Leona Maguire leads three-strong Irish contingent at AIG Women's Open

Irish Times

2 days ago

Leona Maguire
brings some very strong form into the AIG Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl, as the 30-year-old Cavan golfer heads a three-strong Irish contingent in the season's final Major, with Kildare's Lauren Walsh and Dubliner Anna Foster also seeking one of the sport's top prizes.
The R&A has increased the prize money for the event to a record €8.46 million ($9.75 million), more than doubling the purse since 2019 when the R&A and title sponsors AIG began their partnership of the championship.
This is the 49th year of the championship which has yet to produce an Irish winner, although Maguire – competing in the event for a ninth time – was leading amateur in 2016 and contended strongly at Muirfield in 2022 before ultimately finishing fourth behind South Africa's Ashleigh Buhai.
Maguire's form has seen an upturn of late, with top-10s in both the KPMG Women's PGA and the Amundi Evian Championship, and she again has veteran caddie Phil 'Wobbly' Morbey on her bag after a strong start to their new partnership at last week's Scottish Open.
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Walsh, currently 15th on the LET order of merit, missed the cut at St Andrews last year but has five top-10s so far this season, while LET rookie Foster, who has veteran caddie Brian Byrne on her bag, earned her place in the field with an impressive performance in final qualifying at the nearby Pyle & Kenfig earlier this week.
The spotlight, though, is very much on emerging star
Lottie Woad
, who won the KPMG Irish Open as an amateur earlier this month and won the ISPS Handa Scottish Open on her professional debut last week.
Lottie Woad after winning the 2025 Women's Scottish Open at the Dundonald Links, Irvine. Photograph: Steve Welsh/PA
Nelly Korda
, the world number one, isn't used to being overshadowed. Neither is
Lydia Ko
, the Olympic gold medallist. Yet, they are on this occasion, with Woad's name on everyone's lips.
Even Korda's, it would seem: 'Absolutely amazing,' said the American of Woad's impact. 'I was very impressed with her composure, her process. I think, when it comes to her shot routine, especially under pressure and in the heat of the moment.
'Sometimes people seem to fidget and kind of doubt themselves, but she stuck to it, she stuck to her process every single time, and I think one of the main things that I noticed is how mature she is for her age and how comfortable she was in the heat of the moment.'
For her part, Ko remarked of Woad: 'I don't know a lot about her game personally, but the little that I've seen, she seems super impressive and has that kind of cool, calm, collected demeanour, and that's, I think, pretty important as a player. She's kind of come out with a bang, and I'm sure she's going to keep continuing to play well.'
Woad had Dermot Byrne on her bag in Scotland but will have her coach Luke Bone on duty this week on the Welsh coast.
Of being installed as championship favourite in just her second appearance as a professional, Woad said: 'I don't know how they do it, but I feel like I'm playing well, so I guess I was going to be one of the favourites. Obviously, everyone's so good, so I feel like anyone can win really.'
Ireland's Lauren Walsh and Anna Foster during a practice round ahead of the AIG Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl. Photograph:Lowdown
Purse:
€8.46 million (€1.26 million to the winner)
Where:
Porthcawl, Mid Glamorgan, Wales.
The course:
Royal Porthcawl – par 72, 6,748 yards – is a classic links originally designed by Ramsay Hunter which opened for play in 1898 and was then modified by legendary course architect Harry Colt. In more recent years, Martin Ebert – the R&A's go-to man for upgrades – made changes so it will provide a tough championship examination. The par-4 16th – played from an elevated tee to a heavily bunkered fairway – effectively starts a difficult run for home.
The field:
For what is the fifth and final Major of the LPGA Tour season, the AIG Women's Open has attracted a stellar entry headed by world number one Nelly Korda, with Lydia Ko defending the title. So far this season three of the four Majors have been won by first-time champions: Mao Saigo (The Chevron), Mai Stark (the US Women's Open) and Grace Kim (the Evian), with only Minjee Lee's success in the KPMG Women's PGA – her third Major win – going to a multiple champion.
Quote-Unquote:
'We've kind of spoken of the game plan and learned from what he was challenged with [at Royal Portrush]. It's kind of stay out of those pot fairway bunkers and just play as safe as possible, really try to hit as many fairways, that's kind of the goal for this week.' – Royal Porthcawl home hope
Darcey Harry
on having her boyfriend, DP World Tour player Jacob Skov Olesen, on her bag this week having featured at The Open at Royal Portrush.
Irish in the field:
It's a further indication of the ongoing evolution of Irish women professionals that there are three players competing in the Major. Lauren Walsh is in a group with Dongeun Lee and Anna Huang (teeing off at 6.41am); Leona Maguire is grouped with Andrea Lee and Amy Yang (7.58am), and Anna Foster is in a three-ball with Amelia Garvey and Emma Spitz (3.11pm).
Weather eye:
There is a chance of heavy rain Thursday morning with wind gusts of up to 25mph, meaning tricky conditions for the early starters. Strong winds are likely to continue on Friday with gusts of 25-30mph, although conditions should be dry. Sunshine expected throughout the weekend, with some scattered showers possible on Sunday.
Betting:
Lottie Woad's blitzkrieg start to her professional career in winning the Scottish Open, having already won the KPMG Women's Irish Open as an amateur earlier this month, has seen the English golfer installed as 6-1 favourite ahead of world number one Nelly Korda and Jeeno Thitikul who are both rated 9-1 shots.
Better value, though, can be found further down the market with Lydia Ko at 33-1. Leona Maguire has shown good form of late and is also an each-way look at 55-1. In terms of long shots, Amelia Garvey is available at 200-1 plus and is worth a look.
On TV:
Live on Sky Sports Golf from 12pm.