Leona Maguire upbeat for Solheim Cup after strong Irish Open showing
Leona Maguire. Credit: Mark Runnacles/LET
Leona Maguire heads for the Solheim Cup with a spring in her step and her game on an upward curve after she matched her career-best KPMG Women's Irish Open finish at The K Club.
The Co Cavan battler has been mired in swing changes all year, missing 11 of 19 cuts and six of the last eight.
But after going into the weekend 13 shots off the lead, she played her last 36 holes in 13-under, closing with rounds of 63 and 68 to finish tied for fourth, just five strokes behind wire-to-wire champion Casandra Alexande,
"Nice to get a couple of low ones over the weekend," beamed Maguire, who got to within four shots of the South African before the world number 38 overcame a bogey-bogey start and shot 70 to win by three strokes from Czechia's Sara Kouskova on 20-under.
"Overall, 15-under par for the week is a very solid effort, and nice to be able to give the home fans something to cheer."
Maguire's performance is welcome news for Solheim Cup captain Anna Nordqvist, who handed her a wildcard for the matches in the Netherlands from September 11–13.
The gritty Cavan star knows it could take another year for her swing changes to become second nature, but she saw signs that her game is not as far away as recent results suggest.
"It's one thing doing it in practice, but you have to go out under the gun and pull it off the shots when you need to," she said after almost holing a 77-yard pitch at the 18th to close with a tap-in birdie.
"Approaches have been really, really nice this week, and nice to see that under a little bit of pressure and being able to pull off those shots."
As for the Solheim Cup, she said: "Absolutely, it's nice to be in good form heading into something like that. There's been a lot of Europeans in good form this summer, so it'll be fun to get over there with the rest of the group."
She was especially pleased to produce the goods for the home fans at the weekend after Friday's 71 all but dashed her title hopes.
She started the day seven shots behind Alexander, but while the South African started with back-to-back bogeys, she didn't get going herself until she made four birdies in five holes from the sixth.
"I thought 20 under was the number to get to, and that was ultimately what I was trying to get to, whatever she did," she said. "She's played some great golf this week. She also got off to a hot start [with a 63 in round one], and it was always going to be tough to catch her."
It was only Alexander's second LET win, and after five runner-up finishes this year, she had to dig deep to get over the line after seeing her three-shot overnight lead reduced to one stroke through three holes.
But three birdies in a row from the fifth and another at the 10th gave her breathing room, and while Finland's Noora Komulainen got to within two strokes when play was suspended for 25 minutes due to electrical activity, she returned to roll in a 15-footer for birdie at the 15th.
"I think that was huge," Alexander said after winning €67,500 to extend her lead in the Order of Merit. "I felt like I was going to hole it the whole time. I knew that would be a bit of a momentum switch."
After adding her name alongside those of five Major champions on the trophy, she said: "It's a huge one to win. There's some big names on there, and hopefully I can follow in their footsteps."
Kildare's Lauren Walsh was the next best of the Irish, tied for 24th on eight-under after a closing 69.
The Castlewarden star, who had missed the cut in her two previous appearances, was proud to battle back from five-over par after 13 holes of her first round.
"Overall, I'm quite pleased. I mean, I showed some really good form this week... overall really pleased. I made a lot of birdies and really enjoyed myself. And yeah, best Irish Open so far."
As for her transition to the LPGA Tour she said: "Don't get me wrong. It's had its challenges. You know, there were moments I definitely struggled this year.
"You kind of have to adapt to the whole environment there... The course setups, you know they set them up a little bit longer, it's firmer, it's faster, rough is thicker... It's less social than it is here.
"Overall, I'm pleased. I'm making progress and continuing to apply those lessons."
Anna Foster (five-under) and Aine Donegan (four-under) closed with 73s to finish 30th and 35th respectively.
Annabel Wilson's 70 left her 47th on two-under while Canice Screene was 54th on one-under after a 72.
At the DP World Tour's Husqvarna British Masters, Tom McKibbin tied sixth after a closing 72, four shots behind fairytale maiden winner Joe Dean.
The Englishman, who had to work as a supermarket delivery driver for several months after winning his card in 2023 due to lack of funds, closed with an incredible nine-under 63 to win by three strokes on 14-under from Danish duo Jacob Skov Olesen and Niklas Norgaard, Spain's Nacho Elvira and New Zealander Daniel Hillier.
"All those painful hours and all the work I put in this; it's finally led to something," Dean said.
McKibbin was just two shots off the lead when he ran up a triple bogey seven at the eighth that derailed his challenge.
He went on to eagle the 17th to shoot 72, climbing to 92nd in the Race to Dubai and earning some Ryder Cup qualifying points.
On the HotelPlanner Tour, Gary Hurley tied for 12th on three-under, eight shots behind home winner Christofer Blomstrand in the Dormy Open in Sweden.
Mark Power was a shot further back in 19th with Ronan Mullarney 50th and James Sugrue 54th.
