Maguire fourth at Open de Espana

Leona Maguire, of Ireland, watches her second shot from the 17th fairway during the third round of the LPGA CME Group Tour Championship golf tournament, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022, at the Tiburón Golf Club in Naples, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Leona Maguire had to settle for a fourth-place finish at the Open de Espana, the season ending event on the Ladies European Tour.

Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall, a four-time Solheim Cup player for Europe, eventually beat Switzerland’s Morgane Metraux at the fourth hole of a sudden-death play-off to capture her seventh career win on the Ladies European Tour and first since the French Open four years ago, after finishing with a 67 for an 18-under-par total of 274.

Maguire came into the final day in a three-way tie for third, two shots off Metraux, but she couldn't reel the Swiss in despite hitting two birdies in her first four holes.

Her round was one better than Saturday as she birdied three, four and 11 to move to within one shot of the lead alongside three other players.

Another birdie followed on 17, but by that stage Hedwall and Metraux had moved two shots clear, eventually finishing with rounds of 67 and 69 respectively.

Maguire had to settle for par at the last with Linn Grant of Sweden finishing third on 17 under.

The Cavan star, ranked 11th in the world, finished in the top 10 for the third event in a row as she ended the season in fine form after carding a 69 and finishing on 16 under.