Leona Maguire Aims For Her First Major Championship Victory At The Women’s PGA
A significant 54-hole single lead will be held overnight for the first time in Leona Maguire’s career. She finished with a 2-under 69, which sent her to the top of the leaderboard, and made a two-putt birdie on the last par-5 at Baltusrol.
Leona Maguire Aims For Her First Major Championship Victory At The Women's PGA
A significant 54-hole single lead will be held overnight for the first time in Leona Maguire‘s career. She finished with a 2-under 69, which sent her to the top of the leaderboard, and made a two-putt birdie on the last par-5 at Baltusrol.
With one round remaining, Leona Maguire leads Stephanie Meadow, a longstanding friend and teammate on Ireland’s national team, by two shots and Jenny Shin of South Korea by one shot.
“Yeah, a steady day today. It was more of a mixed bag than the last few days. I had to scramble a little bit more today. I had a few key ups and downs out of bunkers today to keep me going and keep me in it. It’s always nice to finish with a birdie on 18.”
Leona Maguire
Her standing after three rounds may seem strange, but it is by no means a surprise. Her steady play has been the norm for the 28-year-old Duke graduate lately, and her ball striking has been the driving force.
In contrast to the two greens she missed on Thursday and Friday combined, Leona Maguire missed four in regulation on Saturday (the “scrambling” she referenced in her post-round interview).
This week, the Irishwoman has avoided Baltusrol’s juicy rough, and dangerous bunkers, which can instantly eliminate any player from contention at a major event. Instead, she has stuck to the fairways and greens.
When Maguire tees it up on Sunday morning, she believes she needs to focus on being a disciplined competitor and a reliable ball striker to avoid making such mistakes.
“One more day of patience. I know it’s a cliché, but this golf course demands it. And just one more day of being super patient and disciplined out there.”
“I felt like I’ve been playing really good golf, and it’s always great validation when you do win when you think you’re playing great golf. It’s one thing to think you’re playing great golf, but really, I think the nice thing was to execute down the stretch on Sunday when I needed to. I did it at Chevron to cut on Friday. I did it in a few of my matches in Vegas. So it was nice that it culminated in a win last week.”
Leona Maguire
Maguire entered the Women’s PGA on a high note. More than a year after her debut triumph at the 2022 LPGA Drive-on Championship, she won her second LPGA Tour match at last week’s Meijer Classic. That significant triumph was preceded by back-to-back top-10 finishes at the Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play and the Mizuho Americas Open.
A golfing stretch like the one Maguire is now engaged in was long overdue. The people who know Leona the best didn’t simply want her to reach this stage in her career; they were aware of it all along.
Lisa, Leona’s identical twin sister, is positioned in front of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship scoring tent.
“I think she works incredibly hard; I think a lot of people don’t see how hard she works or the days she puts in, and that’s just a testament to the player she is.”
“She did it at each level; she did it at the amateur level, she did it in college, and now she’s going to do it on this stage. I think a lot of people have seen what she did at Solheim, how she can do on the LPGA with a couple of wins under her belt, and a major win would be the next step in her career.”
Lisa Maguire
The twin of two-time LPGA champion Leona, who is only fifteen minutes older than her, is the only person who truly understands her and her game. Through youth golf in Ulster County, collegiate golf at Duke University, and professional golf in the US, Lisa competed with Leona until she retired in 2019 and enrolled in dentistry school.
Lisa accompanied Leona on her stroll today, and the two will reunite for the first time in more than a month on Saturday night.
In addition, Lisa is aware of the significance of her sister’s accomplishment for their nation. Maguire established the all-time rookie point record with 4.5 when she participated in the Solheim Cup for the first time in 2021.
And she was welcomed back to Cavan with a full-fledged parade. Similar riots broke out nationwide after Shane Lowry won the 148th Open Championship in Northern Ireland at Royal Portrush.
Maguire will become the first Irish player to win a women’s major title if she triumphs on Sunday at Baltusrol.
“Irish fans are some of the best fans in the world, period. Anything that Leona plays in, they’re incredibly supportive. They love Solheim. Solheim brought golf to a lot more people in Ireland who maybe wouldn’t normally watch golf. I know everyone at home and over here, Irish or otherwise, will be backing Leona tomorrow. She’s incredibly grateful for that, and we all just want to see her do well.”
Lisa Maguire
However, Maguire has yet to express a desire to visit that location.
“There’s a lot of business to take care of between now and then, so we’re not getting too far ahead of ourselves.”
Leona Maguire
She’s correct; before Maguire can consider how that historic celebration might feel, she has several top players to outlast and 18 more fairways and greens to hit.
