Leona Maguire bringing a 'buzz' to first Women's Irish Open in ten years

STAR ATTRACTION: Having a field led by Leona Maguire at Dromoland Castle this week is providing another level of anticipation. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

As if staging a first women’s professional tournament in Ireland for the first time in a decade was not exciting enough for the Irish golfing community, having a field led by Leona Maguire at Dromoland Castle this week is providing another level of anticipation altogether.

The Ladies European Tour returns to these shores for the first time since 2012 this week. They have brought about the return of the KPMG Women’s Irish Open with the support of the Government and Clare County Council and Ireland’s leading female professional Maguire headlines a quality field set to tee off on Thursday.

Maguire, 27, arrives home in Ireland having already secured her maiden LPGA Tour victory and a career-best major finish of a tie for fourth in last month’s AIG Women’s Open at Muirfield. And she can expect a big welcome when she tees it up on home soil as she bids to follow in the footsteps of previous winners including Suzanne Petterson, Sophie Gustafson, Laura Davies and the most recent champion at Killeen Castle in 2012, Catriona Matthew.

Irish international Aideen Walsh, a member of both Lahinch, with whom she won an AIG Women’s Senior Cup at Tramore earlier this month, and Dromoland Castle, through which she earned the host course’s invitation to compete, has seen first-hand the excitement generated by Maguire’s presence in the field.

“That has created such a buzz alright,” the Clare amateur said. “Everyone looks up to Leona. She is doing so well, we all look up to her. Personally, I can’t wait to see her playing Dromoland and see how she gets on.

“It created a buzz when she was announced, even among the members. They were even more excited to see her coming.” 

Walsh’s enthusiasm extends beyond the field. For the 24-year-old teacher, just having the tournament back and on her home course is worthy of celebration.

“It’s very exciting. I’m only playing golf about 12 years so I never really had an Irish Open to look up to but I kind of hope that something like this, if we can push on and make it a really good tournament for the younger Irish girls coming through, like 13, 14, 15 years that are really talented it’s only right that they have something they can aspire to in the future, a home professional event.

“So hopefully we can hit the ground running and make a good start in Dromoland and then really push on and try and make it better.” 

Walsh has also witnessed and been impressed by the extensive, €2 million upgrade the championship course has undergone on the 450-acre estate.

“The biggest change is the 18th. It’s like a brand new hole. There’s a new fairway out to the right that brings the water in. That’s the biggest change and other than that there’s improved bunkers, they’ve just made them a little bit better and reshaped them and on some holes they’ve moved a few of the bunkers.

“Now there’s more water, like a lake that goes down the 11th and the 18th, they’ve knocked loads of trees and that opens up the castle more but it also brings the water more into play on the 11th and the 18th.

“It’s interesting because I think the tournament, they intend on having us on the back tee and it’s like a separate fairway. If you can carry it 255 yards you can make it a two-shotter but I can’t see… well I don’t play it 255. I don’t know if many of the female pros will be able to carry it that far but it definitely will bring drama.

“Personally I’ll be playing it as a three-shotter because you can bail out left and then you lay up into the new fairway. Then you’re hitting over water and you’re looking at the castle so it’s a really nice hole.”