England’s Ellen Hume is one solid round away from qualifying for the 2026 AIG Women’s Open.
The 26-year-old English golfer came through pre-qualifying at Delamere Forest with a one-under-par 70 and will tee it up at final qualifying at St Annes Old Links next Monday.
“I actually finished with an eagle on 18 to make it and not do a play-off,” she said. “Obviously anything can happen in a fight in 18 holes. Looking forward to the opportunity and see what happens.”
Before that, Hume, who earned her 2026 LET card through q-school last December, will compete in the July 23-25 Pitch 15 Open on the LET Access Series (LETAS).
“It’s nice to be home after a busy couple months on the LET,” she said. “It’s only about 25 minutes around the corner, so very close to home, and hopefully get some support this week.
“I chose to play in the two English LET Access (events) because they’re close to home. There’s a little bit of a gap in the LET season because of the majors.
“This tournament finishes Saturday, and then I’ll drive up Sunday and play the 18 holes on Monday. It’s a quick turnaround but if it means playing in The Open, that’s an opportunity you can’t pass up.”
Hume has enjoyed a good start to life on the LET, having recorded a T-17 finish at the MCB Ladies Classic in Mauritius and a T-25 at the Amundi German Masters.
She said: “Mauritius is probably my favourite week on Tour so far. It was just a holiday destination. It was amazing, great resort, golf course was right there, I loved it. To play well was also really fun.”
Growing up with four siblings, Hume played numerous sports like tennis, rugby, football and netball, but gravitated towards golf as she got older.
“I was about 10 years old when I started,” she said. “My mom went to the local course because there was a ladies’ clinic on and realised they had a really good junior section.
“She was like, ‘this might be a good way to let them run out their energy and socialise with other people and play sports. So we kind of all got chucked into there and started from there.”
Hume, who watches football, rugby and tennis during her free time, modelled her game after her golfing idol Rory McIlroy.
“I would say maybe we have a similar style of game,” she said. “I hit it reasonably well off the tee and into the greens, and have always slightly struggled on the greens, and yeah, I feel like we might have similar comparisons in terms of that.
“But yeah, I think what he’s done for the game and how dominant he is is something that I aspire to be.”
For now, Hume is hoping to keep her LET card for next season.
She added: “My goal for the year would primarily be focused on the LET because I still have decent status there, a couple good finishes and I could be in a decent position going into the rest of the season. We’ll see what happens.”
