plenty of discussion before the full 2027 schedule is announced later this fall.