From the first tee shot on Thursday until the final putt on Sunday, Ireland’s Leona Maguire put up a good fight in the Meier Classic for Simply Give, playing more like an LPGA Tour veteran than a second-year rookie. The No. 88-ranked player in the Rolex Ranking never let winner Nelly Korda out of her sights as Maguire put up six birdies and no bogeys on Sunday to finish the week 23-under par. That would have been a new tournament record had Korda not finished two shots better.
“Nelly is a great player and one of the best players in the world for a reason. It was great to be able to test my game against her,” said Maguire. “I'm really starting to feel like I belong out here. Even though it's still my rookie year, I'm feeling more and more comfortable every week.
“My first time in the last group going into the final round, and really proud of how I managed that. You just never know how you're going to react until you're in that situation. Really proud of how I handled it,” said Maguire.
With a two-hour flight to Atlanta, Ga., the site of next week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship major, the 26-year-old will have a lot of time this evening to soak in the past week.
“This week is going to be huge heading into a major. I knew I was playing some great golf. It's a huge confidence boost for the rest of the season,” said Maguire. “All in all, my game is in really good shape and I feel like this was really good preparation heading into a major week.”
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