Tag: Leona Maguire

Solheim sensation Leona Maguire fires record 62 at Pelican LPGA, looks to become tour’s first Irish winner

“It was Hogan-like. She didn’t hit a bad shot.”

BELLEAIR, Florida – Upon her return from the Solheim Cup, Leona Maguire, the undisputed Woman of the Match at Inverness, rode through her hometown in a gold BMW convertible with a “LEONA” license plate.

“It was basically like St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland,” said Maguire, who hails from the one-stoplight town of Cavan.

Folks that normally never watch golf, tuned in to see the local hero lead Europe to victory in front of an all-American crowd in Toledo, Ohio.

“I mean, it was nothing like I’ve ever experienced before,” she said of the homecoming.

On Thursday at the Pelican LPGA Championship, Maguire put together another special performance, recording a tournament and course record 8 under 62 at Pelican Golf Club. There wasn’t a bogey in the group of 2020 Pelican champ Sei Young Kim (64), Lexi Thompson (65), and Maguire.

Maguire’s swing coach, Shane O’Grady, who has guided her since she was 10 ½, watched her compete in person at the Pelican for the first time since the penultimate Symetra Tour event in 2019, when Maguire earned her card.

Were it not for a few putts that grazed the cup, O’Grady couldn’t help but think about the would-be 59.

“It was Hogan-like,” he said. “She didn’t hit a bad shot.”

Maguire hit 14 fairways and 14 greens and took only 24 putts, carding a 31 on both sides. She birdied all four par 3s en route to a two-shot lead. The former Duke standout and No.1-ranked amateur said she put a 6-hybrid in the bag this week and nearly aced the third hole. She also made an adjustment to her 9-wood, pouring in a birdie on the 15th, too.

“I suppose over the last two weeks I’ve worked on my irons a lot,” said Maguire. “I was kind of overdrawing it a little bit the last few weeks and in Korea … just getting that neutral ball flight back in.

“I play my best when I have little or no shape on my ball, so getting back to that. That’s been good here. Being able to hit it in those right sections of the greens, and even when I slightly missed the green it was still a pretty simple two-putt.”

No Irish player has ever won the LPGA. Maguire, ranked 46th in the world, came close this summer when she finished second to Nelly Korda. She also tied for second at the Lotte Championship in April, though Lydia Ko won that one by a mile.

For many in Ireland, even in her hometown, the Solheim Cup marked the first time non-golfers were able to appreciate the kind of talent and promise Maguire holds. A victory now would be even bigger in the wake of the rookie’s gripping Solheim performance.

“It was nice to see them excited about golf,” she said, “and hopefully there is a few young girls and boys in Ireland that have taken up golf because of that.”

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Rookie Leona Maguire catches fire, cards major record-tying 61 at Evian Championship

Leona Maguire birdied her last four holes to in the final round of the Amundi Evian Championship to post a major record-tying 10-under 61.

Rookie Leona Maguire birdied her last four holes to in the final round of the Amundi Evian Championship to post a major record-tying 10-under 61. It’s the second 61 of the week on the LPGA, with overnight leader Jeongeun Lee6 taking her own piece of history on Friday.

Hyo Joo Kim became the first player to shoot 61 in a major championship in the opening round of the 2014 Evian.

“There really wasn’t a whole a lot of difference between the 61 and 71 yesterday,” said Maguire. “I came off the course yesterday feeling like I played great and just didn’t hole any putts, and today they went in.

“Hit it that little bit closer and just holed a few more putts, so it’s fine margins as is golf. Today was all about getting a good round in and trying to get the momentum going into the Olympics next week.”

Maguire, 26, posted the clubhouse lead at 13-under 271. She hit nine fairways, 15 greens and took 24 putts in her bogey-free final round. Maguire said she and coach Shane O’Grady worked specifically on shaping shots and holding them up off the slopes heading into this week and felt that was key.

Maguire first played the Evian Resort Golf Club as a 12-year-old in a junior event and still has the picture she took with the Evian winner in 2007, Natalie Gulbis.

In that final run on Sunday, Maguire hit a 3-wood from 240 to 15 feet on the par-5 15th and two-putted for birdie. She hit it to a foot on the par-3 16th with an 8-iron. On the par-4 17th, Maguire hit a sawed-off 8-iron to 7 feet and then polished it off with birdie on the gettable closing par 5.

“I think if 12-year-old me saw a 61 up there,” she said, “I would be pretty happy.”

The former Duke star is surely a lock for the 2021 European Solheim Cup team. Her last five starts on the LPGA – T-26, T-9, 2, T-15, T-15 – make her someone to keep an eye on at the Tokyo Olympics as well. Maguire, of Ireland, spent 135 weeks as the No. 1 amateur in the world and finished 21st at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

“Hopefully the few years of professional golf under my belt will help me this time,” said Maguire. “Never been to Asia before. Excited to go to Japan.”

Leona Maguire’s strong finish powers her to three-shot lead at Meijer LPGA Classic

The Ireland native finished with a par, eagle and a 30-foot birdie to take a three-shot lead at the end of the second round.

BELMONT, Mich. — As the holes were filling up on Leona Maguire’s scorecard, it looked like she’d been in a tie for first place heading into the weekend at the Meijer LPGA Classic.

Then her final three holes happened.

The Ireland native finished with a par, eagle and a 30-foot birdie to take a three-shot lead at the end of the second round. She finished the day 8 under to make her total score for the tournament 15 under, three shots better than her closest competitor.

“We were kind of in-between clubs. I absolutely flushed a 5 hybrid, [it] went way further than I thought and pitched pin high and stayed on the green,” Duncan said. “And another really nice putt on nine, that pin was really tucked. I just tried to be disciplined, played 30 feet right of the hole and took my chance.”

She started the round hot, shooting a 5-under 31 on her first nine. But a couple of errant drives cost her once she made the turn, and she turned in consecutive bogeys. Still, she got back on track, going 5 under over her final five holes.

The 26-year-old had to fend off challengers Suh Oh (12 under), who finished 7 under on the day, and Lindy Duncan (11 under ), who also shot 7 under. Maguire said she’s used to having one good day at a tournament, but usually can’t string together consecutive solid days. Her impressive performance has given her confidence heading into the final two rounds.

“Was really proud of how I came out today,” Maguire said. “Last week in San Francisco I was leading after day one and struggled on day two, so it was nice to put a really good number back to back in rounds one and two and even go one better today.”

While she’s in the driver’s seat for her first LPGA win, Duncan is sitting just four shots back looking for her first title as well. It was a career day for the South Floridian, shooting 5 under on her back nine to take the lead into the clubhouse until Maguire and Oh overtook her late in the afternoon.

Even though there was a two-hour rain delay in the morning before she was able to tee off, that might have helped Duncan. She said the greens felt smoother and slower, which let her play a bit more aggressively. But the wet weather still made for its own challenges.

“I think the front nine it was pretty receptive and the greens were definitely rolling a bit smoother,” Duncan said. “I kind of just tried to take it one hole at a time and just take notes as I went on and just tried to pay attention to those little things…it was definitely changing.”

Oh, who took off in the afternoon, is just three shots back of Maguire. She had a bogey-free round Friday and has played just one hole over par through the first two days.

Still, she’s not getting too far ahead of herself thinking of glory. She doesn’t have a score in mind she wants to hit the rest of the weekend. The Australian is just taking it one shot at a time.

“[I] just kind of kept my cool. I think that was quite good,” Oh said. “I guess just have to kind of hit one shot and then the next shot and see how it turns out, just kind of keep it going.”

Nelly Korda, the No. 2-ranked player in the world, made a move on Friday. She shot 6 under for the day, bringing her overall score to 10 under, well within striking distance.

