Leona Maguire again aiming to challenge the best at the Women's Open
OPEN CHALLENGE: Leona Maguire tees off on day two of the 2023 Aramco Team Series at the Centurion Club, Hertfordshire.
Leona Maguire is predicting a wide open race to claim the 2023 AIG Women’s Open crown this week but the Irishwoman is also confident she can put her PGA Championship near-miss earlier this summer to positive use at Walton Heath.
The world number 13, an LPGA Tour winner in 2023 for the second season in succession, secured her best finish in a major when she finished in a tie for fourth at last year’s AIG Women’s Open at Muirfield and she gave herself an excellent chance of improving on that record when she lead the KPMG PGA Championship going into the final round at Baltusrol, New Jersey two months ago.
Yet Maguire closed with a disappointing 74 and finished 11th, four strokes behind champion Ruoning Yin of China.
This week in Surrey the 28-year-old will also face a challenge from in-form Frenchwoman Celine Boutier, who followed up her US Open win at Pebble Beach with victory in her next start at last weekend’s Scottish Open.
But the Cavan golfer is expecting plenty of competition for top spot in this week’s major.
“Celine is probably playing the best golf of anybody in the world right now, which is great to see. It's obviously a big boost ahead of the Solheim Cup but yeah, I think that's the great thing with the LPGA right now, there's so many girls,” Maguire said yesterday.
“There's 10, 20 girls that have a chance to win this week that on any given day, anybody can beat anybody and I suppose it's one of those things.
"The favourites are always going to be the favourites. Jin Young, Lydia (Ko), I mean, Georgia (Hall), Charley (Hull) at home obviously, and Ash, (Ashleigh Buhai) I'm sure, will be looking to defend as well. There's any number of girls that you can pick out this week.”
Reflecting on her near miss at Baltusrol, which had followed her Meijer LPGA Classic win in June, Maguire said: “I think at Baltusrol, I put three really good rounds together. I think I had had seven rounds in the 60s or something leading into that day.
“So yeah, I was probably playing really nice golf. I think the wind the week before took a lot out of me. I was quite drained come Sunday and just didn't have enough in the tank to get over the line.
“Knowing I could put myself in contention, it was obviously a new learning experience, to be in that situation in the lead last group Saturday and the lead last group Sunday and sort of the emotions and everything that went along with that.
“I'd like to think that if I get myself in that position again, I'll approach it a little differently and I'll have learned from that experience.”
Teeing it up alongside and Maguire and compatriot Stephanie Meadow in today’s opening round will be Irish qualifier Anna Foster, the Elm Park amateur who had been slated to play for Ireland in this week’s Home Internationals rather than competing with the cream of the LPGA Tour.
Maguire had some encouraging words for Foster on the eve of her major championship debut and referenced Lahinch amateur Aine Donegan’s impressive US Open showing last month when she played all 72 holes at the famous California links.
“I haven't met Anna but great achievement for her to qualify, to come through the qualifier. I mean, I'm sure she was watching Aine at the US Open and trying to emulate what she did at Pebble.
“I was fortunate to play in the British Open a few times as an amateur, and it's obviously a big experience and she'll sort of hopefully take it all in and not put too much pressure on herself.
“I would say and try to enjoy it as much as she can, and hopefully she's got quite a few more of these ahead of her.”
Anna Nordqvist (Swe), Jinyoung Ko (Kor), Leona Maguire
Eun Hee Ji (Kor), Grace Kim (Aus), Stephanie Meadow
Lindy Duncan (USA), Celine Herbin (Fra), Anna Foster – am
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