16-strong home contingent set to shine at Carton House
Sweet 16 - A record Irish contingent will tee it up at Carton House in this week's KPMG Women's Irish Open. From left: Anna Dawson. Anna Foster. Annabel Wilson. Roisin Scanlon. Marino Joyce Moreno. Canice Screene, Rebekah Gardner, Sara Byrne, Leona Maguire, Beth Coulter, Anna Dawson, Emma Fleming, Aine Donegan, Lauren Walsh, Olivia Costello and Olivia Mehaffey. Pic: Tristan Jones (LET).
The search for the first home winner of the €450,000 KMPG Women’s Irish Open resumes today and while Leona Maguire knows she’s expected to lead the charge at Carton House, she’s happy to have some help.
It would be unfair to expect one of the nine Irish amateurs or the five rookies in the seven-strong professional contingent to lift the trophy in a field that boasts Maguire and fellow LPGA and Solheim Cup stars such as Charley Hull, Madelene Sagstrom, Georgia Hall and Anna Nordqvist.
But having helped inspire a new generation of female talent, Maguire is the Pied Piper to the other 15 Irish players looking to make their mark.
A 16-strong home contingent speaks well of the strength of Irish women’s golf and while the likes of Carton House’s Lauren Walsh — 12th in the Order of Merit and in with a chance this week of wrapping up her place in the AIG Women’s Open — can be expected to contend, it’s another massive opportunity for the amateurs to build confidence and for the rookies to consolidate their position on tour.
“I think it's huge,” Maguire said of the big home challenge and her tee-time today with Solheim Cup captain Nordqvist and the Lahinch amateur Aine Donegan. “It’s important for them to get the experience of playing in a big event like this with the grandstands and the crowds and a big golf course.”
Donegan and Beth Coulter were members of the winning Curtis Cup team alongside Sara Byrne last year and last weekend helped Great Britain and Ireland beat the Continent of Europe and win the Vagliano Trophy for the first time in 20 years.
They will likely join the professional ranks later this year, but they have great role models to follow, not just in Maguire, but also in Walsh and rookies like Byrne, Anna Foster and Annabel Wilson, who are all inside the top 100 who will keep their cards.
“It's a lot to have in the field, but I think that's a testament to what KPMG has done to grow the event year on year, and it's exactly the momentum and the trajectory that we want for it,” Maguire said.
Byrne is trying to play on both sides of the pond and if she needs reminding of the tenuous nature of professional golf, she need only ask Paul Dunne, who will be caddying for Georgia Hall in a group that also features the event’s star attraction, Charley Hull.
“I’m really looking forward to playing on home soil this week,” said the Douglas star, who is also playing on the LPGA’s second-tier Epson Tour and lies 66th in the LET Order of Merit.
“The season’s been a bit up and down. Playing on two tours is not the easiest thing, so I’m just learning the logistics of that, but loving every second of it.
“This is the best tournament the European Tour — every year it's run like a major championship. We don't get that week in and week out, so it's just about taking it all in and just enjoying it for what it is.”
Keeping playing rights or finding a foothold on tour is the goal for several other Irish players on the major tours this week.
Seamus Power missed the cut in last week’s Rocket Classic in Detroit and at 123rd in the race to make the top 100 who will be fully exempt in 2026, he’s looking for a good week in the John Deere Classic in Ohio.
Conor Purcell also missed the cut in the Italian Open and is 147th in the Race to Dubai, with only the top 112 securing strong cards for 2026, he plays the BMW International Open in Munich, looking to outshine the likes of former Masters champions Patrick Reed and Sergio Garcia.
Earning strong status is also the goal for John Murphy and Jack Madden, who compete in the HotelPlanner Tour’s Interwetten Open in Austria.
KPMG WOMEN’S IRISH OPEN – selected tee times
1st tee 9:24 G Ding (HKG), A Angurasaranee (THA), Olivia Costello (IRL) (a);
10:00 A Uehara (JPN), D Zalewska (POL), Rebekah Gardner (IRL) (a);
13:36 Annabel Wilson (IRL), O Cowan (GER), L Woad (ENG) (a);
13:48 B Law (ENG), Olivia Mehaffey (IRL), K Davidson Spilkova (CZE);
14:00 Sara Byrne (IRL), C Hull (ENG), G Hall (ENG).
10th tee
8:12 P Babnik (SLO), L Pettersson (SWE), Beth Coulter (IRL) (a);
8:36 Lauren Walsh (IRL), M Sagstrom (SWE), C Tamburlini (SUI);
8:48 Anna Foster (IRL), M Rhodes (ENG), C Gainer (ENG);
9:00 Leona Maguire (IRL), A Nordqvist (SWE), Aine Donegan (IRL) (a);
9:12 A Fuller (ENG), K Bennett (AUS), Anna Dawson (IRL) (a);
10:00 T Melecka (CZE), A Nobilio (ITA) Emma Fleming (IRL) (a);
13:48 L Young (ENG), Canice Screene (IRL), P Mack (GER);
14:12 C Herbin (FRA), S Bringner (SWE), Marina Joyce Moreno (IRL) (a);
14:24 H Tamy Kreuzer (GER), E Givens (ENG), Roisin Scanlon (IRL) (a);
15:00 S Nuutinen (FIN), G Bjorgvinsdottir (ISL), Anna Abom (IRL) (a).
