Preview: 2026 European Ladies' Amateur Championship

144 of the world's best amateur players have gathered at Allerum Golf in Sweden this week for the 39th edition of the European Ladies' Amateur Championship.

Here's everything you need to know about the 72-hole stroke play event before the opening tee shot is hit on Wednesday:

ABOUT THE EVENT

First played 40 years ago in 1986, the championship is consistently ranked as one of the strongest women's amateur events in the world and regularly attracts the best amateur players from Europe and further afield.

Several major champions and Solheim Cup stars have medaled in the European Ladies' Amateur Championship in the past including Celine Boutier, Sophia Popov, Caroline Hedwall, Carlota Ciganda, Anna Nordqvist, Suzann Pettersen.

THE VENUE

Allerum Golf, opened in 1992, is located 15 minutes north of Helsingborg in Sweden. The championship layout is designed to test even the best amateur players, with strategic bunkering, undulating fairways and well-protected greens. The club, which has over 1,500 members, has recently hosted Challenge Tour (now HotelPlanner Tour) and Ladies' European Tour events.

This is the second time in four editions the championship has been staged in Sweden. In 2023 the event was played at Tegelberga Golfklubb, where Julia Lopez Ramirez (ESP) lifted the title.

THE FIELD

At Frankfurter Golf Club in 2025, Spanish players occupied all three spots on the podium, although just one of those three return to the field this week. Last year's runner-up, Balma Davalos Guaita will look to go one better than her silver medal this year to get her hands on the European crown.

Two former champions will tee it up in Sweden. Paula Schulz-Hanssen (GER) won the 2020 edition in Slovenia at the age of 17. Savannah De Bock (BEL) won the 2022 edition at Golf de St Germain in Paris and will look to add a second title to her name.

Meja Örtengren is the only other player in the field to have previously medalled at the event, having claimed the bronze medal in 2024 in Finland. Örtengren, the highest ranked player in the field in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (6th), will lead 25 Swedish players looking to make the most of home advantage this week.

France (17) and Spain (15) will also enter this week with strength in numbers as the second and third most represented countries this week.

South Korea's Soomin Oh is the second-highest ranked player in the field, and will look to become the first non-European to win the event this week.

MAJOR OPPORTUNITIES UP FOR GRABS

In addition to the European title, the winner this week will also earn a special playing opportunity. The gold medallist will be invited to compete at the AIG Women's Open at Royal Lytham next week.

A second exemption to the AIG Women's Open is also available through the AIG Women's Open Amateur Series, contested across the St Rule Trophy, The Women's Amateur Championship, and the European Ladies' Amateur Championship.

Valentine Delon, the recently crowned Women's Amateur Champion, leads the series but is not teeing it up this week. Scotland's Sheridan Clancy, 2022 champion, Savannah de Bock, France's Camille Min-Gaultier and Sweden's Matilda Bjorkman are the leading players present in Sweden this week, and could earn the exemption with a high-finish at Allerum.

EUROPEAN AMATEUR ORDER OF MERIT POINTS ON OFFER

The European Ladies' Amateur Championship is a major event in the European Amateur Order of Merit, offering an increased number of points towards the new system. This week's tournament is the final event in the women's Back-Nine Swing, after which the leading player will earn an invitation to the VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open taking place in mid-August courtesy of Swiss Golf.

With 800 points up for grabs for the winner, and the leading player in the EAOM, Louise Uma Landgraf, on a total of 1,000 points, many players in the field this week could clinch the top spot with a high-finish at Allerum.

After the Back-Nine Swing, the leading 45 players in the standings, as well as the top 10 U18s, will earn exemptions to the three women's Final Sprint events taking place in August and September: