Despite Broken Driver in Transit, Amateur Áine Donegan Is Thriving at U.S. Women’s Open

The LSU sophomore shot a stunning 3-under 69 despite starting her week with an ugly travel snafu.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Amateur Áine Donegan’s stunning 3-under 69 in the opening round of the 78th U.S. Women’s Open might have looked seamless, but her week at Pebble Beach didn’t exactly start off so smoothly. 

Traveling from a team event in Scotland, the LSU sophomore from Ennis Country Clare, Ireland, flew from Scotland to Dublin, Dublin to Newark, N.J., and Newark to San Francisco only to realize her clubs were missing upon arrival after the 30-hour ordeal. 

So in her Monday practice round with Lexi Thompson and Annika Sorenstam—in preparation for her first professional event, let alone her first major—Donegan played with rental set of Ping clubs. 

And she absolutely striped it. 

“Lexi was like, ‘are you even going to switch clubs when you get your real ones? You might just want to stick with these,’” Garret Runion, the head coach of the LSU women’s team says. 

Donegan was already one step ahead of Thompson. She felt so comfortable with the rental driver that she had discussed with her swing coach and caddie, Gary, whether she might stick with it come Thursday’s tee time.

When Donegan’s set finally appeared on Tuesday morning, the decision was made for her: Her gamer Honma driver arrived at Pebble beach in two pieces. 

@united I am not happy with you. My clubs finally arrived to Pebble Beach for the @uswomensopen and my driver is destroyed pic.twitter.com/hF0kwMK7oz

— Aine Donegan (@DoneganAine) July 4, 2023

“The clubs arrive the next day, I think on Tuesday, and my driver is smashed, completely smashed. At least it stopped us thinking, oh, which driver we'll use. We had only one choice then," Donegan said. 

“So I put that in. Honestly I am delighted I did. It's like everything happens for a reason, that the clubs were late and then the driver came and it was broken and all of a sudden I have no choice but to put this Ping driver in. 

“I added the new 3-wood and hybrid as well, and fortunately for me, they were the perfect fit. Out here you need to drive the ball well, hit the fairway. The rough is really thick. If you're not hitting the fairways you're going to be struggling, and luckily for me it all worked out."  

With the replacement Ping driver and two other new tools in the bag, Donegan cruised at Pebble. 

After a bogey-bogey start, her “first time at a major” nerves completely vanished on the 15th hole, her sixth hole of the day. The 21-year-old’s 96-yard approach shot spun back into the cup for an eagle. After the hole-out, Donegan made five more birdies, including three in a row and a tap-in birdie on the difficult par-3 17th.  

“Definitely at the top,” Donegan said when asked to rank Thursday’s round. “Let's just say it wouldn't be the first time I started bogey-bogey. For me to come back then and finish how I finish and play the rest of round, I'm really proud of myself for that.”

Much like all of the women in the field this week, Donegan has made sure to soak in the historic Pebble Beach atmosphere. 

“The whole thing has been a bit surreal to be honest. Nearly ever five minutes it's like a pinch-me movement. Even just walking to the putting green and young girls asking for autographs and stuff,” she said. 

She described her 18-hole practice round with Sorenstam and Thompson as one of the best days of her life. 

“You learn a lot from her, and at the end of the day she's the icon of the game, the GOAT. Even just to play 18 holes with her, and then at the U.S. Open in a practice round for the U.S. Women's Open at Pebble Beach, the whole thing has been a pinch-me moment,” she said.

Now Donegan can pinch herself one more time: With a replacement driver in the bag, she sits in a tie for second place at the U.S. Women’s Open.