Women in Golf Awards WPGA Pro-Am Set for Donegal Golf Club

Donegal Golf Club's Murvagh links. Picture: Slattery

The Women in Golf Awards WPGA Pro-Am, in association with Titleist & FootJoy, is set to return to Ireland’s stunning north west coast.

The event will take place on Monday, 18th, and Tuesday, 19th May at Donegal Golf Club, Murvagh—a links course widely regarded as one of Ireland’s finest.

A strong international field of women’s golf professionals has already registered.

Notable names include Scotland’s former European and LPGA Tour player Cathy Panton Lewis (Berkshire GC), alongside Marie Martindale, Ainee O’Connor, Nikki McLeish, Heidi Eileen Badcock, Holly Morgan, Elle Gamble, Brandy Brook, Taylor White, Ali Gray, Heather Stirling, and Heather McRae. Representing the United States is Dawn Mercer from Innisbrook, Florida.

Ireland will be well represented by former European Tour players Hazel Kavanagh (Impact Golf at Leopardstown) and Lynn McCool (Donegal Golf Club), who also serves as the club’s General Manager.

Other Irish participants include Marian Riordan, Maura Morrin, Clodagh Jones, Niamh Cunningham, Tara Delaney, Jan Browne, and Emily Murray.

The Pro-Am on 18th May will feature a golf clinic hosted by the professionals prior to the round, followed by an 18-hole team event. The day also includes pre-round tea, coffee, croissants and scones, a post-round buffet dinner, and a Q&A session with the professionals. A Pro Only event will follow on Tuesday, 19th May.

Matthew Johnson, General Manager at Acushnet UK (home to Titleist & FootJoy), said: “We’re proud to support the Women in Golf Awards WPGA Pro-Am. At Titleist and FootJoy, we remain committed to helping the women’s game continue to grow. As signatories of the R&A’s Women in Golf Charter, we look forward to working on similar initiatives in the future.”

Nicole Wheatley, CEO of Medi8 Golf and founder of the Women in Golf Awards, added: “Our mission is to celebrate all of the talented women working in the golf industry. The more opportunities we have to see women excelling, the better.”

Lynn McCool, General Manager of Donegal Golf Club, expressed her delight at hosting the event for what is now its fourth year. “After the success of the inaugural event in 2023, we had to continue. I love the format we have put together,” she said. McCool extended thanks to event partners Women in Golf Awards, Titleist & FootJoy, the Wild Atlantic Way, Revo, and AK Golf.

The Murvagh Peninsula links course, recently redesigned by former European Ryder Cup Captain Paul McGinley, offers sweeping views of Donegal Bay, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Bluestack Mountains. Former Open champion Darren Clarke has called County Donegal “one of my favourite golf courses in the world.”