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Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Fleming hoping to bring away form home at Irish Close
Emma Fleming is hoping the rich vein of form she has developed abroad this season will fuel a title run on home soil, as the Elm Park golfer prepares to tee it up at the AIG Irish Women's & Girls' Amateur Close Championship at Ardee Golf Club this week. One of the marquee weeks in Irish amateur golf, both championships begin on Tuesday morning with 85 of the island's top players set to battle it out across four days of competition on the County Louth parkland course. Having spent much of her 2025 season in Australia on an Erasmus programme, Fleming has sharpened her game overseas and reaped the rewards of the new challenge. The UCD student returned home with a runner-up finish at the Rene Reichsen Salver and a victory at the Victorian Amateur Championship, a prestigious match play event that could serve as ideal preparation for the week ahead. 'I loved playing over there,' said Fleming. 'It taught me a lot because the courses are set up very differently. It really made me put a huge emphasis on putting and they're designed to score low. When I came back, I was more used to going lower than normal, so I really enjoyed my time over there.' 'I've never won that long of an event before, so I feel definitely added confidence just knowing that you can go that far.' That confidence was further bolstered at the KPMG Women's Irish Open, where Fleming impressed by making the cut at Carton House, finishing as the top Irish amateur in the field. 'I was very happy to make the cut,' said Fleming. 'That event was really fun. It's fun to play with pros, especially Anna Nordqvist so it was a bit of a surreal experience.' Now, Fleming returns to domestic action looking to carry that momentum into a championship that has helped launch the careers of many of Ireland's female professionals. Six of the last eight winners, Olivia Mehaffey (2016), Sara Byrne (2018 & 2023), Annabel Wilson (2019), Anna Foster (2021) and Canice Screene (2024), have since joined the professional ranks and while adding her name to that list would be a special moment, Fleming is keeping both her short-term focus and long-term outlook grounded. 'It's definitely the most historic event in Ireland so it would mean a lot, but I'll try and just play well,' said Fleming. 'I think I'll definitely finish my degree. I'm probably leaning towards the academic route now. My family are very academically based, and I want to definitely have at least a backup.' Fleming tees off at 8.55am on Tuesday, where she will be joined by Libby Fleming (El Camino Country Club) and fellow Irish international Anna Dawson (Tramore) in one of the standout groups of the morning. The format will see players contest 36 holes of stroke play qualifying on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the top 16 in both the Women's and Girls' championships advancing to the match play stages on Thursday and Friday.
Irish Daily Mirror
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
English prodigy dominates Women's Irish Open - but does not win any money
English prodigy Lottie Woad showcased her immense potential by running out a six-shot winner of the KPMG Women's Irish Open. But as with Shane Lowry's 2009 triumph at the Irish Open, Woad did not pocket a single cent for her victory. Instead the winner's cheque of €67,500 went to Sweden's Madelene Sagstrom, who finished in second place. This is because amateurs are not eligible to receive prize money in professional tournaments. Nevertheless Woad, world number one in the amateur rankings, emphatically showed at Carton House why she is being tipped for big things in the game She became the first amateur to win on the women's tour since 2022, when Jana Melichova won the Czech Ladies Open. Despite Woad's success, she is not tempted to turn professional as she closes in on an LPGA Tour membership. 'No, I'm not tempted to turn pro yet,' she said on the Ladies European Tour website. 'I'm still trying to get my final two points for the LPGA. I'm trying to get those and then we will see what happens after that. 'It means a lot to get the win. 'Obviously, I had a big lead coming into today, but I still had to really focus as I was being chased by some really good players. I'm happy to get it done. It's perfect. 'I feel like I'm playing well, and I hope to continue that into Evian next week.' Woad came into the final round with a seven-shot lead and fired five birdies and one bogey in a four-under-par 69. Sagstrom finished second on 15 under, one shot ahead of Amelia Garvey from New Zealand, with Charley Hull fourth on 12 under. Elm Park's Anna Foster finished the best of the Irish contingent, firing rounds of 71, 74, 67 and 72 to end up eight-under-par and in a tie for 12th place. Cavan's Leona Maguire finished on level par for the tournament and in a tie for 48th place.
