Anna Foster believes the number of Irish golfers on the Ladies European Tour (LET) is impressive for the size of her home nation.
The Irishwoman began playing golf at the age of seven or eight alongside her twin brother before beginning to take the game more seriously at around the age of 10.
Foster attended Auburn University where she studied Environmental Design graduating last summer.
The 23-year-old then turned professional in August and teed it up at the KPMG Women’s Irish Open at Carton House in Dublin.
“Whenever I realised going to college was a thing that people do, I loved the idea of it and I’m so glad I chose Auburn,” she said.
“There was another Irish girl over there at the time, Julie McCarthy, and that was a huge factor for me knowing that another Irish girl was over there and doing well. It was life-changing for my golf and for me as a person. You get all these amazing skills over there, that was great.
“I didn’t really know what path I would be taking [after college], but it felt right to turn pro after the summer playing out my amateur competitions for Ireland.
“It was the perfect opportunity to turn pro right before the KPMG Women’s Irish Open and have that be my first tournament. To play at home, with all the crowds was so nice, I felt it was a perfect intro and a great opportunity. I’m still adjusting to the new lifestyle but I’m glad I turned pro.
“It was such a great event; it felt almost as big as a major. To be able to have the crowds out there on Thursday and Friday, it gives me goosebumps even now talking about it. It’s only getting better and better; it was very wholesome for me that week.”
At Q-School, Foster secured her full LET card alongside fellow Irish star Sara Byrne and Northern Ireland’s Annabel Wilson.
Having a group of players all at a similar point in their careers has seen Irish golf go from strength to strength and the Auburn graduate has enjoyed the journey so far.
She continued: “It’s really nice to see actually, because there’s been a solid group of us when we started playing for Ireland when we were like 13 or 14, and all of us are still there.
“A lot of us have now turned pro or are going to turn pro in the next year or two and there’s no doubt that the strength is there. It’s really nice to see and it’s great for Golf Ireland to have such a strong number of us now considering how small of a country we are. I think it’s super impressive what we’ve been able to do.”
Leona Maguire has been a trailblazer for Ireland in women’s professional golf winning on both the LPGA and LET, as well as playing in the Solheim Cup.
Foster gives credit to the Maguire sisters but also to Olivia Mehaffey and Lauren Walsh, who are LET members, for their help and advice to the up-and-coming amateurs.
She explained: “It’s not just Leona and Lisa [Maguire], but Olivia [Mehaffey] and Lauren [Walsh], have been doing great things too.
“It gives us confidence to be able to say, well if they’re doing it, I can do it and to be able to have someone to reach out to and they’re so willing to kind of give advice or help us out in any ways they can. It’s like another family in that way, too.”
Foster headed to Lalla Aicha Q-School at the end of the year finishing in a share of first place at the Pre-Qualifier held at Palm Ourika.
She then produced rounds of 71-71-65-70-69 across Al Maaden Golf and Royal Golf Marrakech to finish in T6 and secure Category 12 status for 2025.
She added: “I didn’t know what to expect really. Q-Schools can be quite intense, so I was just trying to keep it as relaxed and not have any expectations going in. It was lovely to play well at Pre-Q.
“I hadn’t played too much golf at home the weeks before because the weather was so bad. It was great to then win instead of just barely qualifying and have a little bit of confidence into Final Qualifying.
“Playing with people from college helped calm my nerves, I was more comfortable, and I was able to stay patient and keep grinding it out. It’s great to get my card.”
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