Royal Lytham and St. Annes has hosted the Open Championship 11 times and the Ryder Cup twice, and this week the historic Lancashire links welcomes the AIG Women’s Open for a sixth time, its first since Georgia Hall lifted the trophy there in 2018. The 2026 edition marks the championship’s 50th anniversary and also signals the LPGA’s final major of the season. It features a record $10 million purse on the line, the richest in the tournament’s own history.

One former champion is managing an injury that’s cost her multiple starts this season. Another hasn’t offered any explanation at all. A third, a six-time winner, withdrew mid-round from a tournament without warning. The field still features top players like Nelly Korda, Jeeno Thitikul, Haeran Ryu, and defending champion Miyu Yamashita, but these three are notably absent.

Lexi Thompson

Thompson has 11 LPGA Tour wins, and she’s played a light schedule since stepping back from full-time competition at the end of 2024. Just six starts this year, with a tie for 12th at the Chevron Championship as her best showing. In June, she missed the U.S. Women’s Open, something that hadn’t happened since she first qualified at age 12. That’s a 19-year streak gone, and she didn’t sugarcoat it, calling it “not a great feeling.”

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Hip pain forced her out of the Meijer LPGA Classic in June, and the same injury led to her withdrawal from the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship for the first time in 16 years. She shared the news on Instagram, saying she would be resting until fully healed.

“Unfortunately, the pain in my hip has reached a point where I knew I wasn’t able to compete. As difficult as it was, withdrawing before the tournament began was the only decision I could make. I’m heading home now to take the time I need to focus on healing and getting my body where it needs to be.”

The same injury has lingered, and it is what’s keeping Lexi Thompson out of the AIG Women’s Open this week.

Jin Young Ko

The 15-time LPGA Tour winner and former world number one has stayed active this season. She missed the cut at the ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open and Amundi Evian Championship. Her best result came at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, where she finished T42.

Jin Young Ko has not provided any official reason for her absence at Royal Lytham, but it continues a stretch of unpredictability in majors for her. She has a history of recurring wrist and knee issues, which have sidelined her before.

Danielle Kang

The six-time LPGA Tour winner has had the most limited season of the three. She has made only six starts this season. Her best result was a tie for 27th at the Riviera Maya Open. But she had to withdraw mid-round from the Kroger Queen City Championship in May.

Furthermore, Danielle Kang missed the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship this season.

It’s not the first time either. Back in 2023, she pulled out of the LPGA Drive On Championship due to illness. Social media wasted no time speculating about retirement, but Kang has pushed back on that talk. For now, though, it’s the lighter schedule that’s kept her out of the AIG Women’s Open field.

Thompson, Ko, and Kang have one thing in common: mileage, not misfortune. All three are major champions in their thirties, and their bodies and schedules are calling the shots now, not the other way around. It’s hard to say when, or if, any of them get back to full strength. Maybe that’s a question for next year’s major season. Either way, this week’s field at Royal Lytham says a lot about where the LPGA’s veteran class stands right now, trophy aside.