The 2018 Ricoh Women's British Open was played from 2–5 August in England at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club Golf Links in Lancashire. It was the 43rd Women's British Open, the 18th as a major championship on the LPGA Tour, and the fifth at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club. Georgia Hall of England shot a final round 67 (−5) to win by two strokes over runner-up Pornanong Phatlum, the 54-hole leader. It was her first major title and she was the first British winner since Catriona Matthew in 2009. It was also the first win on tour (LPGA Tour or Ladies European Tour) for the 22-year-old Hall, the first English winner of the championship in 14 years. The event was televised by Golf Channel and NBC Sports in the United States and Sky Sports in the United Kingdom. Course layout Previous lengths of the course for the Women's British Open (since 2001): 2009: , par 72 2006: , par 72 2003: , par 72 Field The field was 144 players, and most earned exemptions based on past performance on the Ladies European Tour, the LPGA Tour, previous major championships, or with a high ranking in the Women's World Golf Rankings. The rest of the field earned entry by successfully competing in qualifying tournaments open to any female golfer, professional or amateur, with a low handicap. There were 18 exemption categories for the 2018 Women's British Open: 1. The top 15 finishers (and ties) from the 2017 Women's British Open. Jodi Ewart Shadoff, Shanshan Feng (10), Georgia Hall (9), In-Kyung Kim (10,11), Kim Hyo-joo (10,12), Caroline Masson, Anna Nordqvist (10,12), Inbee Park (2,10,11,12), Lizette Salas (10), Jenny Shin, Michelle Wie (2,10,12), Angel Yin Stacy Lewis, Ai Suzuki (9,10), and Lexi Thompson (10,12) did not play. 2. The top 10 Ladies European Tour members in the Women's World Golf Rankings not exempt under (1). Aditi Ashok (5), Carlota Ciganda (5,10), Sandra Gal (5), Charley Hull (5,10), Pernilla Lindberg (5,8,12), Azahara Muñoz (5), Su-Hyun Oh (5), Madelene Sagström (5) Karine Icher and Suzann Pettersen (12) did not play. 3. The top 30 LPGA Tour members in the Women's World Golf Rankings not exempt under (1) as of 3 July. Marina Alex, Brittany Altomare, Chella Choi, Chun In-gee (10,12), Jacqui Concolino, Lindy Duncan, Austin Ernst, Nasa Hataoka (8,10), Brooke Henderson (8,10,12), Wei-Ling Hsu, Mi Jung Hur, Ji Eun-hee (8,10), Ariya