Out of Bounds: Still no sign of Ladies Irish Open re-birth?

Still no sign, no inclination that any progress has been made in the re-birth of the Ladies Irish Open on Ladies European Tour; and, as we edge ever closer to the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Ballyliffin, it is worth recounting that, actually, the women were there first.

It hardly seems like it, but it is actually 20 years ago that Sophie Gustafson - in 1998 - lifted the Irish Open title at Ballyliffin, a time when the tournament was one of the mainstays of the LET circuit. In fact, Gustafson would go on to win three Irish Opens in a career that saw her win 16 times on the European Tour and six times on the LPGA Tour.

Back then, the Irish Open attracted star names like Gustafson. Like Laura Davies. Indeed, as it worked its way around the country, featuring the best of parkland and links courses, the tournament managed to accumulate quite a roll of honour with Major champions of the calibre of Alison Nicholas, Suzann Pettersen and Catriona Matthew lifting the crystal trophy.

Matthew was the last to win, back in 2012, at Killeen Castle and, on that day, we could hardly have guessed that the tournament would fall by the wayside.

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Six years have come and gone and, ironically, it is a time when Irish women have impacted on the sport like never before: Leona Maguire dominating the world amateur rankings, Stephanie Meadow seeking to pioneer the way on the LPGA Tour. Others following behind.

For sure we’ve heard whisperings of a possible comeback for the Irish Open, but nothing concrete. Whispers have a way of dying in the wind as easily as a badly hit tee-shot.

Meadow is battling away on the Symetra Tour (winning recently) in her quest to regain a full LPGA Tour card, and Maguire will next month swap the college psychology books to turn professional. It is an exciting time ahead for the Co Cavan golfer - and twin sister Lisa, who is also intent on chasing the professional dream - but the journey is likely to be stateside where playing, and hopefully winning, on the LPGA Tour is the ultimate goal.

But wouldn’t it be a good thing - and an inspiration to the growing number of girls taking up the sport here under the well-worked development programme of the ILGU - for the Maguires and Meadow and, down the line, Olivia Mehaffey to have an Irish Open to come back to play in professionally?

Wouldn’t it be nice if the Ladies Irish Open could piggyback on the success of the DDF Irish Open, one of the megabucks Rolex tournaments on the European Tour?

Wouldn’t it be nice if, say, a Ladies Irish Open could return to the LET and be played on the same course as the men but a week later, using the same infrastructure, grandstands etc . . . it would make for a perfect fit as part of a links swing running into the Ladies Scottish Open and the Women’s British Open.

Wouldn’t it be nice?