Tag: Leona Maguire

After Solheim Cup snub, Leona Maguire insists she and Suzann Pettersen are on good terms

Maguire called sitting out of an entire day of Solheim Cup matches a “bitter pill to swallow.”

Leona Maguire called sitting out of an entire day of Solheim Cup matches last Saturday a “bitter pill to swallow.” The gritty Irishwoman noted that European captain Suzann Pettersen didn’t give her much reason, but that the feeling she got was that leadership felt her game was too short and she didn’t make enough birdies for the setup at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.

In Sunday singles, when everyone plays, the player nicknamed “MVP” by her peers, put up five birdies in 15 holes to win 4 up over Ally Ewing. Maguire said she felt like she proved there’s “more than one way to skin a cat.”

Fast forward to this week’s Kroger Queen City Championship, where the former Duke star opened with a 67 at TPC River’s Bend.

She was asked after that round if the 67 was a message to Pettersen.

“No, I mean, me and Suzann are on very good terms,” Maguire told Golf Channel. “I have a lot of respect for her. She was a hero of mine growing up. Ultimately, it was her decision last week. She did what was best for the team.

“I would’ve been happy to sit out every match if it meant we brought back the trophy. I knew my game was in good shape. Showed that in the singles last week, and just trying to finish off the season as strong as I can.”

In her first two Solheim Cup appearances, Maguire played in all five matches and was the heart of the lineup. She played only twice in Virginia, where Team USA won the Solheim for the first time since 2017.

Maguire, who ultimately tied for 45th at the Kroger, said it had been a rough couple of months leading into the Solheim and that she hasn’t enjoyed her golf as much as she would’ve liked. The Solheim served as a reminder of how fun the game can be, even if her role turned out much differently than anyone expected.

After Europe lost the cup, Pettersen was asked about her decision to sit Maguire for so many sessions. The fiery Norwegian said she doesn’t live her life with regrets.

“You’d rather play with your gut feel and your heart,” she said. “Sometimes you get outplayed.”

Leona Maguire and Celine Boutier chosen to represent Europe at the Solheim Cup

Duke women’s golf alums Leona Maguire and Celine Boutier will represent Europe at the Solheim Cup in September.

Two Duke women’s golf alums will take the stage at the Solheim Cup next month. They’ll just do so for Team Europe.

Leona Maguire of Ireland and Celine Boutier of France, both of whom played their college golf for the Blue Devils, officially made the European team on Tuesday.

The Solheim Cup pits the 12 best American and European women’s golfers against each other for a series of matches over three days, an exhibition that has become one of the most emotionally charged events on the golf calendar.

Neither player comes as a surprise announcement. Boutier has been on each of the last three European teams, and she won her first major in 2023 as part of a breakout four-win season.

Maguire, who won the ANNIKA Award as the nation’s best collegiate golfer twice with Duke, has been on each of the last two Solheim Cup teams.

The European team hasn’t lost the biannual competition since 2017, winning in 2019 and 2021 before retaining the cup with a tie last year (due to scheduling conflicts created during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Solheim Cup switched back to even years beginning this fall).

The 2024 Solheim Cup kicks off on September 13 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia.

Former Duke women’s golf star Leona Maguire wins first Ladies European Tour event

Leona Maguire, a two-time ANNIKA Award winner with the Duke women’s golf team, won her first Ladies European Tour event in London on Friday.

For the first time in her professional golfing career, Leona Maguire won a Ladies European Tour event on Friday.

The Irish star and former Duke Blue Devil won the individual leaderboard at the Aramco Team Series in London, shooting a final-round 73 to finish the three-day tournament at 8-under. She defeated Maria Hernandez from Spain by a single stroke.

Maguire played for the Blue Devils from 2014-18 and became the first women’s golfer to win the ANNIKA Award (given to the nation’s best player) twice when she earned the honor in 2015 and 2017. She spent more than 130 weeks atop the World Amateur Golf Rankings, a then-record for the women’s game, before turning pro in the summer of 2018.

