Georgia Hall: 'Leona's got the game to be a major champion'
Leona Maguire during the Pro AM before the KPMG Women’s Irish Open at Carton House
Former British Open champion Georgia Hall has backed Solheim Cup playing partner Leona Maguire to join her as a major winner in the not too distant future but both will be focusing on securing victory at the KPMG Women’s Irish Open this weekend.
The third edition of the tournament since its renewal on the Ladies European Tour schedule in 2022 gets underway on Thursday with the action moving to Carton House in Co. Kildare following two successful stagings at Dromoland Castle in Co. Clare.
Defending champion Anne van Dam of the Netherlands gets her title defence up and running on the O’Meara course at 13:36 but it is Ireland’s Maguire, teeing off in the following group 12 minutes later who will be the centre of attention on home soil, 15 years after making her tournament debut as a teenage amateur at Portmarnock Links.
Hall, 28, has known the former world amateur number one from Cavan almost as long and the pair have been effective fourball partners for Europe in the Solheim Cup, though Maguire, a year her senior, is yet to emulate her friend’s feat in winning the 2018 British Open at Royal Lytham.
The Englishwoman believes that is only a matter of time, however.
“I think Leona’s definitely got the game to become a major champion, for sure,” Hall said. “Definitely her mentality is second to none and I think she’s one of the strongest players, mentally, out there.
“I played with her in the first two rounds of the Olympics, I’ve played with her quite a bit this year and … her short game is fantastic, one of the best chippers of the ball I’ve seen and it wouldn’t surprise if she won a major in the next few years.
“Golf is a bit up and down in general for all of us and I think if she has her week then there’s no reason why she can’t win, especially a major in Europe. I think it’s probably more suited for her.” Hall has seen her rival’s mental strength up close as a playing partner and with both players automatically qualifying for this year’s Solheim Cup against the USA in Virginia in two weeks, she said of Maguire: “She’s definitely the most feisty player we have on the team, for sure. She wins a lot of her matches just by her mentality, I think she’s got a 75 per cent record in all her matches.
“I’ve played with her twice in both her Solheims, in fourballs, and we’re unbeaten, me and her. So I think our games go together quite well in that format and obviously it’s great to be her partner in that.
“It’s hard to get a word out of her, really. We’ve gone to dinner a few times together and I’ve known her since I was 12 or 13 years old and we’ve had similar careers. She’s very, very intense and very serious but that’s what you have to be when you’re out there and I wouldn’t want to be against her in matchplay.” Six weeks on from her maiden LET victory at the Aramco Series in London, LPGA Tour winner Maguire will be desperate to land her national open this weekend. She is coming in on the back of a season she described on Tuesday as “a bit mixed”, with a second-place finish in Las Vegas also on her resume in 2024. Last week’s AIG Women’s (British) Open at St Andrews was perhaps a microcosm of her campaign, with a tie for 37th her final position at the Home of Golf. Yet she is optimistic a breakthrough is imminent and a victory on home soil this Sunday would transform her year into a great one.
“I've been working on a few things, some of it has worked and some of it hasn't, that's the nature of golf.
"Obviously the second place in Vegas, I felt like I played really great golf and ran into Nelly (Korda) at the wrong time and then obviously the highlight was the win in London.
"But yeah, I felt like I played some really good golf last week in St Andrews, I just didn't quite finish it off on Sunday, but I feel like my game is in good shape and I'm just trying to put all the pieces together.
"The pieces are all there, I'm just trying to get them to click all at once. So, you never know, this might be the week.” Maguire will be delighted to know she will not be grabbing all the intention with local Kildare pro Lauren Walsh recently becoming Carton House’s touring professional in an impressive rookie season on the LET. One of 12 Irishwomen in the field, Walsh, 23, has four top-10 finishes on tour this year and is currently 14th on the Order of Merit and third in the Rookie of the Year standings.
She feels the stars are aligning as she returns to familiar ground on the O’Meara course.
"It has been a very exciting three weeks,” Walsh said. “I was delighted with my form earlier in the year, it got me into the Scottish and the AIG last week, so it was a great run up to this event at home.
“I have had great support the last two weeks and more to come this week even closer to home, so very excited. Mam, dad, my siblings, my grandparents, I've got aunts, uncles, cousins coming out, a bunch of people from my golf clubs who have supported me for many, many years.
"I have some old teachers coming out, some of my neighbours, honestly the whole of Kildare will be out watching so yeah, it's exciting.”
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