It’s hard to see how 2025 can be topped. If Jay from the Inbetweeners was writing this he would probably say “Golf? Completed it mate.” Rory McIlroy’s Masters odyssey, his Irish Open heroics and a pulsating Ryder Cup victory on US soil.
2026 has a tough act to follow.
But Irish golf has long been about so much more than the one percent club at the very top of the tree. Yes, Rory, Shane, Pádraig, Darren and Graeme have spoiled us over the last two decades, women’s golf is on the up and Ireland continues to be golf’s epicentre with two major amateur events coming this summer as the lead up to the 2027 Ryder Cup in Adare Manor continues.
There are still success stories to be found at the lower rungs of the ladder as so many of our aspiring professionals strive to reach the levels of McIlroy, Lowry and Leona Maguire.
The landscape for Irish men’s and women’s golf should be of interest for fans across the country. Lauren Walsh has added to Irish ranks on the LPGA Tour while Áine Donegan became the latest home hopeful to secure a card on the Ladies European Tour adding to a healthy crop including Sara Byrne, Anna Foster and Walsh while the KPMG Women’s Irish Open looks set for another superb edition.
On the men’s side meanwhile, the dearth of talent on the DP World Tour has been well documented. We will have no regular member this year and as concerning as that sounds there is reason to be hopeful with late flurries of form from several of our youngsters hoping to fill the gap.
Below are some names to watch out for during the 2026 season.
James Sugrue
James Sugrue will forever be etched in Irish golfing folklore after his victory at the 2019 Amateur Championship in Portmarnock in front of a packed gallery the like of which hasn’t been seen since.
But the Mallow man, who has a large canvas depicting memories of that famous day seven years ago wants to make a new name for himself. After two years of injury hell and some rotten luck, the 28-year-old earned a HotelPlanner Tour card via a top-3 finish in the Clutch Pro Tour Order of Merit rankings at the end of last year.
It was all duck or no dinner for Sugrue who was contemplating putting the clubs away for good if he was unsuccessful as the years of toiling away on the mini tours was reaching its breaking point. But now with a foothold in the professional game at long last he has much needed momentum heading into the 2026 season.
The HotelPlanner Tour season begins with four events in South Africa at the end of this month, a place he knows and likes.
Mark Power
Another player carrying much needed momentum into the new year is Mark Power after he ended 2025 with a maiden professional victory and a positive showing at Q-School which secured a full card on the HotelPlanner Tour.
The Kilkenny man had an esteemed amateur career, representing Ireland on multiple occasions as well as donning the Great Britain and Ireland jersey twice at the Walker Cup in 2021 and 2023. He then burst onto the scene with an impressive top-35 finish at the Amgen Irish Open but things haven’t gone as he would have hoped since.
A tough couple of seasons saw him lose full status on the HotelPlanner Tour and start battling away on the mini tours. But like Sugrue, the Clutch Pro Tour gave him a vital reprieve when he clinched his first victory at the Tour Championship in November.
He carried that burst of form forward to DP World Tour Q-School where he was the only Irishman to make the cut. The 25-year-old showed character to birdie two of his last three holes in Spain which secured him a HotelPlanner Tour card for this year.
At the recent Amgen Irish Open, the Mount Juliet man missed the cut and spent the final day following McIlroy inside the ropes. No better fire in the belly than getting up close to greatness. There is bags of talent in Power and now that he has somewhere to play consistently it could be a breakout year – let’s hope an Arsenal collapse doesn’t break his heart too much!
Sara Byrne
There is a trend to these first three picks. Like Sugrue and Power, Sara Byrne endured a tough period but dug deep to end last season on a high and now she is chomping at the bit to tee it up on the Ladies European Tour next month.
Byrne’s rookie year was a difficult learning curve. The Dromoland Castle star was dreaming of a place on the LPGA Tour so to further her goal she plied her trade on the second tier Epson Tour as well as the LET. The eye opening reality of life on tour, travelling and a loss of form meant she cut a jaded and dejected figure by the midway point of the season.
The 24-year-old scrapped her Epson Tour plans for focused on the LET as she battled to retain her full playing rights for this year. It was a battle that she won in impressive fashion making four of her last five cuts including a fifth place finish at the Swiss Open.
Now with a bank of learning experience under her belt she is relishing a first full campaign on the LET and the only way is up for the Douglas woman.
Anna Foster
Anna Foster took to the Ladies European Tour like a duck to water in her rookie campaign. With two top-10 finishes and a T12 at the KPMG Women’s Irish Open where she was on the fringes of contention, the Elm Park star looks ready to move through the gears this year.
Foster finished a comfortable 42nd in the Ladies European Tour Order of Merit with her card for this year already wrapped up by the midway point of the season.
A very solid all round player, Foster has the ability to catch fire and if she can combine that and limit the mistakes she can threaten the Order of Merit top-10.
Conor Purcell
Conor Purcell had high hopes of making his mark on the DP World Tour last year but it just never materialised. Purcell won twice in his promotion campaign from the HotelPlanner Tour, proving that he was too good for that level as he continued his progress from the Alps Tour in 2022.
2025 was certainly the first regression in his career as he made just eleven cuts and was unable to post a top-10 finish. The 28-year-old is back on the HotelPlanner Tour looking for an immediate return to Europe’s top level.
He was the only regular Irish player on the DP World Tour last year, something which wouldn’t have been easy so perhaps he can benefit from the Golf Ireland clique on the HotelPlanner Tour this term and we can have a handful of promotion contenders.
Max Kennedy
2025 proved to be a year of near misses for Max Kennedy as he missed out on the HotelPlanner Tour Grand Final thus ending his promotion bid before he missed the cut at Q-School having missed out on a DP World Tour card by a shot twelve months earlier.
But in his first year on tour, his first year as a professional, the Royal Dublin star was a playoff away from winning on the HotelPlanner Tour and was only pushed out of the top-45 for the Grand Final at the eleventh hour.
Like his compatriot Liam Nolan, he wasn’t able to sustain his early season burst of form but both players will be expecting to be firmly in the promotion shake up this year.
David Carey
Ireland’s ‘Mr 57’ after carding a record low score on the Alps Tour in 2019 went on a wicked run to the Final Stage of PGA Tour Q-School.
Carey, known for his massively long hitting off the tee and who often carries two drivers, also qualified for the 2022 Open Championship and made the cut at St Andrews. The Castleknock man was struck down by health issues in 2024 and played little to no golf last year either but by virtue of making it to the Q-School finale in the US he has earned a Korn Ferry Tour card for this year.
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