Ireland’s brilliantly successful Games has heaped more pressure on Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow to perform in the Women’s Olympic Golf Competition but it’s clear that a cool head and an ability to execute will win out over pure emotion at Le Golf National.
Meadow had “goosebumps” watching the crowd chant “Rory, Rory, Rory” as McIlroy made his ultimately doomed charge for a medal last Sunday while Maguire admitted that the hype surrounding Ireland’s best ever Olympics in terms of medals has fuelled her desire to make her mark.
The bookmakers rate world number one and reigning Olympic champion Nelly Korda, Thai star Atthaya Thitikul and America’s multiple major winner Lilia Vu as the three medal favourites.
Even with the treacherous 18th converted from a par-four for the men to a 447-yard par-five for the women, the 6,374-yard, par-72 track will reward the bigger hitters and force shorter players like Meadow (32) and Maguire (29) to bank on accuracy and great putting to contend for the hardware.
“It’s obviously a phenomenal golf course,” said Maguire, who has had one LET win, a top 12 and three missed cuts in her last eight starts worldwide and arrives in Paris with some question marks over her consistency but none when it comes to her competitive drive.
“It’s going to be a great test this week. It’s going to really test every, every part of your game. And I think whoever comes away with the medals this week is going to have to have played some really great golf, and that’s exactly how it should be for an Olympic Games.”
Meadow’s form— two 53rd-place finishes and six missed cuts in her last eight starts —does not bode well for a repeat of her performance in Tokyo three years ago, where she was seventh and Maguire 23rd behind Korda, Japan’s Mone Inami and Kiwi Lydia Ko.
But both women are fierce competitors and it would be no surprise to see them near the business end of the leaderboard in a 60-strong field, inspired by some memorable Irish performances.
“They’ve just had an incredible Games so far, our best ever as a country,” Maguire said of her teammates. “It’s been very inspiring to watch them succeed and do so well, and obviously, you want to be able to add to that.
“Out watching the guys at the weekend, there were a lot of tricolours and a lot of Irish jerseys. It almost felt like we were a little bit closer to home, rather than France. It almost has a Solheim Cup or Ryder Cup atmosphere to it with all the grandstands and the crowds. I think it’s going to be very exciting.”
If Maguire can tap into her Solheim Cup mindset, anything is possible and Meadow, who was third on her major debut in the 2014 US Women’s Open at Pinehurst No 2, the last time the women followed the men on the same course, cannot be discounted even at 400-1.
“I’m very excited,” said the Jordanstown star, who leads off the Irish challenge in the first group of the day with home favourite Perrine Delacour and Belgium’s Manon de Roey at 8 a.m.
“I’m in the first group tomorrow, so I expect the first tee will be quite a lot of fun and probably a memory that will last a lifetime… I’m looking forward to it. It’s a special opportunity for me.”
As for Maguire, her biggest worry is staying out of the rough, and the “incredibly difficult” greenside bunkers.
“There’s no sand in them at all,” she said. “You will have plenty of chances if you hit fairways and greens but at the same time, if you miss a fairway you’re just going to be pitching out.
“If you miss a green, it’s a flop shot from everywhere. It’s hit it as hard as you can and hope that the ball moves sometimes.”
She added: “Ultimately, like any major, any tournament, whoever holes the right putts at the right time is going to be successful this week.”