Leona Maguire believes events like the KPMG Women’s Irish Open and this week’s Women’s Amateur Championship could be big stepping stones towards seeing the R&A bring the AIG Women’s Open to Portmarnock.
The Solheim Cup star admits it would be a dream to win the Women’s Open one day and she reckons this week’s Women’s Amateur staging at the north Dublin links is a potentially significant step towards bringing a professional women’s major there.
“Obviously, the Women’s Amateur being there this week is a big step in the right direction; it’s a world-class venue,” Maguire said at a media and sponsor’s day for the KPMG Women’s Irish Open at Carton House from August 29 to September 1.
“You saw the crowds that showed up at Portrush for the guys for The Open in 2019, so I’m sure the crowds would be very big for an AIG Women’s Open at Portmarnock.
“Getting in and out logistically might be the tricky thing. But to have a Women’s Open at Portmarnock would be phenomenal.”
Maguire believes staging a women’s major in Ireland would massively boost the women’s game here and inspire a generation of Irish girls.
“To have a women’s major in Ireland was not something that was even on the radar when I was younger,” she said.
“You see the success of the Irish Women’s Opens, and obviously, to bring a world-class field to Ireland would be huge for the next generation as well.
“I always say that it’s one thing to see it on TV, but actually seeing it in real life is another thing.
“You see it with the women’s soccer team with all the crowds that are getting out to the Aviva and the little girls that are inspired by that are getting to see Rhasidat Adeleke or Ciara Mageean and the girls out at Morton Stadium and it’s huge.
“I’m sure there are a lot of people working behind the scenes (at Portmarnock) and hopefully that one day might be a possibility.”
The R&A said last October it wishes to investigate the possibility of hosting The Open and the AIG Women’s Open at Portmarnock.
“The position at the moment, which we support, is that the club is working with the Irish government to ascertain if there would be support for them to make a credible proposition,” R&A CEO Martin Slumbers said.
“We will wait and see what happens there.”
As for Maguire’s stance on the KPMG Women’s Irish Open, she wishes a better date could be found as it falls at a hectic time in the schedule.
But she’s happy to play her role as the headline act and give back to the game.
“It’s a demanding week, but at the same time, I’m happy to do my bit and give back and help grow the game,” she said.
“I was one of the younger ones to play in it back at Portmarnock Links and Killeen Castle, and I benefited from it when I was an amateur golfer.
“So it’s nice that it’s sort of come full circle and that it’s back on the schedule and I’m happy to play my part, whatever that is.”
As for her game, the Co Cavan star has had a mixed season so far, but she’s hopeful it will click soon as she looks forward to the Evian Championship, the Olympics, the AIG Women’s Open and the Solheim Cup.
“It’s been a bit of an up and down season,” added the world number 32, who missed the cut in the first two majors of the season before finishing tied 24th behind Amy Yang in the KPMG Women’s PGA at Sahalee last week.
“I made a few changes, tried to tweak a few things, and it hasn’t quite worked consistently yet.”
She added: “I feel like I’ve got some good momentum heading into the summer from last week and it’s a long year. You have to be patient; you’re not going to play incredible golf for the entire year.
“So it’s a case of being patient and building and building, so the goal was always to play as well as we could in the summer, so we’re headed in the right direction now.
After watching world number one Nelly Korda follow six wins in seven starts with three missed cuts at the US Women’s Open, the Meijer LPG Classic and the KPMG Women’s PGA, she knows things can change quickly.
“Patience is everything,” Maguire said. “You saw what’s happened to Nelly lately, and that’s golf.
“You go from the very highest of highs to the very lowest of lows, and it’s a case of just taking the good with the bad and trying to keep your patience and a positive attitude through it and know that you’re building towards something bigger.
“It’s been a long year, and there’s still a lot of golf to be played this summer as well. I’m looking forward to some really big tournaments coming up, and we’re just trying to keep the game as fine-tuned as we can heading into those.”
