Claire Dowling was named the first female captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club

Claire Dowling has been appointed as the first female captain of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club, 12 years after it opened membership to women.

Dowling will serve as captain of the St Andrews institution in 2026-27, having been nominated by its past captains.

He will begin his one-year term in office on Friday, September 25 following the traditional driving-in ceremony on the first tee of the Old Course.

Dowling was one of the first women to join the club, signing up in 2015 Membership is open after a vote.

He has served on the Club’s Rules Committee and General Committee, including Deputy Chair of both organizations, and is currently on their Membership Committee.

As an amateur player, Dowling represented Great Britain and Ireland in the Curtis Cup four times and was part of the 1986 team that recorded its first victory over the United States on American soil with a 13–5 win at Prairie Dunes.

He captained Ganton’s GB&I Curtis Cup team in 2000, where they lost 10–8, and also captained the Vagliano Trophy team and the Irish team.

Born and raised in Dublin, he represented Ireland in home internationals from 1979 to 1992 and played in six European Team Championships.

She won five Irish Championships, the first in 1983, the Ladies’ Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship in 1986 and the Spanish Amateur Championship in 1987.

Dowling also chairs England Golf’s Handicap and Course Ratings Committee and has refereed The Open on seven occasions, including at Royal St Georges in 2021 when, with her husband Peter, a retired district judge, they were the first married couple to referee the same championship.