Leona Maguire: ‘It’s been a long journey... nobody sees that grind behind it’

Leona Maguire has dealt brilliantly with the external expectations and did it her way.

Sun, 06 Feb, 2022 - 18:46

Brian Keogh

Talk all you want about God-given talent, but there’s no huge mystery to Leona Maguire’s incredible success and a maiden LPGA Tour win that likely catapults her into the world’s top 20.

Her three-shot victory in the LPGA Drive On Championship at Crown Colony Golf & Country Club in Fort Myers on Florida’s gulf coast was a historic first by an Irishwoman on the LPGA Tour.

But while we love to think of stars as beings capable of superhuman feats, the secret really is in the dirt, as Ben Hogan always said.

The Co Cavan star has been telling everyone the same thing every chance she gets, and she did it again on Saturday night.

“I’m obviously delighted for people to be able to enjoy the win today, but at the same time, I’m the one hitting the shots and putting in the long hours,” Maguire said after carding a five-under 67 to win by three strokes on 18-under par and earn $225,000 (€196,000) to take her career earnings to $1.3m (€1.1m). “I’m the one that’s there at the range until dark, up first thing.

“A lot goes on behind the scenes that people maybe don’t realise. It’s been a long journey. Yes, I’ve done a lot of great things. I won a lot in college and amateur golf. But there are no guarantees.

“Nobody sees that grind that goes behind it. Ultimately today, I didn’t really care about the outcome. As long as I knew I gave it my best shot, there was ultimately nothing I could do.”

Coach Shane O’Grady, the Black Bush professional, loves to remain in the background, conscious that it’s all about the player. But nobody knows better what makes Maguire tick: It’s that never-say-die attitude and a work ethic that would make even Pádraig Harrington blush.

“She said it herself afterwards, and sometimes people don’t hear it,” O’Grady said when asked what makes Maguire special. “It’s pure determination. She’s first on the practice ground, and she’s the last to leave.

“I went over to Florida to see her before Christmas and spent eight or nine days with her in Lake Nona. She is first there on the range — and all the great players live there — and she’s the last to leave every day.

“If we could turn on floodlights, she’d be saying, ‘Get the lights on, Shane, we’re not going anywhere.’ Harrington was the same. You have to outwork the rest.

“Most people say they want to be a pro, but you have to research what the best players in the world are doing and if they’re working 10 hours a day, you’ve got to work 12, and you might have a chance. Even then, there’s no guarantee.

“There’s a very mixed message coming from successful players nowadays and they talk about not practising so hard and visualising and all the rest. But it’s all about hard work,” continued O’Grady.

“When Leona and Lisa were 14 years of age, they would come back to me after shooting 68 and say, ‘I want to get better. Why did I hit this shot and why did I hit that shot.’”

When Maguire returned home for Christmas after a stellar season that saw her win four-and-a-half points out of five in the Solheim Cup win, she was at the Irish Institute of Sport on St Stephen’s Day and hitting balls in the snow all through January to get ready for the new season.

She’s been tipped for the top since she was in her early teens, dominating the Irish and international amateur scene with twin sister Lisa.

There were mutterings when she decided to remain at Duke University for the full four years even when she was world amateur number one, then won twice on the Symetra Tour but went winless in her first 18 months on the LPGA Tour.

But Maguire dealt brilliantly with the external expectations and did it her way.

“I think I’ve worked my way up the levels every time,” she said. “It’s been a meticulous journey. I did it my way, the way I wanted to do it, with the help of my team around me.

“I feel like the way I’ve gone about it, I’ve been prepared at each level and mastered each level. I know people probably thought I was going to win before this. I was maybe getting a little impatient last year, but I think going down the stretch at the Meijer [LPGA Classic] last year with Nelly [Korda and finishing second], that was a huge confidence boost for me.

“She was three shots ahead, and I nearly closed the gap, but really felt like I held my own that week, and then the 61 at Evian too, and Solheim Cup was a massive confidence booster.”

There will be talk of a major win now, but even if it doesn’t happen quickly, Maguire will stick to her guns, “Even at Christmas, people were saying, ‘When are you going to win, when are you going to win?’ That was on the tip of everybody’s tongue,” she said on Saturday.

“Last year was a great season, but there was no win, so it almost felt like it had an asterisk. I knew I wasn’t far away. I’ve always kept my circle small, and that’s been it from day one. Mom, Dad, Shane, Lisa, my physio, nutritionists, the staff at the Institute of Sport back home.

“Just relying on the people that I trust, I think has been massive. Sticking to my guns, knowing that what I was doing was working. I just needed a little bit more time.”