While the elite women of the LET and LPGA Tours have their focus firmly fixed on the Old Course at St. Andrews ahead of the AIG Women’s Open, the final major of the season, it won’t be long before that focus drifts across the Irish sea and to Carton House with the KPMG Women’s Irish Open swiftly following.
More than 31,000 spectators poured through the gates of Dromoland Castle in 2023, and that number is only likely to increase with the 2024 event being held on the doorstep of the nation’s major metropolitan hub.
With three Irish women teeing it up in St. Andrews this week, Irish women’s golf has never been in a better place, and there aren’t many better ways to showcase that than by having one of the premier events on the Ladies European Tour calendar on these shores and with a dozen (at present) home players set to tee it up.
Leona Maguire may be the headline act, but Lauren Walsh is rapidly establishing herself as one of the leading LET Tour regulars, and as Carton House’s touring professional, it would be a fairytale rookie season as a pro were she to take that next step and become a Tour winner on home soil, in front of home crowds, and under the host club’s umbrella.
“When I am home from the tour, I have been doing all my practice at Carton House and they have the best facilities in the country,” Walsh says.
“I’m very thankful for their support and proud to represent such an incredible venue out on tour. I cannot wait to play here at the KPMG Women’s Irish Open.
“I’m really excited to be competing on home turf. I’m so excited to see all the Irish crowds out there. A win on home turf would be the stuff of dreams. It would mean a lot and it would be very special.”
Walsh is making her major championship debut as a pro at St. Andrews this week having qualified among the LET Order of Merit leaders not already exempt, but it’s not her first appearance at a major having qualified for the Women’s Open at Carnoustie in 2021 and finished T42.
This year’s event promises to be a fun-filled adventure for all the family, with kids’ face painting and a kids’ zone being offered in the spectator village and once again, free car parking is available and all under-16s gain entry free of charge.
To register for tickets for the KPMG Women’s Irish Open, which is being held on the O’Meara Course at Carton House, please click here.