Leona Maguire is the idol for our batch of young women who have made the leap into the pro ranks over the last few years, but there’s nothing like seeing your mate do well. Peer success will help keep this conveyor belt of talent moving.
Fifteen Irish players tee it up at this week’s KPMG Women’s Irish Open and that figure reflects the healthy position that Irish women’s golf finds itself, with the rebirth of this tournament in 2022 playing a key role. Of that fifteen are five full-time members of the Ladies European Tour. Maguire is still the ambassador for golf in this country but it’s the recent success of Lauren Walsh that has pricked the ears of her former Irish teammates.
Walsh, Sara Byrne, Áine Donegan, Anna Foster, Annabel Wilson and new professional Beth Coulter came through the Golf Ireland ranks together, representing their country all over the globe at amateur level. Coulter has already shown what is possible with her debut victory at the Women’s Irish Challenge in Malahide on the LET Access Tour.
Walsh will return to her home county at the K Club having competed as a rookie on the LPGA Tour this season and as it stands, she is on course to retain her card for the 2027 campaign. Maguire is the one who has ticked off all the firsts for Irish women’s golf with her LPGA, LET and Solheim Cup success while Walsh has broken the mould and shown what is possible to her friends.
“The way Lauren has gone out there this year is something to be admired,” said Elm Park star Anna Foster who has retained her card for the second successive season on the LET at her absolute ease and she is chomping at the bit to attack LPGA Q-School in the winter and join Walsh in the US.
“We are all eager to join her. To have her leading the way for us now is great and it is something that I definitely want to do. I want to go out to the States. To have her to look up to is amazing because it really gives us that belief that we can do it.
“Women’s Irish golf is in such a strong position right now with so many on the LET. Lauren is in her rookie year on the LPGA Tour, she is leading the way for us. To have the likes of Annabel Wilson and Olivia Mehaffey and there’s more coming up. We are so lucky to have each other and have grown up playing golf. I doubt we thought we would be in this position seven or eight years ago. We just bounce off each other and support each other which is invaluable because it is a tough and tense environment.”
This sense of optimism and ambition is in dire contrast to the men’s game. While we have had no regular players on the DP World Tour this season there has been a strong number of Irish on the HotelPlanner Tour, the level below Europe’s top level. But with only one player projected to make the season finale in November as it stands, a big push is needed to start replenishing the talent drain in Irish men’s golf.
Chances of victory have been minimal on the HotelPlanner Tour. The players themselves are aware that peer success could kick each and everyone on in their careers but it just hasn’t happened this season, yet. On the Ladies European Tour, both Donegan and Foster have threatened, with the latter finishing runner-up in Switzerland a fortnight ago.
Buoyed by that runner-up finish, the 24-year-old is targeting more than one LET victory and a future Solheim Cup appearance as she looks to set her own example for her peers to follow.
“That would be amazing to do and something I would like to do before going to America. To be able to say that I have won and to have that would give me a lot of inner belief and confidence that I would need going to the States.”
Female Irish golfers haven’t been short of inspiration lately. But a first home winner of the KPMG Women’s Irish Open would have a seismic impact.
Women’s golf in Ireland is in a strong position. It is also fantastic to see four amateurs in the field. But while the men’s game is clearly floundering at the moment, and that may well be cyclical as it is systemic, there is an onus on Golf Ireland to ensure that the talent stocks are consistently replenished at amateur level through the great work being done with their underage pathways to ensure we keep this boom going.
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