Latest news with #LeonaMaguire
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Leona Maguire: ‘A lot of girls in our class had posters up of pop stars – we had pictures up of all the Ryder Cup players'
Leona Maguire was just 12 when she took part in her first senior tournament. Now, 18 years on, the Cavan woman shares her career highlights, the sports stars who supported her, and her hopes of inspiring the next generation of golfers at the Women's Irish Open 'I was definitely out of my comfort zone,' Leona Maguire admits of her Life magazine fashion shoot at Carton House. 'It was fun to try on all the outfits, and to have a stylist for the day – all the hair and make-up. It was a departure from my usual polo tops, hats and all the rest. It's nice for people to see a different version of me.' The version of Maguire that most sports fans are familiar with is a steely competitor on the golf course, and a player gifted with an excellent short game. She's a Solheim Cup star and this country's best hope for a major in the women's game. The Cavan woman is only 30, but has been on the golf scene for two decades.
Irish Examiner
6 days ago
- General
- Irish Examiner
Leona Maguire's game moving in right direction ahead of busy five weeks
Missing three consecutive cuts, her first time doing so since 2022, would seem to be reason for Leona Maguire to be worried about her form. After carding a 76 in her opening round at Erin Hills for last week's US Open, the Cavan golfer gave herself a chance of making it to the weekend with a fine front nine on day two. Her ascent of the leaderboard lost altitude after a triple bogey on the 11th. Despite adding to the missed cuts at the Riviera Maya Open and the Americas Open, Maguire believes her game is finding its edge. 'I'm not overly concerned about last week,' said Maguire during a media day for next month's KPMG Irish Open at Carton House. 'If anything, last week was a big step in the right direction. It's probably the best I've drove the ball in about two years. To come away from a US Open and only miss two fairways in two days, I'm quite happy with that. 'I feel like I'm playing a lot better than I'm scoring, which is a little bit frustrating. But at the same time, I'm not worried because I know I'm playing good golf.' The Meijer Classic later this month, a tournament Maguire won two years ago, begins a busy five weeks. After Michigan, she heads to Texas for the PGA Championship, 2025's third major. Then there's the Dow Championship before she flies back home for another tilt at the Irish Open. The year's fourth major, the Evian Championship in France, finishes the five-week run. Usually, Maguire would only play for three consecutive weeks before taking a break but the schedule has forced her usual routine to change. 'I'm going to have to be disciplined,' she said. 'It'll be a lot of nine hole practice rounds and just being really smart and efficient with how we prepare and practice. 'The nice thing is I've gone to Grand Rapids many times, I know that golf course very well. I've played the Dow before, I've played Carton before, I've played Evian before. 'The only new golf course is the Frisco course for the KPMG PGA Championship. I'm going there at the weekend to scout it out. 'My whole team has known this is coming down the line. This block has been circled on the calendar for a while. We've put in the preparation to navigate that, so that by the time the end of the summer comes around I'm not absolutely spent.' Maguire feeling like her driving is in its best place since 2023 is the result of work which finally clicked. She had been chopping and changing her driver, eventually sticking with the Ping G430 for the US Open. 'Actually after Mexico, I flew up to the US Open early and spent a decent while on the range with Shane (O'Grady, her coach) on FaceTime," she explained. "He'd been going back through old footage of what I was doing when I was driving the ball really well and just noticed a few things; we had a drill that I was doing last week and it really just helped me get through the ball a bit better. I've been doubling down on that this week to even get it dialled in even more.' Earlier this year, Maguire split with caddie Verners Tess after just eight months. Cork native Shane O'Connell is now on her bag. 'He's been a really good addition,' said Maguire. 'He's obviously learning as he goes, it's been a bit of an adjustment coming across to the women's side. 'He said he's definitely getting a lot less steps in. There's some parts of the golf course he doesn't even have to worry about anymore, which is nice for him. 'Then just getting used to how the ball spins; we don't spin it half as much as the lads, having to worry about wedges ripping off greens. The trajectory, getting used to just my numbers and you know the hybrids and how things land. 'He hadn't done any majors before this. Even just seeing a US Open set up last week... He's been quite lucky. We've had some unbelievable golf courses in his first few weeks we played Liberty National, Shadow Creek and Erin Hills. 'I feel like he's adapted really well. He's not afraid to give his opinion when needed. He works extremely hard, always out walking the courses, working things out. It's nice to have someone that matches my preparation with hard work.'
RTÉ News
31-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Leona Maguire misses US Open cut after triple bogey ruins comeback
Leona Maguire missed the cut at the Women's US Open after a triple-bogey on the 11th derailed her fightback on Friday at Erin Hills. Up against it after a 76 on Thursday, Maguire mounted a charge on the opening nine in her second round, birdieing the third, fourth and seventh holes to get back to one-over par, just inside the projected cut mark late on Friday. However, all that work was undone on the 11th. Maguire taking two hacks at the ball in the native area before being forced to take a penalty stroke. The resulting triple-bogey 7 left her back where she started on +4 and while she finished well with seven straight pars, her hopes of booking a weekend tee-time were shot. It is a fifth missed cut in seven US Open attempts for Maguire, whose best showing was a tied-eighth finish at Pine Needles Lodge in 2022. With thunderstorms delaying play for a time in Round 2, play was suspended with a small cluster of players still to finish their round and the projected cut at one-over. At the top of the leaderboard, World No. 1 Nelly Korda rocketed into contention with a 67. The American followed up Thursday's even round by carding seven birdies and two bogeys on Friday to sit equal second on five under par. She trails Japan's Mao Saigo by three shots after the 23-year-old took the outright lead with a round of 66.
Irish Daily Mirror
30-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Leona Maguire has difficult start at US Open
Leona Maguire has a bit of a hill to climb to get into contention as the US Open in Erin Hills, Wisconsin. She shot a 76 in the first round to go four over par, eight shots off the leading group. She now remains tied for 105th and is in a battle to avoid the cut. The 30-year-old came into the event ranked 80th in the world. Her tournament started at 7:14pm Irish time on Thursday as she teed off on the tenth hole. She was even par through the first four holes of the day before finding the bunker on the fourteenth to record a double-bogey. Further bogeys at the seventeenth and second left her four over, but she was able to arrest the slide with a birdie one hole later. After missing the cut in her last two events on tour, the pressure is on for the Cavan native to perform. A bogey on the eighth left her back at four over, where she remained overnight. The current leaders are Yealimi Noh, Angel Yin, A Lim Kim, Jinhee Im and Julia Lopez Ramirez, who are all sitting on two under.
RTÉ News
29-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Leona Maguire makes difficult start at US Open
Leona Maguire's struggles continued after a difficult start at the US Women's Open at Erin Hills in Wisconsin. After back-to-back missed cuts on tour, the Cavan golfer was hoping for a fast start in the latest major of the season, but instead she sat just inside the top 100 on three-over par thru 15. That left her seven shots off first-round leaders Rio Takeda of Japan, American Yealimi Noh and Korean pair Jinhee Im and 2020 champion A Lim Kee. Starting on the 10th, Maguire opened with four pars before a disastrous double bogey par-five 14th when she found sand.