Irish Independent
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Amateur Lottie Woad wins the Women's Irish Open by six shots as Dublin rookie Anna Foster shows stunning form
The world amateur number one (21) went into the final day with a seven-stroke lead and while that was reduced to five shots when she made just her fourth bogey of the week at the 15th, she birdied the 16th and 17th to close with a four-under 69 and win by six strokes from Swede Madelene Sagstrom, who shot 68, on 21-under. 'It means a lot to get the win,' said Woad, who won the Augusta Women's National Amateur in 2024. 'Obviously, I had a big lead coming into today, but I still had to really focus as I was being chased by some really good players. 'I'm happy to get it done. It's perfect. I feel like I'm playing well, and I hope to continue that into Evian next week.' She needs just two more points via the LPGA's new LEAP programme to earn her LPGA Tour card and can get them in the season's penultimate Major this week. 'No, I'm not tempted to turn pro yet,' she said. 'I'm still trying to get my final two points for the LPGA. I'm trying to get those and then we will see what happens after that.' If she doesn't get the points in France, she'll have another chance in next month's AIG Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl, where she will be joined by Lauren Walsh. The Kildare star missed the cut but finished in the top five in the Order of Merit, not already exempt, who earned places after yesterday's cut-off. While it was a long week for a jaded Leona Maguire, who closed with a 75 to finish joint 48th on level par, Elm Park rookie Anna Foster (23) was outstanding. After finishing joint fourth in the German Masters, she closed with a 72 to tie for 12th (€9,000) on eight-under and move up to 26th in the Order of Merit. Foster's card is now secure and while she's not tempted to try for her LPGA Tour card later this year, she has the freedom now to chase a maiden win. 'Pádraig Harrington had a little nugget where he said it's great to be a big fish in a little pond first before you decide to jump to the LPGA,' she said As for winning, she added: 'Once you can do it, once you get the freedom to be able to build the self-belief and self-confidence, I do believe that I can be up around the top of the leaderboard, and it's nice to be doing it now, the last few weeks.' Another Irish rookie, Canice Screene, closed with a joint-best-of-the-week, bogey-free. 66 to tie for 37th (€3,015) on two-under and double her earnings this season. Foster's Elm Park clubmate, amateur Emma Fleming, was 54th on three-over after a 76 but it was a tired Maguire who trooped off tied for 48th on level par after failing to make a birdie in her 75. 'I'm just exhausted,' Maguire said after her fourth event in a row. 'There was nothing left in the tank today. Drove it really nice, just a lot of poor iron shots. 'I'm not going to read too much into it, to be honest. It's been a long run, and it's been a very tiring week, so we'll dust ourselves off and go again next week. If this wasn't the Irish Open, I wouldn't have played this week.' At the BMW International Open in Munich, England's Dan Brown overcame his emotions following the recent death of a close friend and fired a six-under 66 to win his second DP World Tour title by two shots from compatriot Jordan Smith on 22 under. 'The last two days I've been thinking about him to try and take my mind off it, obviously try not to get too emotional in the process,' Brown said. 'I'm not too sure what happened today, like all day, it was an out-of-body experience.' Conor Purcell eagled the last to tie for 61st on three under with a level par 72.
Irish Examiner
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Dubliner Foster 'really proud' of Irish Open effort
Anna Foster tied for 12th behind runaway winner Lottie Woad in the KPMG Women's Irish Open but insisted she won't bid for her LPGA card this year. The Elm Park rookie finished a whopping 13 shots behind world amateur number one Woad, who shot a four-under 69 to win by six shots from Sweden's Madelene Sagstrom (68) on 21-under at Carton House. Foster closed with a one-under 72 alongside world number 19 Charley to finish on eight-under-par as 21-year-old Woad became the first amateur to win on the LET since 2022 and announce herself as a future superstar. 'I felt pretty comfortable all day,' said Woad, who was seven shots ahead overnight and never looked in danger after birdies at the second and fourth. 'I think as soon as I birdied the second hole, making a nice 12 footer there, that kind of settled me in and just hit a lot of good shots today.' As for Foster, she was thrilled with her performance. 'I'm really happy with the week, really proud of myself with how I played today,' said the 23-year-old Dubliner, who believes she can now play with freedom after securing her card. 'It was new for me, playing in that type of group with Charley Hall. 'So I'm just happy in general with the week, with how I dealt with the pressure at the beginning of the week and managed to just keep in the present and focus on. what I needed to at the time.' On her LET security, she said: 'It's nice to not have that looming over me now for the rest of the year. 'I can just pick and choose a few events that I want to play in. As I was saying yesterday, I've got a lot of freedom. You know, you're not worried about any of the stuff on the outside, really.' Despite her rise in the professional game, Foster insisted she's not tempted to try for her LPGA Tour card later this year. 'No, that's not something that I'm looking at this year,' she said. 'I'm really happy with where I am on the LET. 'Pádraig Harrington had a little nugget where he said it's great to be a big fish in a little pond first before you decide to kind of jump to the LPGA. 'I think where I am now, I'm really happy, and I want to be up near the top of the leaderboard. 'I think the LET is really strong, and it's a great place to play. So not currently going to go this year, maybe next year, depending how I feel. Enjoyment is the main thing for me.' Another Irish rookie, Canice Screene, closed with a joint best of the day 66 to tie for 37th on two-under as a jaded Leona Maguire tied for 48th on level par after a 75. 'I'm just exhausted,' Maguire said after her fourth event on the spin. 'There was nothing left in the tank today, and drove it really nice, just a lot of poor iron shots. 'I'm not going to read much too much into it to be honest. It's been a long run, and it's been a very tiring week, so we'll dust ourselves off and go again next week.' Foster's Elm Park clubmate, amateur Emma Fleming, was joint 54th on three-over after a final round 76. 'It definitely means a lot,' added Woad. "Obviously, I had a big lead coming in today, but I still to had to really focus as I was chased by some really good players. But yeah, happy to get it done.'
