Elite field assembled for Women’s Amateur at Portmarnock
Lahinch’s Aine Donegan in action in last year’s R&A Women’s Amateur at Princes. Picture: The R&A
One of the strongest-ever fields will assemble at Portmarnock to compete in the 121st Women’s Amateur Championship from 24-29 June.
Four players in the top ten of the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®) and 21 in the top-50 are set to tee it up at the historic course north of Dublin.
English star Lottie Woad can look forward to competing as the new number one player on the WAGR® after an impressive year to date. In April, the 20-year-old from Surrey, who is attending Florida State University, won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur by a shot from Bailey Shoemaker.
Woad won the R&A Girls’ Amateur Championship in 2022 at Carnoustie and is a previous winner of the Welsh Women’s Open Stroke Play title.
She has recorded five top-ten finishes in college events through 2024 and she finished an excellent tied 23rd in the Chevron Championship – one of the five women’s majors in the professional game.
“I’m looking forward to playing in the Women’s Amateur, particularly as I haven’t played in the Championship for a couple of years,” said Woad.
“I’m hoping to keep my good form going and use the experiences I’ve gained in the last couple of months to hopefully contend for the win.”
Julia Lopez Ramirez of Spain is currently third on WAGR® and will be one of the strong favourites at Portmarnock. Hailing from Malaga, Ramirez has an impressive amateur record.
In 2023, she won the European Ladies’ Amateur Championship. Already twice a winner on the 2024 US collegiate circuit representing Mississippi State University, the 21-year-old played in last year’s AIG Women’s Open at Walton Heath.
Also in the top 15 of the WAGR® and hoping for success at Portmarnock are two players from the United States of America, Rachel Kuehn and Anna Davis.
Kuehn played on the winning US Curtis Cup team at Conwy in Wales back in 2021, beating Scotland’s Louise Duncan in the singles to claim the winning point. Attending Wake Forest University, Kuehn was ACC Player of the Year in 2022.
The 22-year-old from North Carolina is also a former winner of the North and South Women’s Amateur.
Davis won the third instalment of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2022 at the age of just 16.
Now, still only 18, she has played in two US Women’s Opens and the AIG Women’s Open at Muirfield in 2022. A Freshman at Auburn University, she has already been a winner on the collegiate circuit.
Home player, Sara Byrne from Douglas GC in Cork, currently has the joint-lowest Handicap Index of any player in the field for the Women’s Amateur, with an impressive +8.2 Index.
That number matches Scotland’s Hannah Darling, a former R&A Girls' Amateur Champion, and a student at the University of South Carolina.
Aine Donegan (pictured above courtesy of The R&A) of Lahinch in County Clare will be one of the favourites chasing success at the renowned venue north of Dublin.
The 22-year-old Louisiana State University student is currently 75th on the WAGR®.
Last month, Donegan played at Lancaster Country Club in her second consecutive US Women’s Open having won a qualifying event at Rockwall Golf and Country Club to make it into the championship.
Donegan also played in the 2023 US Women’s Open at Pebble Beach where she put on a fine showing, finishing the first round just one shot off the lead and featuring prominently.
An Irish international team player, Donegan is looking forward to having an opportunity to compete in a Women’s Amateur Championship on home turf.
“As someone from Ireland, I am extremely excited for the Women’s Amateur Championship to be held in Ireland this year,” she said.
And with plenty of experience playing links golf, she is relishing the prospect of a testing week.
“I have grown up playing links golf and love the challenge of it,” she added.
“Links golf requires you to hit the fairway and keep the ball out of the long, thick rough. Being able to play bump and run chips is important too.
“The greens are quite slopy at Portmarnock so being able to read them and get the correct speed will be vital.“
There is an international feel to the field for Portmarnock.
Players from 35 different countries will be represented from as far afield as Panama and the Philippines.
The Women's Amateur Championship is one of the leading championships in amateur golf for women and girls’ golfers.
The championship, founded in 1893, attracts an international field with an impressive list of former winners including McCormack Medal winner Leona Maguire and major champions Georgia Hall and Anna Nordqvist.
Last year, Chiara Horder of Germany was the Champion at Prince’s in Kent.
The winner of this year’s Championship has exciting opportunities, gaining entry to the AIG Women’s Open, US Women’s Open, The Amundi Evian Championship and, by tradition, will earn an invitation to compete at the Augusta National Women's Amateur.
The 144-strong field will take part in the stroke play stage on Monday 24 and Tuesday 25 June, playing 36 holes. From there, 64 players will advance to the match play stage from Wednesday 26 to Saturday 29 June.
Golf was first played at Portmarnock in 1894 and the club has played host to many prestigious events, including 18 Irish Opens.
In 2019, Portmarnock was the venue for The Amateur Championship, won by home player James Sugrue.
For more information on the Women’s Amateur Championship, please visit here.
