"I'm here to compete and enjoy" - Kildare's Lauren Walsh

Former Castlewarden golfer Lauren Walsh is one of 16 Irish players set to compete in the 2026 KPMG Women’s Irish Open, which takes place on the South Course at the K Club from Thursday, August 27 to Sunday, August 30.

The Irish challenge will be led by Cavan native Leona Maguire, the K-Club touring professional, but Walsh is equally eager to make her mark over the four days.

Speaking at a pre-tournament press conference, the Kill native outlined her ambitions for the week.

"I think once I come on site, I'm here to compete," said Walsh.

"It is just nice to keep it relaxed and I just really want to enjoy myself this week but once you come on site you know you're here to do business."

Walsh, who turns 26 in two weeks' time, began playing golf at Castlewarden when she was 10 years old. She attended Wake Forest University from 2019 to 2023 and earned status on the Ladies European Tour in 2024 before joining the LPGA Tour this year.

With the K Club located just minutes from her home in Kill, Walsh is looking forward to the support of family and friends throughout the tournament.

"Family, friends, everybody will be out so yeah, it's just good to be back," she said.

"Lots of friendly faces on the range, I presume. I caught up with some of the girls over the summer. It was nice to catch up with everybody and see a lot of friendly faces.

"Hopefully the crowds can get out this weekend. A lot of my family will be out, I think on Thursday for sure. I know they're teachers, so some of them are back in school on Friday. But a lot of my friends are coming in and extended family. It'll be nice to have a lot of familiar faces in the crowd."

Reflecting on her rookie season on the LPGA Tour, Walsh pointed to plenty of positives despite the inevitable challenges. One of the highlights came recently when she shot a superb six-under-par 66 at the Portland Classic at Columbia Edgewater Country Club.

"It's been good," she said.

"There's been a lot of ups and downs, a lot of challenges, a lot of rewards. It's been a big learning process. I've learned a lot about myself and myself as a golfer as well.

"I made a couple tweaks to get myself in better positions out there and then had a good result, which was nice to see things come together. So overall, lots of positives."

Walsh returned home earlier this week after competing in Canada and admitted she is still adjusting to the travel demands.

"We are just back from Canada so still getting over the jet lag," she said.

"But you know, weeks like this happen. The support of everybody at home keeps your energy up in itself."

The Kildare golfer believes the growing number of Irish players competing at elite level can only benefit the game.

"I think for the girls coming through now and the two or three of us who have been out the last two or three years, that's made a big difference," she said.

"Just having a group out there to travel with, to kind of enjoy life on tour, I think that's been really important.

"There are a couple amateurs in the field as well. Hopefully, they're inspired by that to maybe follow suit and have another group coming behind us.

"But it's so incredible to see. I think it's such a credit to the tournament that there's so many Irish girls playing and I think women's golf in Ireland is going from strength to strength and long may that continue."

Commenting on the South Course at the K-Club, Walsh expects the recent weather to influence scoring.

"We've had a great summer in Ireland so it's firm in places," she said.

"You kind of have to be quite precise as well. So yeah, I think it'll go well."

Walsh arrives at this year's tournament feeling more relaxed than in previous seasons and is determined to embrace the occasion.

"There's been a lot of other things behind the scenes going on for me," she said.

"Last year was the last counting event towards getting in the Open. Both years I was trying to get inside the top 10. I feel like I'm coming in here with a lot more freedom.

"I'm solely here to enjoy myself this week and hopefully get the crowds going at the weekend. I just want to go out there and have fun, playing in front of Irish crowds.

"Every Irish athlete has it. We have the best fans in the world. Hopefully we can play some good golf and have them enjoy the weekend.

"It's all of our dreams to win an Irish Open but I think if we have some fun along the way, hopefully we'll get some good results."

Despite not always seeing results reflect the quality of her golf this summer, Walsh believes her game is trending in the right direction.

"I played some really good golf all summer and didn't get any results from any of the good golf," she said.

"But I knew that my game was coming together. I was driving the ball well, putting and chipping it really nicely. I just didn't get it all together in one round or for an extended two rounds to make any cuts.

"Playing in the three majors in the summer was great learning. They're as strong fields as you're going to get so you have to play well to make the weekends there.

"But I felt like my game was really close and to shoot that score in Portland, to see everything come together, was good."

Looking ahead, Walsh is hopeful of building on the lessons learned during her first season on the LPGA Tour.

"I think I'm just learning from all the different experiences this year," she said.

"I've tried to take as much on board as I can so I'm just looking forward to finishing strong for the year and continuing on into next year.

"I'll have a much better idea of the travel schedule, like where I like to play, where I can look at maybe building a schedule a bit better.

"So yeah, it's all been overall very positive."