LEONA MAGUIRE OPENED with a one-under par round of 71 as the 2026 Women’s Irish Open got underway in challenging conditions at The K Club on Thursday morning.
Maguire was out in the morning wave, benefitting from the early dry conditions across her opening holes before the forecast rain hit the Kildare venue.
Italy’s Alessandra Fanali holds the early clubhouse lead on five-under, one shot clear of England’s Annabell Fuller.
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Of the other Irish players on course this morning, Anna Foster shot level par, while amateur Olivia Costello – who played alongside Maguire – finished her day on six-over.
With new caddy Simon Keelan on her bag, Maguire got off to a perfect start with an opening birdie at the par-five 10th.
A bogey on 16 was followed by another birdie at the par-five 18th, with Maguire making the turn in one-under just as conditions started to deteriorate.
Another birdie at the par-three second took her to two-under for the day before another dropped shot with a bogey five on the sixth.
“I started off really nice, gave myself a lot of chances early,” she said afterwards.
“It would have been nice to hold a few more putts on the back nine, our front.
“Then that rain came in, and it was a little bit nasty for a few holes. You hit a few iffy drives… didn’t have as many birdie chances on the back nine as I would have liked.
“Overall, under par is a solid start.”
A record 16 Irish players are in the 132-player field at the K Club this week.
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Leona Maguire off to solid start in challenging conditions at the Women's Irish Open
LEONA MAGUIRE OPENED with a one-under par round of 71 as the 2026 Women’s Irish Open got underway in challenging conditions at The K Club on Thursday morning.
Maguire was out in the morning wave, benefitting from the early dry conditions across her opening holes before the forecast rain hit the Kildare venue.
Italy’s Alessandra Fanali holds the early clubhouse lead on five-under, one shot clear of England’s Annabell Fuller.
Of the other Irish players on course this morning, Anna Foster shot level par, while amateur Olivia Costello – who played alongside Maguire – finished her day on six-over.
With new caddy Simon Keelan on her bag, Maguire got off to a perfect start with an opening birdie at the par-five 10th.
A bogey on 16 was followed by another birdie at the par-five 18th, with Maguire making the turn in one-under just as conditions started to deteriorate.
Another birdie at the par-three second took her to two-under for the day before another dropped shot with a bogey five on the sixth.
“I started off really nice, gave myself a lot of chances early,” she said afterwards.
“It would have been nice to hold a few more putts on the back nine, our front.
“Then that rain came in, and it was a little bit nasty for a few holes. You hit a few iffy drives… didn’t have as many birdie chances on the back nine as I would have liked.
“Overall, under par is a solid start.”
A record 16 Irish players are in the 132-player field at the K Club this week.
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Golf Irish Golf Kildare leona maguire The K Club women's irish open