Ireland’s Claire Dowling drives in as first woman captain of R&A at St Andrews

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews welcomed its new captain Claire Dowling, who is the first woman captain in its 272-year history, at the traditional driving-in ceremony on the first tee of the Old Course.At precisely 8am, a cannon fired and the Irish woman launched her opening drive down the fairway to officially commence her term, which includes the hosting of the Open Championship in 2027.Per tradition, the caddies of St Andrews chase after her drive and the captain buys the golf ball back with a gold sovereign. Caddie Dillon McCarron successfully returned the ball to Dowling.After hitting her tee shot, Claire said, “I am honoured to be the first woman to take on the role. The Club has such a remarkable history and tradition but it is continuing to evolve which is so important for any institution.“READ MOREDublin-born Dowling was one of the most decorated players in Irish amateur golf, playing in four Curtis Cup matches for Great Britain and Ireland.Meanwhile, on the LPGA Tour Stephanie Meadow has made a solid start to the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship with a two-under-par 69, five shots off the clubhouse leader Yu Liu. On the Ladies European Tour, Olivia Mehaffey is the best of the Irish at the Ladies Italian Open, four off the lead of Noora Komulainen after an opening one-under-par round of 71.On the DP World Tour, Matt Fitzpatrick leads the French Open at Le Golf National by one stroke from Jeff Winther after a second round of 64. The Englishman could gain considerable points in the race for automatic Ryder Cup qualification with victory.