“The greens were definitely a lot softer today so you could be more aggressive,” Korda said. “So I could really hit my numbers today, and I had a lot of good numbers going in.”

The surprise of the tournament is that two-time Meijer LPGA Classic winner Brooke Henderson missed the cut. She shot a 75 on Thursday and rebounded with a 5 under 67 but it wasn’t enough. She finished 2 under, 1 off the cutline.

But back at the top, Maguire is living in the moment. She and Duncan both played college golf at Duke, though they never crossed paths in Durham. Still, they’ve become close friends, practicing together outside of Orlando.

As they head into the final rounds in West Michigan, the two Blue Devils might have to go head to head for their first tournament victory.

“We practice and play together quite a bit,” Maguire said. “She’s been a good friend of mine, and it’ll be nice to go head-to-head with her down the stretch this weekend.”

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Unrelated identical twins make big moves at LPGA Drive On

Two sets of identical twins are making names for themselves at at the LPGA Drive On Championship.

OCALA, Florida – While the Kordas have dominated 2021 early winning the first two events, they aren’t the only sister acts worth noting at this week’s LPGA Drive On. Jenny Coleman and Leona Maguire – who are both in the top 10 at Golden Ocala – have identical twin sisters who also played professional golf.

Ireland’s Maguire sisters played together at Duke with Leona spending 131 weeks as the No. 1 amateur in the world. Leona’s sister Lisa, who rose as high as 35th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, played professionally on the Symetra Tour before recently switching gears to dental school.

Jenny Coleman and her sister Kristin played together at Colorado and then on the Symetra Tour. Jenny finished third on the 2019 Symetra Tour money list to graduate to the LPGA. Kristin still competes on the developmental circuit.

Both Leona and Jenny are looking to post a career-best finish in Ocala. Jenny, 28, has $19,668 in career earnings on the LPGA with her best finish, a T-26, coming at last year’s ISPS Handa Vic Open.

Leona Maguire (left) Lisa Maguire (right)

“Usually I’m a pretty solid ball-striker,” said Coleman after Friday’s 3-under 69, “and all I’m waiting for is the putts to drop. I got that going the last couple days.”

Jenny Coleman held or shared 28 school records when she left Boulder. Her biggest golf superstition: She only uses even-numbered golf balls; her sister takes the odds.

When Leona Maguire, 26, won the 2012 Irish Girls Stroke Play Championship, it was her sister Lisa’s name that was engraved on the trophy. Lisa only who found out about it when the next year’s winner sent her a congratulatory text.

Mix-ups are commonplace for the talented pair.

The Maguires made their professional debuts at the 2018 ShopRite LPGA Classic. Leona won 10 times at Duke and owns the three lowest single-season stroke averages in school history. She was a two-time ANNIKA Award winner for national player of the year.

Coleman sisters pose with Dana Finkelstein and Perrine Delacour (LPGA)

Leona tied for 16th last week at the Gainbridge LPGA on her home course, Lake Nona. Her career-best finish also came at last year’s ISPS Handa Vic Open, where she tied for fourth.

In 2020, Leona led the tour in overall putting and says Aimpoint is a reason for the rise, particularly on putts with a lot of break. She learned the putting system with her coach midway through last year.

“So I had been using green books before that,” said Leona, “but I guess I wasn’t using them properly. Yeah, now that I’m doing it properly it helps a little. … It was something I stayed clear of for a long time. I didn’t like the idea of AimPoint. I liked playing quick and I didn’t want it to slow me down. It’s actually is really quick and I really like the new way of doing it.”

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Star-studded freshman class guarantees tight race for top LPGA rookie in 2020

Of the tour’s 19 rookies, several have already made big impressions on the LPGA.

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This year’s Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year contest was such a runaway that winner Jeongeun Lee6 spent months working on her acceptance speech. The 2020 campaign should prove to be much a tighter race.

