NEWS RELEASE FROM THE IRISH LADIES GOLF UNION

  IRISH WOMEN’S CLOSE AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

BALLYBUNION GOLF CLUB

JUNE 20 to 23

 

Leona Maguire (Slieve Russell) will head to Ballybunion this week to defend her Irish women’s close championship. Last year Leona beat Stephanie Meadow in an exciting final at Co. Louth.  Stephanie, however, will be looking to go one better this year and on paper is favourite as she is currently the lowest ranked Irish player on the World Amateur Golf Rankings at number 6 and has been a model of consistency in the US College rankings so far this year. 

Lisa Maguire will also fancy her chances to claim a second Irish tile with her confidence high following a great run through to the quarter-finals in the British women's amateur championship in South Wales last week.

Paula Grant (Lisburn) is another player in form, having claimed two Inter-university titles and she also won the R and A Scholars trophy at St Andrews.   
Skerries' Maria Dunne won the highly acclaimed ILGU Titleist Scratch Cup Circuit ahead of fellow internationals Chloe Ryan (Castletroy) and Lucy Simpson (Massereene) who finished third.

There are plenty of young guns in the field with 16 year old Olivia Mehaffey (Royal Co. Down Ladies) a strong contender – earlier this season Olivia won the Irish U18 open stroke play at Roganstown against a quality overseas field.

On the home front local favourite will be Ballybunion's own Emma O’Driscoll, who finished third in the Irish Stroke Play last month.  Past champions Deirdre Smith (Co. Louth), Karen Delaney (Carlow) and Mary Dowling New Ross) are also in contention along with a host of current Internationals.

This year's field sees a record number of at least 15 players playing off scratch or better take on the challenging holes of Ballybunion’s championship course which has been consistently rated among the top courses in the world.
With valuable Order of Merit points on offer, competitors will be looking to impress Irish selectors ahead of next month’s European Ladies and Girls Team Championships in England and Sweden respectively and the teams of 6 players each will be announced immediately following the event.  

The Championship starts Thursday 20^th June with the 36 hole Leitrim Cup qualifying stroke play after which the leading 32 players will go into five rounds of championship match play. The semi-finals and final take place on Sunday ^.

The Irish Women’s Close Amateur was first played in 1894, just one year after the foundation of the ILGU, the oldest national union or association in ladies’ golf.  

The championship was last played in Ballybunion in 1991 with Woodbrook’s Claire Hourihane winning the title while the current ILGU President Mary McKenna MBE (Donabate) won two of her nine titles at Ballybunion, her first title in 1969 and again 1977.

Mary will be looking for to a wonderful reunion.