Aine Donegan: From Lahinch to Pebble Beach

Aine Donegan's unlikely route to Pebble Beach for the US Open capped off a successful year Stateside.

After returning to Ireland and teeing it up in Connemara at the AIG Irish Women’s Amateur Close Championship in June, she’s excited to make her professional debut.

The Clare golfer’s accent is still intact after two years in the US, one in Indiana and one in Louisiana. The lilt is clear as she speaks to RTÉ Sport from Lahinch Golf Club, sporting her LSU Tigers attire.

She booked her ticket to California after an emphatic 36-hole run at The Peninsula Golf Club a month ago.

It was a spontaneous decision for the 21-year-old to play in the US Open qualifier; she was persuaded by fellow Irish golfer and 2021 Irish Women’s Amateur Close champion Anna Foster.

In fairness, it didn’t take much convincing for Donegan who embraced the challenge, and a golf trip to the West Coast.

"She said it to me about a month before the event. She rang me. She was like 'Oh do you want to play in the US Open qualifiers?’ I said ‘Grand’.

"What I liked most is that I never expected it, I never expected to get through. I didn’t even know about the qualifier. I think there’s like ten qualifiers and I didn’t really know about them until my friend had said it to me. I owe it all to her really."

Staying with Foster’s uncle, the pair paid their $200 entrance fees but didn’t expect to qualify in a field of 70 golfers. Having flown from Alabama, they were tired and not too concerned about making it into the oldest Major championship in women's professional golf.

"We just said we'd go out and play for a bit of fun. And we were in San Francisco. We got to go around and see the usual, see the Golden Gate Bridge and all that, downtown. We actually played TPC Harding