Leona Maguire flying well below radar for US Open challenge
Leona Maguire is the sole Irish entrant in this week's US Women's Open, which is being played at Erin Hills in Wisconsin.
The former amateur world number one, Solheim Cup star and two-time LPGA Tour winner's form has come under scrutiny this year, having missed back-to-back cuts in her last two tournaments.
The current world rankings also reveal a major dip, as Maguire has fallen from 29th to 80th place over the last 12 months.
And yet, they were the only two cuts out of eleven events played in 2025 that the Cavan native has missed, while enjoying a top-ten and a couple of top-25 finishes since the turn of the year.
Overall, Maguire is just having a very average season on the world's toughest and highest quality women's golf tour, sitting in 51st place on the Race to CME Globe, and well inside the prestigious top 60, which earns a place at the season ending Tour Championship.
In an era where statistics are available for almost every facet of the game, there is one glaring figure that jumps out, and where Maguire really is losing ground on the world's top players – driving distance.
The world's top 40 are all hitting the ball, on average, over 270 yards off the tee, while Maguire is languishing in 146th position, with a very modest 241.88 yards.
As a result, there is a real disadvantage when it comes to approach play, giving up such valuable distances to her competitors, leaving her in 76th place when it comes to strokes gained in that category, which is calculated on all shots from outside 50 yards.
However, there does not appear to be anything wrong with Maguire's confidence or mentality as her work inside 50 yards is up there with the best, 14th in strokes gained around the green, suggesting her touch and composure with the scoring clubs is not a real concern.
All it really means at this point of the season is that Maguire can arrive at this week's major – the second of the season – firmly under the radar, and can play without the pressure of trying to become the first Irish woman to win a major.
Maguire is among the late starters on Thursday and tees it up for the first two days alongside Mexico's Gaby Lopez and South Korea's Hyo Joo Kim.
The trio start their first round from the tenth hole, teeing off at 7:14pm (Irish time) on Thursday.
It is the first time that the tournament has come to Erin Hills, however, the venue did host the men's equivalent back in 2017, where Brooks Koepka won the title.
A daunting track with penal rough and a range of very challenging holes, it is no surprise that the favourites for the tournament are the in-form selection knocking around the top of the current rankings.
The field will be playing for the largest ever purse in a women's event with $12 million up for grabs, and as usual, all eyes will be on world number one, Nelly Korda, who will be looking to land her third major having won the Women's PGA Championship in 2021 and last year's Chevron Championship.
But Korda is still trying to rediscover that dominating form that led to a seven-win season in 2024, and has yet to win on tour this year.
"I mean, it's the biggest test in golf," said Korda. "It definitely has tested me a lot. I love it. At the end of the day, this is why we do what we do, is to play these golf courses in these conditions, to test our games in every aspect."
Thailand's Jeeno Thitikul has been the dominant player on tour this year with one victory and six top tens from the eight events that she has competed in, and she certainly looks the one to beat this week.
Others in the conversation include Yuka Saso, who is chasing her third US Women's Open title at Erin Hills, the in-form Rio Takeda from Japan, South Korea's Hyo Joo Kim, and American Angel Yin, while it will be worth keeping an eye on 2025 Augusta National Women's Amateur winner Carla Bernat Escuder from Spain.
As from where the European challenge will come from; France's Celine Boutier has shown the best form throughout 2025, while Germany's Esther Henseleit has two top-ten finishes to her name this year.
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