Putting key for Maguire and Power ahead of season-ending run

They say happiness is a long walk with a putter, but even a short walk would be good news for Séamus Power and Leona Maguire as they face important tests this week.

For Maguire, the AIG Women's Open represents her final chance to win a major title this year and while England's Lottie Woad is the favourite at Royal Porthcawl, the Co Cavan star has shown signs recently that she's got the game to tough it out.

While she's ranked 50th for strokes gained putting on the LPGA Tour, the Solheim Cup stalwart was sixth for putting in the KPMG Women's PGA and 16th last week in the Women's Scottish Open, where she finished 15 shots behind the impressive Woad.

She's also pleased with the improvement in her iron play in recent weeks, and she has good memories of golf in Wales, where she won the 2017 Women's Amateur Championship at nearby Pyle & Kenfig.

"I also played the Vagliano Trophy at Royal Porthcawl in 2011,” recalled Maguire, whose seventh-place finish in the Evian Championship put her comfortably inside the top 60 who qualify for the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. "I don't remember much of the course, to be honest, but the weather was not very nice."

The weather could be Maguire's friend this week with rain forecast for today as well as winds gusting to 25mph for her 7:58 am tee time alongside American Andrea Lee and Korea's Amy Yang.

Lauren Walsh goes out in the second group of the day at 6:41 am and qualifier Anna Foster in the third last at 3:11 pm.

All eyes will be on the 12:54 pm group featuring defending champion Lydia Ko, 2023 winner Lilia Vu and the game's newest star Woad.

The English takent won the KPMG Women's Irish Open by six shots and came third in the Evian Championship as an amateur before winning by three shots on her professional debut on Sunday.

"I don't know a lot about her game personally, but the little that I've seen, she seems super impressive and has that kind of cool, calm, collected demeanour, and that's, I think, pretty important as a player,” Ko said.

"She's kind of come out with a bang, and I'm sure she's going to keep continuing to play well."

Woad (21) doesn't believe the last few weeks have heaped more pressure on her shoulders in an event where the winner will receive $1,462,500 from a $9.75 million purse that’s been bumped up by $250,000 this year.

"There's always pressure, obviously, but I don't think there's any more than there was from my perspective before any of the last few weeks," she said. "Kind of still was wanting to contend there, and that's still the aim."

As for the test, she said: "I think it will be a really good test this week. We'll see; weather is always a factor in links golf. I think par is a good score, and then you've got to take a chance on the par-fives, really.”

Power would love to find the right line and do more than just contend in the final regular event on the PGA TOUR season in North Carolina.

Only the top 70 after the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro will qualify for the first event of the FedEx Cup playoffs, and 130th-ranked Power must win to make that leap.

Any progress he makes will be welcome as he still has at least six Fall Series events after September's Amgen Irish Open to break into the top 100 in the FedEx Cup standings, who will be fully exempt next season.

A cold putter has had much to do with Power's struggles this season as he's 151st for strokes gained on the greens compared to 91st in 2024, 63rd in '23, and 40th in '22.

But after putting the waist-length arm lock putter in the bag last week, he showed some improvement from middle distance and finished joint 28th in the 3M Open for his best finish since April.

Making the top 70 in the FedEx Cup will give those who qualify for the FedEx St. Jude Championship the chance to make the top 50 who qualify for the second playoff event, earning access to next season's full slate of Signature Events.

Meanwhile, Daniel Mulligan, Liam Nolan, Max Kennedy, Jonathan Caldwell, Dermot McElroy, Alex Maguire and Mark Power play the Farmfoods Scottish Challenge supported by The R&A at Schloss Roxburghe.