Dromoland Castle is to host the return of the Women’s Irish Open to the international golfing calendar.
The prestigious 450-acre estate in County Clare, with its 18-hole Championship Course, will stage the tournament from 22nd to 25th September 2022.
The tournament is run under the management of the Ladies European Tour and is also being supported by the Irish Government and Clare County Council.
Sport for Business understands that the host club will be responsible for securing and managing additional commercial partners and that this is likely on an annual rather than the more regular multi-year basis.
It will be the first time women’s professional golf will be played in the Republic of Ireland since 2012 when the tournament was staged at Killeen Castle ahead of its hosting the Solheim Cup.
The Women’s Irish Open was played 15 times between 1994 and 2012, and has been won by some of Europe’s top golfers including Norway’s Suzann Pettersen, Sweden’s Sophie Gustafson, England’s Laura Davies and, most recently, by the 2021 Solheim Cup winning Captain, Scotland’s Catriona Matthew.
There is a competing LPGA Tour event taking place in Arizona that same weekend but Leona Maguire did not compete in it last year and it has to be hoped that our World-class star will be considering taking a place in her home open. She is currently competing in the HSBC Women’s World Championship at the Sentosa Golf club in Singapore.
Shores
Located on the shores of Lough Dromoland in Co. Clare, Dromoland Castle’s 18-hole 6,824 yards par 72 championship course was designed by Ron Kirby and JB Carr. An impressive world-class parkland course, it combines gentle hills, ancient trees and unexpected water hazards.
“We are delighted to see the Women’s Irish Open return to the LET Schedule in 2022,” said Alexandra Armas, Chief Executive of the Ladies European Tour.
“It is our objective that all the players who want to come and play on the LET can make a living from golf. This means more tournaments, bigger prize funds as well as increased TV coverage.”
“We are grateful to Dromoland Castle and the Irish Government for their support in enabling the Women’s Irish Open return to the LET in 2022 after a 10-year absence.”
“2022 is already a record-breaking season for the LET in terms of the greatest number of tournaments and prize money in our 44-year history and will no doubt be further enhanced by what we expect to be a very popular stop for the Irish Open at the incredible Dromoland Castle.”
“We are absolutely thrilled that Dromoland Castle will play host to this year’s Women’s Irish Open,” added Mark Nolan, Managing Director at Dromoland Castle.
Development
“The return of women’s professional golf to Ireland is hugely important to the further development of women’s golf in Ireland. All of us at Dromoland Castle are delighted to be able to support women’s golf and look forward to extending our legendary hospitality and showcasing the estate’s world-class facilities to Europe’s top golfers.”
“At Dromoland, we are also continuously striving to improve our environmental practices and are delighted to confirm that our aim is to deliver the greenest and most sustainable tournament in Ireland.”
Bringing the tournament here would not have been possible without government support but with a long history of support for the Men’s Irish Open and a desire to focus strongly on Women’s sport this was always likely to be forthcoming.
“My department is engaged in various sport schemes that advocate for the development of women’s sport,” said Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin.
“I am delighted, as part of that commitment, to be able to support the return of the Women’s Irish Open. Golf provides an important sporting opportunity for people right across Ireland whilst also making a significant contribution to tourism.”
“Prior to Covid, more than 200,000 international visitors came to play each year. We are hoping to see an increased number of golfers returning to play in Ireland in 2022, as we hopefully emerge from the pandemic.”
World Class
“The staging of world-class events are important for the development of high performance sport and as a valuable promotional tool. I am delighted to support Dromoland Castle’s commitment to Irish golf in committing to stage the Women’s Irish Open and know that their golf facilities and hospitality will showcase the very best of what Ireland has to offer.”
Her words of support were echoed by Minister of State for Sport and the Gaeltacht, Jack Chambers who said “Ireland’s female golfers have enjoyed significant international success and it is fitting that women’s professional golf returns to Ireland as we look to grow participation in the game, nurture future talent and promote Ireland as a premier destination for golf tourism around the world.”
“We know one of the positives of hosting major sporting events is the growth in participation at a grassroots level that comes as a result of the coverage and exposure to elite level sport. I am confident that this event can help inspire a new generation of talented players and grow women’s golf all across the country.”
Golf Ireland CEO Mark Kennelly concluded that “The promotion of female participation is a key strategic goal for Golf Ireland. We are delighted that the Women’s Irish Open is returning this year and believe that the event at Dromoland Castle will be a fantastic showcase for women’s sport.”
Sport for Business Perspective:
Brilliant that we should once more be staging a Women’s Irish Open, particularly at a time when we have Leona Maguire at the top of the world and others including Stephanie Meadow in pursuit.
The merger of the GUI and ILGU into a single Golf Ireland governing body has shown that a sport once not quite on the right side of equality has now come full circle and this is a strong statement to all women golfers of their equal status and respect.