Now 29 years old with more than half a decade of professional experience under her belt, Maguire won the LPGA Drive On Championship in February 2022 for her first win on the big stage. She won the Meijer LPGA Classic the following June, and she’s finished inside the top 10 in three different major championships since 2021 began.

Maguire will also represent her home country of Ireland in the Olympic Games this summer, one of three Duke women’s golfers to make the field.

Leona Maguire eagles final hole to capture London Aramco event at Centurion Club

This was no ordinary finish. 

Leona Maguire got off to a fast start at this week’s Ladies European Tour’s Aramco Team Series London event, and she needed a strong finish to close out a victory at the Centurion Club.

Maguire shot a 66 in the opening round and then slid home with rounds of 72 on Thursday and 73 on Friday to capture the individual title at the event, finishing the 54-hole tournament at 8 under. Maria Hernandez was a stroke behind Maguire and the trio of Alison Lee, Lauren Walsh and Georgia Hall tied for third at 6 under.

But this was no ordinary finish.

Walsh, who hails from Ireland but played collegiately at Wake Forest, shot a 65 to take the lead for a stretch, then Hernandez made birdie on the par-5 18th hole to take the lead at 7 under.

Sitting at 6 under at the time, Maguire made the shot of the tournament, knocking her hybrid onto the fringe just left of the hole and watching as the ball rolled up onto the green, giving her an opportunity to drop a putt for the victory.

With the pressure on, Maguire hit the putt to edge Hernandez, the win marking her first on the LET to go with a pair of victories on the LPGA. Her last win came more than a year ago at the 2023 Meijer LPGA Classic.

Leona Maguire leads Aramco London event; Charley Hull WDs after ‘nasty fall’

First, World No. 1 Nelly Korda said she was bitten by a dog, now Hull also WD with an unfortunate injury.

After the first two rounds of the Ladies European Tour’s Aramco Team Series London event, Leona Maguire and Georgia Hall find themselves at the top of the leaderboard at the Centurion Club.

Maguire shot a 72 during Thursday’s second round and sits at 8 under for the tournament with 18 holes to play, while Hall’s second consecutive 70 puts her two shots off the pace heading into Friday’s final round.

But an equally important storyline comes from the players who pulled out of the tournament, two under bizarre and unfortunate circumstances.

First, World No. 1 Nelly Korda said she was bitten by a dog in Seattle via Instagram a week after missing a third straight cut for the first time in her career.

“I regret to announce that I must withdraw from next week’s Ladies European Tour tournament in London,” Korda wrote. “I was bitten by a dog and need time to receive treatment and recover fully.”

The previous week, Korda carded a surprising 81 on Friday of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club and she was scheduled to appear in the LET event, which she won last year by four strokes.

And then, during the opening round of the event, Charley Hull — the No. 8 player in the current Rolex Rankings — also pulled out, although she did so after six holes of play.

On her Instagram, Hull said she suffered a “nasty fall” prior to the tournament.

“I had to withdraw from @aramcoteamseries London following medical advice, due to ongoing pain in my right shoulder following a nasty fall on Sunday night. I’m so disappointed as I always love playing in this series, particularly in front of a home crowd,” she said.

“Sorry to the fans who came out to watch, my playing partners for leaving you after 6 holes, and to all.”

Hull has gone viral a few times over the last month or so for smoking cigarettes during LPGA tournaments.

At the U.S. Women’s Open earlier this month, there was a video that did its trip around social media showing Hull signing autographs for fans while smoking.

Three former Duke women’s golfers qualify for Paris Olympics

Leona Maguire, Celine Boutier, and Ana Belac all met the qualifications to represent their respective countries in Paris this summer.

If any Duke fans tune in to the women’s golf competition at the 2024 Olympic Games this summer, they’ll have three former Blue Devils to cheer for.

