At Ladies European Tour Q-School Anna Foster, Sara Byrne and Annabel Wilson all earned cards for the 2025 season to cap off a sensational year for Irish women’s golf.
The KPMG Women’s Irish Open played such a vital role in the early career of Leona Maguire and there is no doubt that it has set the foundation for a women’s golfing boom in Ireland since it returned to the LET schedule in 2022.
A record number of thirteen Irish players both amateur and professional teed it up in Carton House in September and it would have been more had Byrne, Beth Coulter and Aine Donegan not been performing so brilliantly for GB&I at the Curtis Cup.
Leona Maguire’s influence on the current crop coming through has been instrumental in bringing through the next generation but she no longer has to carry the torch on her own with Lauren Walsh, Byrne, Foster and Wilson all set to inspire together as Irish women golf gives birth to a nucleus of talent on tour for the first time.
Five teed it up at the Final Stage of Q-School with three earning category-12 status while amateur Canice Screene surprised plenty in securing category 16 status for next year.
“It’s fantastic to see. Obviously Sara and Lauren were at LPGA Q-School. It’s really good to see so many coming through,” said Maguire who has changed the landscape of Irish women’s golf by winning twice on the LPGA Tour, once on the LET and playing a starring role in two Solheim Cup wins for Europe.
“It would be nice to have quite a few Irish out on tour like some of the other countries do. We have consistently batted above our weight in golf and I know the lads have a few on tour so it would be nice to have something similar on our side.
“Hopefully as many of the girls coming through can get their cards as possible over the next few years.
“From my personal experience on the ladies side, golf has grown a lot over the last ten years. I think you can see with the five Irish girls at LET Q-School is a huge step. The amount of young girls playing in the Women’s Irish Open and the amount of young girls out watching.”
To use the famous phrase that has been prominent in the promotion of women’s sport in this country; “can’t see can’t be.”
It’s so true and the KPMG Women’s Irish Open has given young girls across Ireland the opportunity to see their heroes in action.
Like Roscommon’s Olivia Costello, Maguire was just a fourteen or fifteen year old when she played in the KPMG Women’s Irish Open for the first time and it had a profound impact on her career going forward.
The event gives children the opportunity to make memories that last a lifetime but also exposes our aspiring players to what life on tour could be like should they pursue a career in golf, and as we have already seen in the previous three editions some of our youngsters are clearly up to scratch.
“It’s a fantastic event and it’s so nice to see it back on the schedule,” said Maguire who is the poster girl for the event. “It’s really important for the next generation to come through whether they play it as an amateur or it’s one of their first events as a pro. It’s great for them to be able to play that and get a taste of whether it’s something they would or would not like to do.
“I was fortunate to be able to do that when I was 14 or 15 and dipped my toe into the water and I benefitted from seeing some of the best players in the world at that time in Killeen Castle like Suzann Pettersen, Lexi Thompson, Catriona Matthew.
“It’s great to have it back on the schedule. The purse is growing year on year and hopefully we can continue in that direction. Carton House is a world class venue and all the girls who have played the event in the last three years have been very impressed. It almost has a major feel to it because of the golf course standard and the crowds so it’s an extra sense of pride when I hear the girls talking about the Women’s Irish Open.
“Watching golf on TV is one thing but getting to be there and watch it live is special. The amount of young kids out there and the lasting memories they have, they get a hat signed or get a ball from a player then they want to go themselves to the driving range or putting green. It’s important to have those role models and that first hand experience.”
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