Róisín Scanlon is looking forward to competing on Irish soil for the first time this season when the Woburn golfer tees up at the inaugural North of Ireland Women’s Amateur Open Championship at Lough Erne.
The fourth and final of Golf Ireland’s new regional championships gets underway today, with 57 players competing to become the first winner of the North of Ireland Women’s title at the Sir Nick Faldo designed parkland in Fermanagh.
As with the South, West and East before it, the championship will see players compete over 36 holes of stroke play on Sunday before a cut ahead of the final 18 holes on Monday.
Scanlon has produced some impressive performances over the past 18 months, with victory at the Helen Holm Scottish Women’s Open Championship marking a breakthrough moment before she helped Ireland to a bronze medal at the European Girls’ Team Championship and made the cut at the Women’s Irish Challenge.
Since joining the Albany Golf Academy in the Bahamas, Scanlon has continued her upward trajectory, claiming the Barbados Junior National Championship in March before making a second professional cut at the Madaëf Golf ladies Open in Morocco.
“I’ve seen a big growth in my game since going to Albany Academy,” said Scanlon.
“To see not only an improvement in my game, but then also playing at a professional level and being able to see myself improve against other players.”
Scanlon will face a strong challenge over the next two days from an impressive field that includes fellow Golf Ireland Women’s High Performance panellists Jessica Ross (Clandeboye), Olivia Costello (Roscommon), Ellen O’Shaughnessy (Co. Louth) and Aideen Walsh (Lahinch), with Walsh joining Scanlon and Aaliyah Irwin (Crosland Heath) in Sunday’s opening two rounds.
Having recently completed her studies at Windsor High School in Barbados, Scanlon was determined to return to Ireland and add the North to her summer schedule.
“I really wanted to play it,” said Scanlon.
“I love playing in Ireland. It has the best golf courses in the world. I love playing over here and I want to play over here as much as possible when my schedule allows, so I definitely wanted to play this one.”
With a scholarship to Texas Tech University coming later this year, Scanlon is hoping to claim her first Irish championship and become the first player to have her name etched on the North of Ireland Women’s trophy before taking the next step in her golfing career.
“It would mean a lot,” said Scanlon.
“In golf, you lose much more than you win so winning is rare. A lot of times you perform well, or you win an event and then it’s on to the next and you don’t always get the time to soak up the glory. I won a tournament a few months ago so I would like to win another one and be able to soak it up, especially in Ireland which obviously is special to myself and my family.”
Play gets underway at 7.30am on Sunday as Caitlin Wilson (Portstewart) and Paula Bleakley (Shandon Park) lead out the field, before Scanlon, Walsh and Irwin begin their championship from 9.50am.
View tee times and scoring here
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