Leona Maguire, Celine Boutier, and Ana Belac each met the world ranking qualifications for the Olympics last week.

The two highest-ranked players from each country (unless one country has more than two within the top 15 of the Rolex Rankings) earned their way in until the field of 60 was filled out.

Boutier will play for the hosting country of France while Maguire and Belac will represent Ireland and Slovenia, respectively.

One of the most successful professional athletes in school history, Boutier already has six LPGA Tour wins at the age of 30. She won four times in 2023, including her first major at the Evian Championship last July.

Maguire put together one of the most decorated collegiate golf careers in NCAA history. She became the first golfer to win the ANNIKA Award as the nation’s best player twice, taking it home in 2015 and 2017, and her 135 weeks atop the Women’s Amateur Golf Rankings held as a record for five years until Stanford’s Rose Zhang torched every mark.

She’s won two LPGA Tour events during her professional career thus far.

Belac earned her way onto the LPGA Tour after a Player of the Year campaign on the Symetra Tour in 2020. She has two career top-10s in LPGA events.

Former Duke women’s golf star Leona Maguire finishes second at T-Mobile Match Play

Two-time ANNIKA Award recipient and former Blue Devils star Leona Maguire made the championship match at the T-Mobile Match Play this weekend.

Former Duke women’s golf star Leona Maguire nearly won her third LPGA Tour event over the weekend, coming up short in the title match at the T-Mobile Match Play on Sunday.

The Blue Devil unfortunately ran into a buzzsaw in the championship match at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas. World No. 1 Nelly Korda defeated Maguire 4-and-3 for her fourth consecutive victory and the 12th LPGA title of her career.

Maguire, 29, played for Duke from 2015 to 2018, and she became one of the most decorated amateur golfers of all time. She won the ANNIKA Award, given to the best women’s collegiate golfer in the country, in both 2015 and 2017, one of just three players to win the award twice. Maguire spent 135 weeks atop the World Amateur Golf Rankings, the second-most in the history of the women’s rankings. Golfweek declared her the best women’s collegiate golfer of the decade in 2019.

Now up to 23rd in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Maguire’s professional career has come into its own over the past two years. She broke through for her maiden title at the 2022 LPGA Drive On Championship before winning her second at the 2023 Meijer LPGA Classic last June. She’s finished inside the top ten at three majors since the summer of 2021, and she spent two weeks inside the top 10 in the world rankings last summer.

Sunday was Maguire’s third top-13 finish in seven LPGA Tour starts this season, promising form with the first women’s major two weeks away.

Four in a row: Nelly Korda tops Leona Maguire in 2024 T-Mobile Match Play final

Korda has won for a third week in a row and for a fourth straight start in 2024.

Nelly Korda has won for a third week in a row but more importantly for a fourth straight start on the LPGA. A record-tying fifth would have to come in a major championship, but that’s a concern for a later date.

For now, Korda is shipping home yet another trophy after her 12th career LPGA win, defeating Leona Maguire, 4 and 3, in the final of the 2024 T-Mobile Match Play at Shadow Creek Golf Course.

It’s Korda’s second straight 4-and-3 victory after opening the match-play bracket, 3 and 2.

The five-day event in Las Vegas came on the heels of wins near Phoenix and before that, Los Angeles. Her first win in 2024 was back in January. She’s the first to win four in a row since Lorena Ochoa in 2008.

“It’s just been a whirlwind,” she said of her 2024 season so far. “It’s been an amazing time, and to do it here as well in match play has been so much fun.”

Only Nancy Lopez in 1978 and Annika Sorenstam over the 2004 and 2005 seasons have won five LPGA tournaments in a row.

The match-play event started last Wednesday and the new format this year called for 54 holes of stroke play before three rounds of match play.

Korda won $300,000 for the victory and became the 25th LPGA golfer to surpass $10 million in career earnings. She also joins Ariya Juntanugan, Sei Young Kim and Hollis Stacy with 12 career victories.

