Apart from winning a major championship, winning your home open is what every golfer dreams of. The KPMG Women’s Irish Open has quickly accelerated to the number one event on the Ladies European Tour since its rebirth in 2022 and the K Club South course will put on another superb event at the end of August.
The KPMG Women’s Irish Open has the stature, the golf courses, the field and the prestige. All it needs is for the players to play their part and deliver a first-ever home winner.
Memories of what Rory McIlroy did on the 18th green at the K Club North almost twelve months ago are still fresh in the memory while Shane Lowry’s victory as an amateur in Baltray back in 2009 is always looked back on fondly. Then there was Pádraig Harrington’s win in the old Adare Manor back in 2007 as he opened the doors for a golden period in Irish men’s golf.
Perhaps one of the home women playing in the Women’s Irish Open can have a similar effect on the women’s game here by delivering a historic victory. With record numbers now teeing it up in the KPMG Women’s Irish Open, all the event is missing is some home glory.
Expectations will continue to be sky high for Leona Maguire, who always seems to be globetrotting whenever the KPMG Women’s Irish Open comes around. Hopefully she can shake off the jetlag from a flight home from Canada. But the burden of promotion and home expectation no longer weighs so heavily on her shoulders.
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Lauren Walsh, now of the LPGA Tour, will be looking to strike gold in her home county of Kildare while Áine Donegan, Sara Byrne, Annabel Wilson and Anna Foster are all professionals having come through the ranks at the KPMG Women’s Irish Open as amateurs. Olivia Mehaffey would also prove a popular winner as would talented young amateurs Olivia Costello and Emma Fleming while newly turned professional Beth Coulter will also be in attendance among the 15 Irish players taking part.
So, what are the chances of a home winner?
“We will have a lot of chances at the Irish Open, Olivia has played in a few, Áine, Sara. Every time you play in it you get used to it. The K Club will be a fantastic venue, they are very keen to put on a great show, they have a lot of experience hosting big events and hopefully the weather is kind to us,” said Maguire who flirted with victory back in 2022 with a back nine flurry at Dromoland Castle which produced a carnival atmosphere.
“For any golfer you would love to win your national open. Rory won the Irish Open with those crowds on 18 last year, it seemed like there were people everywhere, hanging out of the clubhouse on the balcony, on the fairways. It was a fantastic atmosphere. Rory has had that, Shane has had that, Pádraig has had that, they have all got to taste that at different venues.”
Maguire is one of the touring professionals for the K Club and given its rich history of hosting the Irish Open and 2006 Ryder Cup she thinks this year’s edition of the KPMG Women’s Irish Open could be one of the best yet.
“The Irish people are fantastic to support, from the first one back in Dromoland to Carton House last year. Hopefully The K Club people will come out in their droves. Having it closer to Dublin was very important to KPMG, I do think the Dromoland crowds were the best crowds so far, the atmosphere was my favourite, so hopefully the K Club can tap into that.”
KPMG have been fantastic sponsors of the event but huge backers for Irish golf as a whole. They have played a pivotal role in Maguire’s career since she was a youngster and their impact in Irish golf goes all the way to the grassroots with huge opportunities provided to young professionals and amateurs to compete in a home event like this.
“I’ve always said that the big thing is to have an opportunity for the pros to compete on home soil but also the amateurs,” Maguire continued. “I was fortunate enough to play in a few as an amateur as well so you do get a taste of whether this is something you would like to do week in, week out. It is different, you see the grandstands, tents, the driving range and you figure out if it is something you want to do or not and you figure out if you are far away or not. I think it can surprise the amateurs, it’s maybe not as far away as they think and it becomes that bit more real. Watching it on TV is one thing but you can’t beat experiencing it, so it is a great opportunity for them.”
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For Mehaffey, her personal struggles have been well documented. In her openness in dealing with the passing of her father and the anxiety she suffers from she has endeared herself to the Irish fans and would be a very popular winner of the event.
Mehaffey made her name as a professional playing in front of home crowds at the ISPS Handa World Invitational at Galgorm Castle and she is relishing teeing it up on home soil again at Malahide for the Women’s Irish Challenge and for the Women’s Irish Open.
“I love playing at home, anybody that knows me I love playing in front of a home crowd, in front of friends and family and seeing the support out there is very important to me. The Women’s Irish Open is something that I am very excited for.”
Mehaffey still has lashings of time in her career to have the professional journey that her potential promised and she feels the next step in the journey of the KPMG Women’s Irish Open is to have a home winner.
“That’s all we are missing. It’s on us to do our part, when you see other girls win their home event I can only imagine how that feels, it’s the dream for everyone. We all want to win a major but winning a tournament in your home country is so special and the support is unreal. We have seen how much work goes in behind the scenes to make this event extra special, you want to win for yourself and everyone who is a piece of the event.
“An Irish winner would be absolutely incredible and the support would be great; we would all be there at the back of the 18th green so fingers crossed for an Irish winner.”
The KPMG Women’s Irish Open will be an eye opener for so many elite amateurs who are looking to see if the professional game is for them. The two editions in Dromoland Castle are where Donegan knew the tour life was for her.
An Irish Open in her home county of Clare was a dream come true and she has shown up well in her first season as a professional and is eager to make her mark next month at the K Club.
“It’s really special. Especially when you have moved abroad and play so much golf where there isn’t a family out there to support. Particularly in college I found that a lot of the Americans had their parents at every event, but when you finish you have nobody and are so far from home so playing the Women’s Irish Open is really nice. I have very fond memories of Dromoland, it’s great and I’m really looking forward to this year’s event, the last few years have been amazing, the venue will be great.
“I have the mindset that if you are happy off the course you are going to play better on the course. The week of the Women’s Irish Open there are such great vibes around the place, everyone is so happy to be there including both players and spectators. Nearly everyone I meet on tour absolutely loves this event. There really isn’t an event like it; the players do love it. I am just over halfway through the season of my rookie year, and you can tell the Women’s Irish Open is a step above the rest.”
Donegan has settled into the Ladies European Tour well and would be quietly fancied to give the Irish Open a run.
“There are more Irish playing every year, so the percentage chance has gone up! It would be amazing; there is huge support for the tournament each year and it would be a dream come true for every Irish girl playing.”
18-year-old Roscommon star Costello is a symbol of what the KPMG Women’s Irish Open is about. She first made her debut in the event aged 14 and like Donegan, Byrne, Foster and co., there was no national tournament to support. Another player who sees Leona Maguire as her role model, Costello is now highly motivated to follow the players who have recently turned professional.
Despite her tender years and her amateur status, she will tee it up as an experienced head next month ahead of her fifth appearance.
“I’m really looking forward to it, I have been lucky enough to get an invite for the last four years and just the experiences I have had have been absolutely amazing. The atmosphere around the place is completely different to any amateur event I play so I am really looking forward to it.
“I just remember being so nervous,” she said of her first time playing in 2022. “I remember trying to talk to my dad to calm me down and I think he was more nervous than I was! The learning I got from it was great, I gained so much experience from playing in events like this so to play in it every year is insane.
“I can put myself back into my 10-year-old self’s shoes. The fact we have a Women’s Irish Open I would have loved to come up and watch it, what KPMG have done for women’s golf in Ireland is incredible. It is very visible from the reaction to it, how many girls are getting into golf and it is great to see.”
Costello will also compete in the Women’s Irish Challenge, and she feels having access to professional events is huge for the female game in Ireland.
“It’s nearly like work experience. This is what life would be like if I was a pro and it is so great to see so many girls on tour now, you learn so much from them. If you can see it, you can be it. They are paving the way for more girls to take the path that they have taken.”
Everybody remembers Lowry’s iconic County Louth Irish Open victory as an amateur. So, what about Costello repeating the feat in the women’s game?
“It would be absolutely insane to have an Irish winner. Especially for women’s sport and Irish sport in general, we are due it to be fair. We’ve seen Rory and Shane win one and it would be great to have one at the Women’s Irish Open.”
The KPMG Women’s Irish Open had a great identity when it was first on the Ladies European Tour schedule. Our Irish hopefuls will be gunning to add their names to a trophy that includes Catriona Matthew, Laura Davies, Suzann Pettersen and Sophie Gustafson.
After a hiatus from 2012 to 2022, the KPMG Women’s Irish Open has become an all-star event on the Ladies European Tour. Its impact on the growth of the women’s game in Ireland cannot be understated; it has become a breeding ground for young professionals and amateurs.
The next step to keep this women’s golfing boom is to have an Irish winner, and who knows maybe an Irish winner will inspire another generation of young girls to pick up a golf club and strive to emulate their heroes.
TICKETS ARE STILL AVAILABLE FOR KPMG WOMEN’S IRISH OPEN – CLICK HERE
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