Maguire counting down to next Major after learning week in San Francisco
Leona Maguire of Ireland is congratulated by her caddy after finishing her round on the 9th hole during the first round of the LPGA Mediheal Championship at Lake Merced Golf Club on June 10, 2021 in Daly City, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
Leona Maguire is gung-ho about the rest of the season and the next Major after battling her way to her third top-10 finish of the season in the LPGA Mediheal Championship in San Francisco.
The Co Cavan star (26) endured a rollercoaster week at Lake Merced Golf Club but bounced back from every body blow and closed with a two-under 70 to tie for ninth on six-under-par with Shane Lowry’s former caddie, Dermot Byrne on her bag.
"It could have been a lot better; could have been a lot worse," she said after pocketing a cheque for $29,513 to move up three spots to 20th in the Race to CME Globe standings with earnings this year of $266,801. "It was one of those days.
"Got off to a really nice start on Thursday and didn't feel like I had my best golf all week, even on Thursday. I just holed a lot of putts and just grinded it out through the middle two days."
She opened with a seven-under 65 to grab the lead, then bounced back from opening with three straight bogeys on Friday to remain in contention with a 73 before overcoming losing a ball in a tree on the first hole on Saturday to card a third round 74.
"I guess I got behind the eight-ball the second and third day. I was fighting my way back but hung in there," said the Slieve Russell star.
"I mean, when your ball gets stuck in a tree and takes however many minutes to drop down, you know it's going to be one of those days."
Maguire's ball took more than three minutes to drop out of a tree near the first green, and as a result, she was forced to go back to where she hit her second shot and ended up pencilling in a double-bogey six.
"We were looking up, trying to see if we could identify something, and then a ball dropped, and I honestly thought it was from the range because it was quite a thud when it landed," she explained.
"And then there was the whole kerfuffle like can we play it, can we not, whatever. In hindsight, I probably wish I would've called for a second referee. It's one of those rookie mistakes. Yeah, live and learn. Felt like I hung in there and came back. Didn't let it affect me too much."
She finished with an eagle on Saturday to go into the final round five shots off the lead in a tie for 11th and was proud to move forward again last night despite not having her A-game.
She mixed four birdies with two bogeys to finish tied ninth on six-under, eight shots behind Matilda Castren, who shot 65 to become the first player from Finland to win on the LPGA Tour.
Now she's keen to keep things going in this week's Meijer LPGA Classic in Michigan before heading to Georgia for the third Major of the season, the KMPGA Women's PGA at Atlanta Athletic Club.
"It was nice to finish with an eagle yesterday and take that momentum into today," said Maguire, who made another positive move in her bid to make the European Solheim Cup team. "I finished with another under par round. It's not easy out there.
"You have to hit a lot of good shots, a lot of fairways, a lot of greens. Felt like I got it back on track sort of back nine yesterday and today, which hopefully will sort of carry that over to next week and heading into a major."
She was pleased with how she adapted to the poa annua greens in San Francisco, not to mention adding a new caddie to her team.
"I think we were fortunate that we clicked pretty early on, which was good," she added. "There was a lot of thinking this week with the wind, with the fog coming in, just different things. There will be a lot of that at the major, I would guess, too.
"So yeah, just trying to learn all I can from the past two, three days. Work that into hopefully when I'm in that position again."