“Playing the first two events, going down the stretch, there is a different type of adrenaline,” Korda said of her first two wins this year coming in a playoff. “But I feel like with match play you have that from the first hole so it was a great day playing against Leona. Always such a great competitor. Happy to get my fourth.”

The LPGA is off next week and then it’s the first women’s major of 2024 at the Chevron Championship, starting on Thursday, April 18, in The Woodlands, Texas, on the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at The Club at Carlton Woods.

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Nelly Korda, aiming for a fourth straight LPGA win, faces Leona Maguire in final at T-Mobile Match Play

Korda is one match-play victory away from a fourth straight win on the LPGA.

Can Nelly Korda make it four in a row?

On Sunday, she won’t need to fend off an entire field to claim another LPGA title. This time, she’ll need to outduel Leona Maguire in the championship at the T-Mobile Match Play at Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas.

Maguire has been the best golfer this week. After 54 holes of stroke play, she was at 6 under, three better than the field. When the format flipped to match play Saturday, Maguire beat Sei Young Kim 3 and 2 in the semifinals after knocking out Moriya Jutanugarn 4 and 3 earlier in the day.

Korda, meamwhile, was 1 under after the first three days but then topped Angel Yin 3 and 2 in the quarterfinals and Narin An 4 and 3 in the semis.

2024 T-Mobile Match Play
Leona Maguire plays a shot on the seventh hole in her semifinal match against Sei Young Kim at the 2024 T-Mobile Match Play at Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas. (Photo: Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)

The match play event stretched over five days and had a new format in 2024, with the first two days consisting of 36 holes of stroke play with a cut to the top 65 and ties. After the third round Friday, there was a second cut to the top eight players, who were then seeded in a match-play bracket with No. 1 taking on No. 8, No. 2 taking on No. 7 and so on.

If Korda can win Sunday, she’ll make it four wins in four straight starts, including three in the last three weeks after winning the Ford Championship in Arizona and the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship near Los Angeles. She also won in January at the LPGA Drive On Championship.

The longest winning streak on the LPGA is five, with Nancy Lopez first doing it in 1978 and Annika Sorenstam over the 2004 and 2005 seasons.

The LPGA is off next week and then it’s the first women’s major of 2024 at the Chevron Championship.

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Lexi Thompson, Linn Grant and Leona Maguire among Solheim stars at Aramco Saudi Ladies International

Here are the stars teeing it up next week.

Lexi Thompson headlines next week’s Aramco Saudi Ladies International field on the Ladies European Tour. The event, held this year at Riyadh Golf Club Feb. 15-18, offers a purse of $5 million, the same as the payout of the men’s PIF Saudi International.

The 28-year-old Thompson, whose last worldwide victory came at the 2022 Aramco Team Series event in New York, last teed it up at the LPGA Drive On event in January where she tied for 16th. She is not listed in the fields of the LPGA’s upcoming Asian swing.

“The Aramco Saudi Ladies International signifies a significant step forward in advancing the sport,” Thompson said in a release, “not just in Saudi Arabia but on a global scale, and it’s a privilege to be part of an event that advocates for equal prize funds in golf.”

Defending champion Lydia Ko, who won the LPGA season-opening Tournament of Champions and lost the Drive On in a playoff to Nelly Korda, is not in the field in Saudi Arabia. Ko’s next event will be the HSBC Women’s Champions in Singapore.

Korda, who went to Prague immediately after the Drive On to visit her grandparents, is in the midst of a seven-week break from competitive golf.

In addition to the Aramco Saudi Ladies International, the 2024 LET schedule also features the Aramco Team Series, comprised of five events staged across the globe. Winners of those events last year include LPGA players Alison Lee, Xiyu Lin, Carlota Ciganda, Pauline Roussin, and Korda.

The LET’s Saudi-backed events remain controversial given the wide-ranging human rights abuses Saudi Arabia has been accused of, especially toward women.

Here’s a list of noteworthy players in this year’s field: