Cavan star makes history as first Irish golfer to claim Ladies European Tour victory
The Co Cavan star (29) endured a torrid front nine at the Centurion Club, when she followed two opening birdies with four dropped shots in a five-hole stretch as she sandwiched a double bogey seven at the sixth – where she drove out of bounds and three-putted – between bogeys at the fourth and eighth to find herself trailing American Alison Lee.
Lee would bogey the 14th and 18th to shoot a five-under 68 to find herself tied for the clubhouse lead on six-under with Castlewarden rookie Lauren Walsh, who sensationally eagled the last to close with a sensational eight-under 65 and her second successive tied third finish on tour.
Maguire got to seven-under with a birdie from short range at the 12th, but she bogeyed the 16th after driving into sand and found herself trailing veteran Maria Hernandez.
Bidding for her second win, 14 years after the first, the Spaniard birdied the 423-yard, five-five 18th to shoot a 68 and set the target at seven-under.
That left Solheim Cup teammates Maguire and Georgia Hall needing a birdie at the last to force a play-off and an eagle to win.
But it was the Co Cavan star (29) who turned up trumps as she tapped into her Solheim Cup mindset and hot a sensational hybrid to the green and converted for eagle, a level par 73 and her her fifth win as a professional by one shot from Hernandez and by two from Walsh, Lee and Hall on eight-under.
“I feel like it was tough out there and I didn’t play my best golf,” said Maguire, who heads to next week’s Amundi Evian Championship with her sights set on her first major win
“But to be fair, my caddie Dermot (Byrne) just kept saying, ‘be patient, be patient’. And he said right before I hit (the shot to the 18th), ‘Let’s hit the shot of the year here’ and yeah, it was just a perfect number and my trusty hybrids came in useful once again.”
As for her rollercoaster day, Maguire admitted she was aware of where she stood throughout the day.
“I knew Alison was making a run,” she said. “I kind of thought I had to get to 10 (under) to be honest. Ten was the number I had in my head.
“I just hung in there even when things weren’t going right and just waited for it to turn and it was nice to finish in style in 18.”
Maguire has two wins on the Epson Tour and two on the LPGA Tour and she was thrilled to win for the first time in Europe.
“I was just trying to hit a good putt,” she said of her downhill, left-to-right breaking eagle putt. “It was almost a little bit like a Solheim Cup — but that putt was for me, that putt was for my family and that was for Ireland.”
As for Walsh, the Carton House touring professional boosted her chances of making the AIG Women’s Open via the top five not already exempt after the Dutch Open later this month.
She made six birdies in her first ten holes and followed a bogey at he 14th with a birdie at the 16th and an eagle at the 423-yard 18th to set the clubhouse target for he second week in a row.
“Honestly, it was it was pretty special,” said Walsh, who like Maguire, is coached by Black Bush professional Shane O’Grady.
“Yeah, my coach texted me last night to say, ‘Go break 70 tomorrow and see what happens’. And after being five (sic) under through ten, I thought, lets make a few more birdies coming in and we’ll see what happens.”
In the end, it wasn’t enough for the former Wake Forest star to claim her first win but while she cannot qualify for the Evian Championship, she boosted her chances of making the AIG Women’s Open field at St Andrews.
Today’s Sports News in 90 Seconds – 5th July