*Leona Maguire teeing off in front of the iconic Dromoland Castle during the 2022 Irish Open. Photograph: Joe Buckley
LEONA MAGUIRE is the home favourite for the KPMG Women’s Irish Open which returns to Dromoland Castle this week and she’s determined to give the strong support “as much to cheer about as possible”.
Twenty eight year old Leona is the runaway favourite to claim the title in the twenty first Ladies European Tour event of the season.
Speaking in Dromoland on Tuesday, Leona admitted that the triumphant return of the Women’s Irish Open in 2022 after a ten-year hiatus was “a big learning experience”.
She told The Clare Echo, “It is always special to come home, you’re trying to do as well as you can, there’s a lot of demands on my time and you’re trying to give everyone as much time as you can, there’s a lot of things to juggle this week and that was a big learning experience for me last year but at the same time you’re so appreciative for everyone following and people coming out saying they’ve been following me for the last ten or fifteen years, people go out of their way to get tickets and come here to watch so you want to do as well as you can for them”.
For women’s golf in Ireland, the return of the tournament to the European Tour is “huge,” she acknowledged. “The crowds were amazing last year and everyone was really excited to have this tournament back on the schedule, I remember last year a lot of the LET girls said it almost felt like a major with the crowds. Everyone is really excited to be here, that is the general feel of this week, the people in Dromoland are excited to have us and the players are excited to be here, it’s a win win for everyone. It’s nice that so many Irish amateurs will have the chance to play here, I was fortunate to play in the Irish Open as an amateur, it is a huge learning experience”.
Seven Irish amateurs including Ennis duo Áine Donegan and Aideen Walsh will join Leona in bidding to win The Irish Open. “Hopefully they enjoy the week and don’t put too much pressure on themselves, they will have lots of friends and family watching them, it’s great to see so many coming up through the ranks”.
Expectations on Leona’s shoulders are bigger when it comes to home tournaments. “You treat it like any other week and prepare as best you can to try play as well as you can, I try to play well every week and this week is no different. It is an added bonus this week in that you have some extra people cheering for you and clapping when you hit a good shot so hopefully I can give them as much to cheer about as possible”.
Alterations to the course in Dromoland are a plus, the Cavan native said. She visited the Cliffs of Moher this week but the Irish Open is her first return to Clare since last year’s tournament where she finished joint fourth. “There’s a few new tees on eleven, twelve and sixteen is different, any of the changes are really good, they have improved the golf course, it’s nice to see them investing in the course and trying to make the event better”.
She explained, “You see a lot more from some of the tee shots, eleven is a nice angle, on sixteen you can actually see the fairway now as opposed to it being a blind tee shot, it is more of a distance thing, I think the course is in great shape, the bunkers are tidy and is a really good golf course and you can tell they have invested money into it, it’s nice when the golf comes together like that”.
Last year, Leona became the first Irish woman to win on the LPGA Tour and this year she her second victory on the LPGA Tour by winning the Meijer LPGA Classic. “People were like ‘it’s nice to get the monkey off your back because the second win is always the hardest’, I haven’t looked at it like that in anyway, being second in the two previous years I just really wanted to win, it’s one of the things that every year you’re touring you will enjoy going back to certain venues more than others, you have to play really well to win on tour, you can play well but somebody can always play better so you’re trying to give yourself the best chance. When you win you get to time your schedule a bit more and take a few more weeks off, get more rest and be fresher. The way my season has panned out the rest season is a bonus, I’m really happy with my season so far”.
Leona is hopeful The Irish Open will be an experience to remember for both supporters and golfers. “The crowds were fantastic last year, hopefully the weather is kind to us and there will be as many people out this week, I’ve seen the advertising everywhere on social media over the last few months so hopefully there will be a lot of people out. It doesn’t seem so long ago since I was going to Irish Opens and Solheim Cups looking for my ball to be signed and to have my picture taken, it is still a bit surreal when you have the opposite happening now and people looking to get things signed. It is one thing to see an event like this on TV but to see it in real life is another thing and they are the memories which stay with you, to see someone hit a drive off the tee or hole a big putter, it is nice that young and old fans will get to experience that this week in the flesh”.
