Maguire: Better WIO date and prize fund can attract world class field

The KPMG Women’s Irish Open in Carton House will be Leona Maguire’s fourth successive tournament and if she comes away from the O’Meara course with a famous victory on Sunday, it won’t be for much money.

Two issues she feels need to be resolved to attract a world class field to the event, rather than having some of the big LPGA Tour stars jetting back to the US from Scotland, over Ireland for a $3.8 million event.

In comparison the prize fund this week is €400,000 and that is one of the healthier purses on offer on the Ladies European Tour. Even Maguire’s Olympic teammate, Stephanie Meadow is playing the LPGA Tour event instead.

The Cavan star is the poster girl for the event alongside major winner and Solheim Cup star Georgia Hall and she is still irked by the date and the seismic gap between the women’s Irish Open and men’s Irish Open which will have a $6 million kitty in Royal County Down in a fortnight.

“You just want that world class field,” said Maguire who pocketed just under $70,000 for winning the Aramco Series London last month and can expect €60,000 for a win this week.

“The schedule is a big part of getting that real world class field which I feel like this event deserves. The people that come out really want to see those global stars. It would be nice to get a real world class field like what we did get in Killeen Castle in 2010, 2011 when you had the big American stars show up.

“There’s alway improvements to be made. I mean, it might sound harsh but we’re only playing for a fraction of what the guys are playing for.

“Did the guys play for 7, 9million? We’re playing for 400,000 grand this week. They’re playing for nearly 4 million in Boston this week on the LPGA so it was a choice to be here.

“The quality of the golf courses has been fantastic, obviously Dromoland and Carton this year, and KPMG’s support backing this event has given it a lot of gravity and a lot of weight.

“But we’re always trying to move forward and make improvements all the time and I would like to see it on better dates, I would like to see a better place in the schedule, I think I’ve said this every year but you just want that world class field and schedule is a big part of that as well, both the purse and the schedule is a big part of getting that world class field which I feel like this event deserves.

“I’d like to see it earlier in the summer. I think it would be nice to get it on a run heading maybe into Evian, or after Evian, or something like that.

“You’re relying on golf courses being available. Tourism is a big part of Irish golf, and there are a lot of golf courses that are very busy during the summer.

“We’re very grateful to be anywhere. But scheduling is a very difficult thing. I think if we could get it in the right spot around some of our European swing on the LPGA, you’d get a very strong field here.”

It’s fifteen years since Leona Maguire made her Irish Open debut in Portmarnock Links where she played the first two rounds alongside legendary golfer Laura Davies and shot a round of 72 despite hitting woods into most greens and seeing Davies whack a 2-iron fifty yards past her best drives.

After a decade long hiatus between 2012 and 2022 the KPMG Women’s Irish Open has picked up at a rapid pace and there are now a record thirteen Irish players competing in the field this week including five professionals. Figures that seemed unthinkable before.

“It’s fantastic. Anna and Annabel are making their debuts this week which is a unique opportunity for them. I was talking to them this morning, hopefully they can enjoy the experience, not put too much pressure on themselves,” explained Maguire.

“Thirteen Irish players in the field this week is fantastic. That’s a lot of girls, a lot of opportunities. That’s one of the benefits of having a home open as well. It’s massive for the younger girls to get a taste of what professional golf is like. To see if it’s something that they can envisage themselves doing in the future.

“There’s three girls obviously at the Curtis Cup this week, hopefully they can do as well as they can over in Sunningdale. I’m sure they would have loved to have been here too.

“Irish golf seems to be in a really good place right now. Hopefully we’ll have many more on the LPGA and LET. It was great to see Sara (Byrne) get through the first stage there this week. Hopefully more come through the ranks.”