Irish Independent
05-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Anna Foster eyes another big finish at Women's Irish Open as amateur Lottie Woad roars seven clear at Carton House
World amateur number one Woad (21) matched the Elm Park star's 67 to extend her her three-shot overnight lead to seven strokes over Swedish Solheim Cup star Madelene Sagstrom on 17-under and put herself in position to add a professional win to her Augusta National Women's Amateur victory last year. Foster (23) started the day tied for 25th on one-under before blasting nine birdies in an impressive effort to go into the final round tied for ninth on seven-under. After arriving in Co Kildare on a high after notching a career-best tied fourth finish in last week's German Masters, she's looking to move up the Order of Merit from 31st but knows she can't get ahead of herself. 'I think I've just been able to stay patient throughout the year,' she said. 'I felt like I've been playing well for a good few weeks, just waiting for it all to click. 'And last week I found that it just kind of clicked so that definitely gave me a bit of confidence going into this week.' After seeing birdie fours at the first and fourth erased by a double bogey at the fifth, Foster birdied the sixth, eighth and 10th before following a bogey at the 11th with four birdies in her last six holes, which included a 15 footer at the last. 'I just played really solid all day, and gave myself a lot of chances, and then I played the par fives really well,' Foster said. 'I was driving well and a long way today so that definitely gave me a little bit of an advantage on some holes. It just kind of felt like it was just solid day in general.' The Dubliner had to dig deep in Friday's high winds to shoot 74 and make the cut and with her card all but secure, she felt she had the freedom to attack the O'Meara course in more benign conditions. 'Definitely satisfied,' she said. 'Yesterday, it was a grind. So it was nice to be able to go out today with a bit more like freedom and just be more aggressive. 'I was really happy I stayed really patient. You have to be patient out here, because, if you just kind of keep staying in the present, the birdie chances will come. 'Today, that's great. But I still have another round tomorrow, so the main focus now is on getting ready for that.' Woad has made just one bogey in 54 holes and while Sagstrom shot 70, she's seven behind the leader with Australian Kirsten Rudgeley a shot further back after 71. Woad won the Augusta National Women's Amateur last year and she has no plans to take her foot off the gas as she chases her first win in a professional event. 'I can't relax too much tomorrow,' said Woad. 'I just want to try and get off to a good start and and then just force everyone to try and catch me really.' World number one Charley Hull is in a five-way tie for fourth on eight-under, nine off the lead, while Leona Maguire carded a three-under 70 to share 29th on two-under. The Co Cavan star was happy with her round and hopes to build momentum for next week's major examination in the Amundi Evian Championship. 'Obviously it's very different weather here than we're going to get at the Evian so the priority is to get out of here with my swing intact in these winds,' Maguire explained. 'So we make sure we reset after these rounds and just keep it dialled in. 'Putting was was nice again today, which is good heading into a major so overall, I feel like I'm trending in the right direction heading into next week.' Elm Park amateur Emma Fleming carded a level par 73 alongside European Solheim Cup captain Anna Nordqvist to share 44th on level par while rookie Canice Screene shot a 76 to share 65th on five over as she looks to improve her status on tour and clinch a full LET card.
