World-class field ready for the 121st Women’s Amateur in Portmarnock

One of the strongest competitors ever will gather in Portmarnock, Ireland to compete in the 121st Women’s Amateur Championship from June 24 to 29.

Four players from the top ten of the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®) and 21 from the top 50 will compete on the historic course north of Dublin.

England star Lottie Woad can look forward to competing as the new number one player on the WAGR® after an impressive year so far. In April, the 20-year-old from Surrey, who attends Florida State University, won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur by a shot from Bailey Shoemaker.

Woad won the 2022 R&A Girls’ Amateur Championship at Carnoustie and is a previous winner of the Welsh Women’s Open Stroke Play title. She has five top ten finishes at college events through 2024, finishing an excellent tie for 23^rd in the Chevron Championship – one of five women’s majors in the professional game.

“I’m looking forward to playing in the Women’s Amateur, especially as I haven’t played in the Championship for a few years,” said Woad. “I hope to maintain my good form and use the experiences I have gained in recent months to hopefully fight for victory.”

Spain’s Julia Lopez Ramirez is currently third on WAGR® and will be one of the strong favorites in Portmarnock. Ramirez, who hails from Malaga, has an impressive amateur record. In 2023 she won the European Women’s Amateur Championship. The 21-year-old was already a two-time winner on the 2024 U.S. collegiate circuit, representing Mississippi State University. Last year the 21-year-old played at the 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 in the 2021 US Curtis Cup winning team in Conwy in Wales, beating Scotland’s Louise Duncan in the singles to claim the winning point. Kuehn attended Wake Forest University and was the 2022 ACC Player of the Year. The 22-year-old from North Carolina is also a former winner of the North and South Women’s Amateur.

Davis won the third edition of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2022 at the age of 16. Now just 18, she has played in two U.S. 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 lowest handicap index of any player in the Women’s Amateur field, with an impressive index of +8.2. That number equals Scotland’s Hannah Darling, a former R&A Girls’ Amateur Champion, and a student at the University of South Carolina.

Aine Donegan from Lahinch in County Clare will be one of the favorites chasing success at the famous venue north of Dublin. The 22-year-old Louisiana State University student is currently 75^e on the WAGR®.

Last month, Donegan played at Lancaster Country Club in her second consecutive U.S. Women’s Open after winning a qualifying event at Rockwall Golf and Country Club to reach the championship. Donegan also played at the 2023 US Women’s Open at Pebble Beach, where she put in a fine performance, finishing the first round just one shot off the lead and playing a prominent role.

Donegan, an Irish international team player, is looking forward to competing in a women’s amateur championship on home soil.

“As someone from Ireland, I am extremely excited about the Women’s Amateur Championship being held in Ireland this year,” she said.

And with plenty of experience in links golf, she is relishing the prospect of a week of testing.

“I grew 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 also important. The greens are quite sloppy at Portmarnock so being able to read them and get the right speed is crucial.”

There is an international feel on the pitch for Portmarnock. Players from 35 different countries will be represented, even from Panama and the Philippines.

The Women’s Amateur Championship is one of the leading championships in amateur golf for women’s and girls’ golfers. Founded in 1893, the championship attracts an international field with an impressive list of past winners, including McCormack Medal winner Leona Maguire and major champions Georgia Hall and Anna Nordqvist. Last year, Chiara Horder from Germany was champion at Prince’s in Kent.

The winner of this year’s championship will have exciting opportunities: entry into the AIG Women’s Open, US Women’s Open and the Amundi Evian Championship, as well as an invitation to compete in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

The 144-strong field of participants will take part in the stroke play phase on Monday 24 and Tuesday 25 June and will play 36 holes. From there, 64 players will advance to the match play phase from Wednesday 26 to Saturday 29 June.

Golf was first played in Portmarnock in 1894 and the club has hosted 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 about the Women’s Amateur Championship, please click here.