Of the tour’s 19 rookies, several have already made big impressions on the LPGA. Some are among the most decorated players to come out of collegiate golf in recent years, including Duke’s Leona Maguire and Andrea Lee of Stanford, who won a program record nine times for the Cardinal.

Of course, Lee’s priority ranking (161st) makes it difficult to know how many starts she’ll get at the start of the year. A strong early showing would put in her good position for the spring reshuffle, the route Cheyenne Knight took in 2019. Knight made the most of the opportunity, winning the last full-field event on the LPGA schedule in Texas.

Esther Henseleit, at No. 162, is in a similar position. The German rookie recently secured the Order of Merit title on the Ladies European Tour after a victory in Kenya.

Here are five standouts with strong status to keep an eye on next season:

Patty Tavatanakit, Thailand

UCLA star turned pro after the spring season and made it look easy on the Symetra Tour, winning three times in her first eight starts. An explosive player who shot 61 in the final round of the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic.

Yealimi Noh, U.S.

Made a run at two LPGA titles in 2019 after Monday-qualifying for both events. The 2018 U.S. Girls’ Junior champ finished second at the Cambia Portland Classic. Made a name for herself quickly as a pro despite having no status on any tour.

Leona Maguire, Ireland

No one spent more time at the top of the World Amateur Golf Ranking than Maguire. One of the best players in the history of college golf, the Duke grad finished seventh on the Symetra Tour money list to earn her card for 2020.

Haley Moore, U.S. ­

Graduated from Arizona and LPGA Q-Series before she even turned 21. The ceiling is high for a player who is learning how to keep her emotions in check. No stranger to the big stage, Moore is familiar with pressure.

Albane Valenzuela, Switzerland

Former Olympian and Stanford star is a seasoned player when it comes to professional events, particularly the majors. A two-time runner-up at the U.S. Women’s Amateur, skipped her final semester of college to make a run at Tokyo 2020.

The following is the complete list of 2020 LPGA rookies, with their priority ranking in parenthesis:

2019 Symetra Tour graduates

Patty Tavatanakit, Thailand (95)
Jillian Hollis, U.S. (98)
Leona Maguire, Ireland (100)
Esther Lee, U.S. (102)

LPGA Q-Series top 45 and ties

Yealimi Noh, U.S. (128)
Albane Valenzuela, Switzerland (135)
Jennifer Chang, U.S. (138)
Yui Kawamoto, Japan (137)
Haley Moore, U.S. (143)
Jiwon Jeon, South Korea (147)
Maia Schechter, U.S. (150)
Matilda Castren, Finland (154)
Linnea Johansson, Sweden (156)
Andrea Lee, U.S. (161)
Esther Henseleit, Germany (162)
Yujeong Son, South Korea (163)
Nuria Iturrioz, Spain (165)
Bianca Pagdanganan, Philippines (167)
Kyung Kim, U.S. (169)

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10 best women’s college golfers of the decade

Golfweek’s Julie Williams ranks the top 10 female college golfers of the past decade.

Women’s college golf is continually getting deeper, as evidenced by the number of new teams that are constantly coming into the mix in the postseason.

The past decade not only saw breakout stars, but more opportunities. For one thing, a women’s player of the year award came into the mix in 2014 with the creation of the ANNIKA Award. Like the Haskins Award, it’s voted on by players coaches and media.

Three of the women on this list have won that award — some multiple times. Others broke program record, NCAA records, racked up titles or led their teams to NCAA glory.

These are the best 10 women’s college golfers of the decade.

10. Bronte Law, UCLA (2013-2016)

UCLA’s Bronte Law. (Photo: UCLA Athletics)

Law won seven times in three and a half seasons as a Bruin (which is a program record), and almost half of those came in her junior season. That year ended with the ANNIKA Award as well as the top spot in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings. Over the course of her college career, Law shaved three shots off her scoring average.

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