The branding tells its own story. You come off the M18 and, at the entrance gate to Dromoland Castle, a huge billboard above the walled estate portrays but one player. That it is Leona Maguire is no surprise, for the 27-year-old has emerged as a global star with her performances on the LPGA Tour and last year’s Solheim Cup.
A return to her roots for this rebirth of the KPMG Women’s Irish Open showcases just how far she has come.
Maguire first played in the Irish Open as a 14-year-old in the tournament at Portmarnock Links back in 2009 and was also in the field for the last time it was staged at Killeen Castle in 2012. For 10 years, the championship was shelved; and in that time the Cavan golfer developed into the world’s number one amateur and then moved onto the professional stage with the sort of X-factor that meant the tournament’s return was inevitable.
“It was always a big event when it was on the schedule a few years ago. It’s taken 10 years, there’s a lot of planning, a lot of organising gone into it (returning) and hopefully this can become a big event on the LET schedule for a long time to come,” said Maguire.
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Maguire has quite literally gone the extra mile to be a part of the buzz around the Irish Open’s return. She finished a three-week stint on the LPGA Tour with a missed cut at the Portland Classic and has skipped this week’s tour stop in Arkansas to fly home to be the star attraction.
“I flew in from Seattle this week, it wasn’t the easiest commute but it’s one of those things, it’s an important event and you’d like to see it on the schedule for a long time to come.”
Going forward, Maguire would “ideally” like to see the Irish Open move to a summer date “for a number of reasons, whether people are off for the summer, kids are off school and could come and watch. It would be nice if it could sit in the middle of that European swing for us when we can get maybe some of the bigger LPGA players to play as well. Dromoland has put on a fantastic show this week, they have done everything to pull off a big event and it’s all come together very nicely. We’ll work with what we have this year and hopefully it will continue to improve every year going forward.”
That missed cut in Oregon (put it down to the poa annua greens!) was a rare blip in what has been a great season for Maguire, who claimed a breakthrough LPGA Tour win in the Drive On Championship in Florida back in February and who also enjoyed a career-best finish in a Major in being fourth at the AIG Women’s Open.
“I think since turning professional, every year you get a little more comfortable on tour. You figure how to contend, which golf courses suit you and that sort of thing. So just figuring that out every year and getting more comfortable every year. I had a really good, consistent year last year and kept that momentum into this year, got myself into contention a few times this year and it was nice to get the win under my belt and get into the top-10 in the majors as well. So I am just trying to make those small improvements all the time,” explained Maguire, who has been grouped with Catriona Matthew, her Solheim Cup captain of last year, and Spain’s Ana Pelaez Trivino for the opening two rounds.
Of the expectations on her shoulders for the tournament, Maguire said: “I’ll try to treat it like any other week. This is week four in a row for me, it’s been a busy stretch in the States, a little bit of jet lag this week so trying to manage my practice and all the other things I have to do this week as well, just really play it like it’s any other event and try to do as well as I possibly can.”
Lowdown
Purse: €400,000 (€60,000 to the winner).
Where: Newmarket-on-Fergus, Co Clare.
The course: Dromoland Castle – 6,335 yards, par 72 – is a parkland course designed by Ron Kirby and JB Carr on a 450-acre estate with mature trees and cleverly integrated water features. There has been a considerable investment to ensure the course is in pristine condition. The outward nine features just one par five – the sixth – in a front nine par of 35, but there are three par fives on the inward nine par of 37, including the risk-reward 18th hole which has the lake at the rear of the green.
The field: No doubt about the star attraction, with Solheim Cup stalwart Leona Maguire headlining a field that also features Sweden’s Linn Grant, who currently leads the Ladies European Tour’s Race to Costa del Sol order of merit.
Quote-Unquote: “They are probably nervous but they should embrace it for what it is. A lot of them will probably put a lot of pressure on themselves unnecessarily – I suppose, treat it like any other competition. They are obviously good enough to be here, so they should play their usual game” – Leona Maguire’s advice to the six Irish amateurs in the field.
Irish in the field: Eight home players, among them six amateurs: Rebekah Gardner is in a group with Monique Smit and Laura Beveridge (8.20am, 1st tee); Aideen Walsh is with Manon De Roey and Caroline Hedwall (8.30am, 10th tee); Olivia Costello is with Lydia Hall and Ursula Wikstrom (8.50am, 10th tee); Victoria Craig is grouped with Nobuhle Diamini and Lily May Humphreys (9.0am, 1st tee); Kate Lanigan is with Tvesa Malik and Vani Kapoor (9.30am, 10th tee); Leona Maguire is in a group with Ana Pelaez Trivino and Catriona Matthew (12.55pm, 1st tee); Marina Joyce Moreno is in a group with Madelene Stavnar and Sophie Witt (1.45pm, 10th tee); Katie Poots is grouped with Rachael Taylor and Amandeep Drall (2.05pm, 10th tee).
Betting: Leona Maguire is the red-hot favourite at 10-3 with Linn Grant rated a 7-2 chance. Anne Van Dam’s length off the tee could make her worth an each-way look at 40-1. Catriona Matthew, the last winner of an Irish Open all of 10 years ago, makes just her sixth appearance of the season on the LET and is priced at 200-1.
On TV: Live on Sky Sports Mix (live coverage 3pm) and RTÉ News channel (3pm).
