AIG Women's Open preview -- Celine Boutier's hot streak, Nelly Korda's driver change, more - ESPN

One last major championship. One last shot at glory for women's professional golfers this season.

The final major championship of the 2023 season, the AIG Women's Open, tees off Thursday at Walton Heath Golf Club in Surrey, England.

There were first-time major championship winners in the first four majors this season: Lilia Vu won the Chevron Championship, Ruoning Yin captured the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, Allisen Corpuz took the U.S. Women's Open, and Celine Boutier came out on top at the Amundi Evian Championship.

Four women — Annika Sorenstam, Karrie Webb, Juli Inkster and Se Ri Pak — won 17 of the 20 majors from 1999 to 2003. In the past five seasons, 16 of the 23 majors played were captured by first-time major champions.

«I think it's across any tour, any sport,» world No. 1 golfer Nelly Korda said. «The players are just getting better. Athletes are just getting better. They have more knowledge. They have more tools to work with, and everyone is way more professional, I feel like, than maybe they were 10-plus years ago.

»I would say as a whole, obviously there were a few that were very professional but I would say everyone takes it very seriously now. So yeah, I would say that, you know, it's tough to win out here. Every year, the girls are getting better. Every year there's younger girls coming out dominating. Rose [Zhang] came out, winning her first event. It's getting tough. So whenever you win, it feels really good."

After winning the Amundi Evian Championship in her native France on July 30, Boutier captured the Freed Group Women's Scottish Open the next week. She is the first woman to win a major and the next tournament since Ariya Jutanugarn in 2016.

Boutier has climbed to third in the Women's World Golf