We had all four seasons in the one day at the KPMG Women’s Irish Open at Dromoland Castle yesterday but with the forecast reported to be a glorious 21 degrees and sunshine for the weekend large crowds are expected to descend on the banner county.
Olivia Mehaffey leads the Irish charge, just ahead of Leona Maguire with three amateurs Beth Coulter, Emma Fleming and Kate Lanigan on or within a shot of the cut line likely to be around level par.
60 players and ties will go forward to the weekend.
India’s Diksha Dagar fired an opening round of 65 (-7) to lead the field.
The two-time LET winner was bogey-free on day one of the competition as she began her round on the 10th tee.
Dagar rolled in back-to-back birdies on 11 and 12 before doing it again on holes 15 and 16 and she made three further birdies on holes two, five and nine to lead on seven-under-par.
KPMG are donating books for birdies to local schools so Dagar’s seven will make a material difference.
“It has been a long season, I was taking one shot at a time and not taking it too seriously today,” said the Indian star, who is fifth in the 2023 Race to Costa del Sol.
“I had seven birdies; I had a good day and I’m happy to see myself keeping with the good momentum that I’ve got.
“I am still very good from tee to the green, but at the beginning of the season, I was struggling on the greens. It was a matter of time; I have been practicing a lot, taking one shot at a time and reading the lines and I have improved in my putting.
“I was thinking this golf course is tough, so I just took it one shot at a time because every shot counts. It was a good day and very surprising. I have been having the same mentality and every year my game improves and so does my thinking process. The more you play, the better you get.”
We are working alongside ForeFront Sports in conducting KPMG Clubhouse Conversations in the Hospitality area overlooking the 18th green and yesterday had the pleasure on interviewing Leona Maguire after her round, defending Champion Klara Davidson Spilkova and Davy Fitzgerald who has swapped hurls for clubs and was caddying for Lauren Holmey and will be again today.
The atmosphere around the beautiful course is great with a spectator village and all sorts of prizes and giveaways from partners Sports Direct, Visit Clare, Dromoland Castle and others.
