The 2026 KPMG Women’s Irish Open is underway this morning at The K Club, with a record 16 Irish players among the 129-strong international field taking to the Palmer South Course.
Nine Irish professionals and seven amateurs will compete over the first two days, with hopefully another record set in terms of the number making it through to the weekend, giving the home crowd an unprecedented spread of players to follow as one of the flagship events on the Ladies European Tour makes its first appearance at The K Club.
Leona Maguire leads the Irish challenge and began her opening round at 8.18 am from the 10th tee alongside Singapore’s Shannon Tan and Irish amateur Olivia Costello.
The group provides an immediate point of interest for the galleries, combining Ireland’s leading professional player with last year’s LET Order of Merit winner, and one of the next generation hoping to follow along the pathway into the professional game.
Anna Foster was the first Irish player onto the course at 7.56 am, also starting from the 10th, while Olivia Mehaffey follows at 8.40 am.
The morning wave also features Annabel Wilson and Ella Cantwell together at 9.24 am from the first, followed by Anna Dawson at 9.35 am.
There is then a strong concentration of Irish interest through the early afternoon.
An all-Irish group of Áine Donegan, amateur Anna Abom and Beth Coulter tees off from the first at 12.41 pm, immediately followed by Sara Byrne at 12.52 pm and Lauren Walsh at 1.03 pm.
Canice Screene begins from the 10th at 12.30 pm, while the later amateur starters are Emma Fleming, Katie Poots and Kate Dillon.
Irish First-Round Tee Times
7.56 am – 10th Tee: Anna Foster, Annabell Fuller, Alexandra Forsterling
8.18 am – 10th Tee: Olivia Costello (a), Leona Maguire, Shannon Tan
8.40 am – 10th Tee: Leonie Harm, Olivia Mehaffey, Agathe Laisné
9.24 am – 1st Tee: Annabel Wilson, Ella Cantwell (a), Charlotte Liautier
9.35 am – 1st Tee: Anna Dawson (a), Maria Parra, Louisa Carlbom
12.30 pm – 10th Tee: Hannah Burke, Canice Screene, Moa Svedenskiold
12.41 pm – 1st Tee: Áine Donegan, Anna Abom (a), Beth Coulter
12.52 pm – 1st Tee: Sara Byrne, Sara Kouskova, Kajsa Arwefjall
1.03 pm – 1st Tee: Lauren Walsh, Kelsey Bennett, Casandra Alexander
1.36 pm – 1st Tee: Ana Pelaez Trivino, April Angurasaranee, Emma Fleming (a)
1.36 pm – 10th Tee: Chloe Williams, Ayako Uehara, Katie Poots (a)
2.09 pm – 10th Tee: Amy Lee, Hannah Darling, Kate Dillon (a)
The 16-strong Irish representation comprises Maguire, Walsh, Byrne, Screene, Mehaffey, Foster, Donegan, Coulter and Wilson from the professional ranks, alongside amateurs Poots, Fleming, Abom, Cantwell, Costello, Dillon and Dawson.
The scale of the home challenge is an important indicator of progress in Irish women’s golf.
Nine Irish professionals is a tournament record and provides evidence of a strengthening pathway from amateur golf through to the professional game. At the same time, seven amateurs have been given the opportunity to test themselves alongside established Ladies European Tour players in front of a home audience.
No Irish player has yet won the Women’s Irish Open, adding an extra element of anticipation to the four days ahead.
There is significant international quality in the field as well, including 2023 champion Smilla Tarning Sønderby, as well as a number of players who have already won on the LET this season.
For tournament sponsor KPMG, promoter ForeFront Sports, the LET, and The K Club, the week represents another step in the development of an event that has grown substantially since its return to the calendar in 2022.
The move to the Palmer South Course brings the championship to another of Ireland’s major golf destinations, with the tournament running through to Sunday and an expanded programme of entertainment surrounding the golf.
That includes the Family Village and Main Stage, with Irish Women in Harmony scheduled to headline the entertainment programme on Sunday.
The tournament has won the LET Tournament of the Year award in each of the past two seasons, reflecting growth in crowds, player experience, and presentation throughout the championship.
The opportunity now is to build again at The K Club, and having 16 Irish players inside the ropes gives the home audience more reason than ever to engage with the competition across all four days.
Live television coverage begins on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player at 2 pm today and continues from 2 pm on each day of the championship.
The KPMG Women’s Irish Open runs from today through Sunday, August 30 at The K Club. Rob Hartnett of Sport for Business will be hosting the KPMG Clubhouse Conversations series throughout the week.
Golf Ireland, KPMG, ForeFront Sports and the K Club are full members of Sport for Business.
If you would like to be part of the Sport for Business community and see your organisation in our content, on our stages, and in the conversation happening every day around the commercial world of Irish Sport, email us today and let’s see what is possible.
Image Credit: KPMG Women’s Irish Open
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