World Invitational: Stephanie Meadow says playing in home event again 'a big deal'

Stephanie Meadow is thrilled to be back at the ISPS Handa World Invitational after being unable to defend the women's title last year because of her Olympic Games commitments.

Meadow won the 2019 title and the event didn't take place in 2020 because of Covid-19 before returning last year.

"Life is bigger than golf," said the Meadow ahead of her home event.

"To be able to do what I love in front of the people that I care about is a big deal."

When Meadow won the title in 2019, it was not an LPGA and Ladies European Tour sanctioned event so the Northern Irishwoman is still seeking her first triumph on women's golf premier circuit.

However, the victory in front of family, friends and fans still represented a huge moment for Meadow and she says another win at Galgorm Castle and Massereene would be "incredible".

"I couldn't think of anything better. A major would probably be nice, but this would be pretty special, too," said Meadow, who is the Galgorm women's touring professional.

With quite a few requests from tickets coming in from family and friends, Meadow jokes that a few of her friends on the tour have directed their allocations towards her.

"A lot of donations from other players," joked the 30-year-old.

Her fiancé Kyle Kallan landed on Wednesday to spend the rest of the week with her and although it's her fifth consecutive week on the road, she said the excitement after returning home outweighs any exhaustion she may feel.

Meadow has two top-10 finishes this season - one of which came at the Women's PGA Championship in June - and she is 63rd in the LPGA's Race to CME Globe standings heading into this week's event.