A bit of history was made Saturday at the LPGA’s Drive On Championship at Crown Colony. Leona Maguire carded a 5 under 67 to earn a 3 stroke victory over the field, and become the Tour’s first Irish winner in LPGA history.
The Tour has featured very few Irish players to begin with over the years, let alone a winner. Maguire hopes that her victory in Fort Myers, FL will kickstart a new wave of female golfers taking up the sport back home in Ireland.
The 27 year old was a former NCAA Div 1 golfer at Duke University and was ranked as the #1 amateur in the world for a record 135 weeks between 2015 and 2018 before turning pro. Maguire carded 7 birdies and two bogeys en route to a -18 score for the tournament.
Previously, Maguire had earned two Symetra Tour victories in 2019, however the Drive On Championship marked her first victory on the LPGA circuit. For her efforts, the County Cavan native will take home $225K from the tournament purse.
“It’s a bit surreal,” Maguire said. “It’s been 17 years in the making, and you kind of wonder if it’s ever going to happen. Just really proud of how I played all week, especially today… Probably more relief now than anything else.”
Maguire began playing golf competitively at age 9, and also has a twin sister, Lisa Maguire, who was also a professional golfer before retiring in 2019. She’s currently represented by Modest! Golf, and has signed deals with Puma, PING, and KPMG amongst others.
Now with a LPGA victory under her belt, and fresh off a 6th place finish at the Evian Championship in 2021, Maguire is poised for a big year in 2022. Coming into this weekend ranked 37th in the world, the Irish golfer is likely to see her Rolex Women’s ranking rise dramatically in the wake of her latest victory.