Majors top of the agenda for Leona Maguire in 2022
Davy-sponsored Leona Maguire at the Slieve Russell Hotel & Country Club. Credit ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
Leona Maguire has put her granny's Christmas pudding at the top of her wish list, but she admits she is hungry for more success in 2022, especially in the majors.
The Ballyconnell star (27) enjoyed a sensational 2021 on the LPGA Tour, taking her career earnings beyond $1 million as she racked up five top 10 finishes, shot 61 in a Major and then starred for Europe as a rookie in an unforgettable Solheim Cup win in Ohio.
She soared to a career-high of 42nd in the world — a rise of 135 places over the last 12 months — but while she insists she's paying no attention to anyone's expectations except her own, her Solheim Cup performance made her a world star.
"It's hard to compare to a normal event, but at the same time, I suppose you try and take confidence in it, knowing that at those big moments when I needed to hole those putts, I pulled those shots off that I did," she said. "So that's something I can take with me into other events."
There's no bigger event in the women's game than the US Women's Open and Maguire will be hotly fancied to contend at Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club just an hour from Duke University, where she spent four years and shot to fame as world amateur No 1.
| 2020 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|
| Events | 14 | 20 |
| Cuts made | 11 | 15 |
| Top 10s | 1 | 5 |
| Wins | 0 | 0 |
| Top 25s | 5 (35.71%) | 11 (55%) |
| Low round | 67 | 61 |
| Driving average | 242.77 (128th) | 255.42 (85th) |
| Driving accuracy | 81.30% (12th) | 77.62% (33rd) |
| Greens in reg. | 60.55% (127th) | 74.13% (23rd) |
| Scrambling | 64.12% (5th) | 61.52% (16th) |
| Putts per round | 28.69 (1st) | 29.60 (21st) |
| 3-putts per round | 0.42 (141st) | 0.53 (137th) |
| Scoring average | 71.750 (50th) | 69.985 (13th) |
| Under par | 15.63% (93rd) | 22.06% (19th) |
| Par 3s | 3.09 (93rd) | 2.97 (11th) |
| Par 4s | 4.09 (46th) | 4.02 (28th) |
| Par 5s | 4.74 (34th) | 4.53 (3rd) |
| Money | $180,387 (65th) | $885,141 (19th) |
| POY Points (top 10s) | 7 pts (53rd) | 41 pts (23rd) |
| Major Points | 0 | 10 pts (26th) |
| CME Points | 58th | 17th |
| Consecutive fairways streak | 39 (13th) | 31 (20th) |
| Consecutive greens | 10 (137th) | 18 (80th) |
| Consecutive sand saves | 9 (4th) | 6 (26th) |
| 3-putts avoidance | 134 holes (22nd) | 114 holes (60th) |
| Consecutive rounds in 60s | 3 (25th) | 5 (18th) |
"I've missed out on the US Open by one spot the last two years, and I wanted to make sure I qualified for Pine Needles," said Leona, who finished 17th in the LPGA points list this year to secure her place in all five women's majors next year. "North Carolina has a special place in my heart, so it will be nice to go back and play there."
US Solheim Cup Captain Pat Hurst insisted at Inverness that the Irish sensation is "the one we're going to have to fear for a long time", and nobody wants to succeed more than the Cavan star, who is still waiting for her first LPGA win.
"People's expectations? I mean, people have expected things from me for the last 15 years, so there's really nothing I can do about that," she said, preferring to focus on preparation rather than outcomes. "They can expect whatever they want. Ultimately it's me putting in the time and the effort, so the only one that gets to demand anything of me is me."
Hurst said Maguire's record-setting rookie performance in the Solheim Cup, where she won four and a half points out of five, would "elevate her game that much more."
Maguire is determined to build on that success, but as for her career goal of becoming world No 1, she knows she has work to do with Nelly Korda winning five times, including a Major and Olympic gold, just to hold off Jin Young Ko for top spot, it won’t happen overnight.
"Rankings are never something I've focussed very much on in my career," said Leona, who was world amateur No 1 for a record 135 weeks. "I think that's something that adds up over time."
As for her goals for 2022, she's hungry for a repeat of 2021.
"Yeah, more of the same," she said. "I'd like to be in contention in the majors, I got my first top 10 in a major this year in the Evian and would like to be in contention at the others a bit more and obviously put myself in contention to win, but whenever that happens, that happens.
"Just keep that consistency as well, I think. It was a really, really consistent year, and that's something I've always done throughout my career. So the goal is to keep giving myself as many opportunities as possible to be in contention and see where that takes me."
Right now, she's recharging after being drained by the Solheim Cup.
"You don't really have time to think about how tired you are," she said of that week in Toledo and the homecoming in Ballyconnell when she rode in an open-topped car with her granny, Kathleen Maguire (95).
"And with everything else that came along after that, it was a rollercoaster of a few weeks. It definitely did take a lot out of me.
"Absolutely, the Solheim Cup was the highlight; it is probably the highlight of my career so far, I would say."
Granny Kathleen has been hard at it since the Solheim Cup too.
"Granny makes Christmas cakes and Christmas puddings for every one of Dad's family," said Leona, who hopes to get home for three weeks at Christmas.
"She starts them in September, so she's well on her way at this stage. She's 95 years old, it's her birthday on New Year's Day as well, so I'm sure we'll have a bit of a party for that, all going well."
