Stephanie Meadow has used Twitter to announce that she will be following the lead of fellow Northern Ireland residents Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell and make herself available to  play for Ireland in the 2016 Olympics.

Her decision comes days before the official qualifying criteria for the Olympics are announced during The Open at Royal Liverpool.

The decision was not unexpected from a player who excelled for the University of Alabama, Ireland and the Great Britain and Ireland Curtis Cup team before turning professional at the US Women's Open last month, where she finished third.

She was also third on her Ladies European Tour debut last week but missed the cut in the Ricoh Women's British Open at Royal Birkdale on Friday.