(Killarney, Ireland, June 12 2003) A host of luminaries in women’s golf return to the Ladies European Tour for this week’s €165,000 Ladies Irish Open in association with Bord Failte at the magnificent Killarney Golf and Fishing Club on the banks of Loch Leen.

Koch – back on Tour

“I’m excited to start competing again and I think my game is OK. But it has been hard to get good short game practice in Sweden as we’ve had a lot of rain recently,” said Koch.

“About 10 days after Simzon was born I started to do some chipping and then about two weeks after I started hitting balls and played nine holes It was fun and quite the family affair.

“We tied the car seat to a cart and away we went. I was so excited to be back out there and I played really well. I thought to myself, ‘Wow, this is easier than I thought,’ But then the second time I didn’t do nearly as well!

And trying to get back into form for the showdown in Sweden in September, Koch, who is the proud owner of seven and a half points out of a possible eight in two Solheim appearances, is taking things easy getting back into Tour life.

“I would love some Solheim points, and I want to be there in September,” added Koch, “but at the moment I am focusing on getting back to competing and travelling with two kids. There’s no rush right now, I’ve got a couple of months to show form for Solheim.”

And at the opposite end of the women’s golf spectrum, the Tour welcome back Henrietta Brockway and Florentyna Parker, a brace of 13-year-olds from the Faldo Junior Series, who, despite narrowly missing the cut, impressed on their first foray into professional golf in the Portuguese Open.