She has never finished outside the top 15 in her last seven starts on the LPGA Tour. For Leona Maguire, that includes the best result of her career in a major tournament, a tied sixth place in the Amundi Championship in Evian in July. Add to that a slew of amateur appearances between the Curtis Cup, Junior Solheim Cup, Espirito Santo Trophy, Junior Ryder Cup and Vagliano Trophy, and Maguire doesn’t look like an ordinary Solheim Cup rookie. .
« This is something that I have been looking forward to for a long time “Said Maguire, a 2019 Symetra Tour graduate.” I got a glimpse of that when I played the Solheim Cup juniors and it’s really good to be part of the big team now. I think there will be a lot of great memories this week. I hope that some will be on the ground. But I think a lot of them will also be outside ! ».
Twice a member of the winning team of Great Britain and Ireland for the Curtis Cup (2012, 2016), winner of the British Open Amateur Championship 2017 and many times honored by Duke University, Maguire has a plethora of significant experiences in match-play. She has also appeared in seven college tournaments, including three NCAA Championships, with a combined record of 6 wins, 6 losses and a draw for the Blue Devils.
Mel Reid’s favorite
This resume caught the attention of veteran European squad Mel Reid and she witnessed it in person in Inverness during Thursday’s practice laps.
« I played with Leona today, explains the Englishwoman, four selections on the clock. She’s a fantastic player even though I honestly haven’t spent a lot of time with her on the tour. I have kept an eye on Leona because she has had a fantastic amateur career. She obviously progressed as we all expected and played fantastic golf this year. She is a great player. »
“I hope this inspires other young girls in Ireland to take the game, to realize that if they believe in themselves and work hard, anything is possible”
Reid continues the praise: ” The four recruits of Team Europe are intrepid. They have nothing to do with the rookies of my first Solheim Cup, who only played on the Ladies European Tour. I’m not discrediting that at all, but they play the Americans week after week, and they just aren’t scared. »
To top it off, Maguire is the first Irish woman to secure a spot on the European squad for the biennial team competition.
« It’s a great honor », Commented Maguire. ” I think that’s something I’m probably not going to dwell on too much on just yet, but I’ll look back 20 or 30 years from now, when I’m done playing, and realize how hard it is. ‘was special. »
« I hope this inspires other young girls in Ireland to jump into the game, to realize that if they believe in themselves and work hard, anything is possible. I hope we have many, many more Irish girls on the squad in the future. »
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