Local favourite Olivia Mehaffey is set for an emotional return to Galgorm Castle & Massereene as she remembers her father this week at the 2022 ISPS Handa World Invitational presented by Aviv Clinics.
The 24-year-old finished in the top 20 last year in just her third Ladies European Tour start as dad Philip, who was ill with cancer, watched her play for the final time.
Mr Mehaffey sadly passed away in December last year, with Olivia dedicating her campaign at the LET Qualifying School to her late father.
And despite the sadness of losing her dad, Olivia believes it will be a happy occasion in Northern Ireland as she remembers him this week.
— Olivia Mehaffey (@OliviaMehaffey) December 21, 2021
"This is the last time my dad got to see me play and that to me will always be extremely special," she said. "The fact he even made it around all four rounds is remarkable for me.
"I think that makes me happy but it's been tough. Obviously you never know how you're going to cope with these things.
"I feel like at the start of the year I tried to hide behind golf a little bit and it kind of caught up to me where I didn't take any time to focus on myself and to heal. I think it's something I'm still working through and trying to navigate and obviously my world is very different.
"Being here definitely makes me very happy. I have a smile on my face and some good memories."
Being here definitely makes me very happy. I have a smile on my face and some good memories
Another source of happiness for Mehaffey is the opportunity to play on home soil, with the KPMG Women's Irish Open also returning across the border after a ten-year hiatus next month.
"It's so nice," she said. "It's crazy to think a few years ago we didn't have any events in Ireland.
"I never got an opportunity as an amateur to play in a professional event and now we've got this event and also the Irish Open, which is really exciting.
"To have two in one year, it's a nice bonus going from having none."
Fellow local player Stephanie Meadow won this event when it was part of the European Challenge Tour schedule in 2019 and she believes another triumph would come close to a Major win.
"It would be incredible," she said. "I couldn't think of anything better. A Major would probably be nice but this would be pretty special too.
"At the end of the day, I just have to treat it like any other week. It's easy to try harder or just try to do it in front of people or whatever it might be.
"So I think it's just important for me to stick to my processes and what I normally do every week, add some spa time in there too and I should be fine."
