"The road to the 2011 Solheim Cup" begins

Killeen Castle is the venue for the biennial match between the European and American Solheim Cup teams in 2011. Pettersen and Pressel are also part of the stellar line up for this week s AIB Ladies Irish Open, supported by Fáilte Ireland, which takes place at Portmarnock Hotel & Golf Links from July 11-13.

The re-birth of the AIB Ladies Irish Open, supported by Fáilte Ireland, is an integral part of the build-up to Ireland's hosting of the prestigious Solheim Cup in 2011.

From what I ve seen, the course looks absolutely stunning, said Pettersen, a veteran of four Solheim Cup clashes. This place looks fantastic and I can t wait for 2011 to come.

Pressel, who made her debut in the event at Halmstad in Sweden in 2007 added: It looks beautiful. It looks like a really first class spot. I think it will be a great host to the 2011 Solheim Cup. When we played in Sweden we had a lot of fun and even though it s overseas we still had a great time. Hopefully we can come back overseas and win again.

Also in attendance at the launch on Wednesday were Colm Doherty, Managing Director of AIB Capital Markets who earlier this year signed up as a Global Partner of The 2009 and 2011 Solheim Cups, John Solheim, CEO of PING Golf and founding sponsor of The Solheim and Emma Sweeny, Golf Development Officer for Fáilte Ireland, which played a key role alongside AIB in bringing the most prestigious international team event in women s professional golf to Ireland.

Speaking at Killeen Castle, John Solheim told reporters: Golf is really special here. Some of the greatest players came from Ireland and the level of the course is phenomenal.

Next year s Solheim Cup takes place in the United States, at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill. from August 21-23, 2009.