Leona Maguire has targeted putting four solid rounds together as she chases Major glory in the ANA Inspiration at Mission Hills.

After finishing in the top 20 in two of her first three starts this term, she has high hopes of pushing the big guns in California but knows from last year’s Majors that she must produce on all four days.

“Majors are different to a regular week, typically the courses are longer, and greens get a little firmer and faster as the weekend goes on,” said Maguire, who tees off with Caroline Masson and Gerina Piller (21:17 Irish time.)

Leaderboard

“I played in three Majors last year but I was really happy with the ANA where I had played as an amateur in 2016 but didn't really get a handle on the golf course. I had a really good weekend there and moved myself nicely up the leaderboard.

“I had a great start in the KPMG and a great finish in the ANA so if I can string four rounds together, I will be laughing.”

Driving distance is not her forte but after getting her swing speed close to 100 mph over the past year, she’s now got the power to reach more par-fives in two.

Given her improved putting, she’s got what it takes to challenge at Mission Hills, where she recoverer from a 73-72 start with weekend rounds of 68 and 69 to tie for 18th on six-under, nine shots behind champion Mirim Lee.

The key was learning to hit the shots she could hit when she played the ANA as an amateur and after adding a little length over the past year, she’s got an outside chance of contending.

“I hit a bit of a draw back in 2016 and some of the tee shots just didn't suit that at all and it was it was nice to go back and to be able to know I had a handle on those holes,” she said of last year’s top-20 finish.

“There’s a few holes there near the end where it's definitely beneficial to play it a little bit left to right, which is something I’d worked on with my coach Shane O’Grady, who had caddied for me the last time we were there.

“He knew exactly the shots I needed at the time but I couldn't hit it. So last year, without being conscious of it, I was able to go back and hit it and having my five-hybrid and the nine wood was definitely beneficial to me on some of those longer par threes.”

Now one of the best putters on the LPGA Tour, Maguire was also tactically more astute last year having learned in Majors to play away from tight pins.

“That's where the work with the putting has helped,” she said. “I accepted that a bit like Jordan Spieth at times, I had to hit to 20 feet if pins were very tight and give myself more of a chance to make birdie from there.”

She’s joined at Mission Hills by Stephanie Meadow (29), who plays alongside Japan’s Haru Nomura and Australia’s Su Oh (15:32 Irish time) looking to improve on her tied 20th finish in 2015.

JIN YOUNG KO BACK AT ANA INSPIRATION WITH NEW ARTILLERY IN BAG 
She won the ANA Inspiration in 2019, but Rolex Rankings No. 1 Jin Young Ko was not able to defend her title last year because of the coronavirus. Instead, she was a fan, watching from home in her native Republic of Korea and reminiscing on her jump into Poppie’s Pond. 

“I couldn’t play last year and it was sad because I missed [it as the] defending champion, but I am happy to be back and looking forward to the next four days,” said Ko, a two-time major champion. “I want to jump in [Poppie’s Pond] again someday. I can see that Mirim is on the picture behind the first tee so [I know] I’m not defending, she is.”

Ko made her season debut in February at the Gainbridge LPGA with a fourth-place finish then missed the cut at Golden Ocala for the LPGA Drive On Championship presented by Volvik, her first time not playing the weekend since the 2018 AIG Women’s Open. 

When she started the Kia Classic a little slower than her expectations would have liked (1-under par in the first round), she decided to shake things up. Ko took the Callaway Epic driver out of the bag and in went the Titleist TSi3.

“I changed driver last week after the first round,” Ko said. “I went to the Titleist [Performance Institute] centre [in Oceanside] and tried a couple of drivers, picked a really good one. I used that next three days and hit really good last week. I had good practice [with it] last three days at Mission Hills [Country Club], so can’t wait for tomorrow and all four days.” 

Thursday, Ko will play her first competitive round on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course since she raised the Dinah Shore Trophy in 2019. She heads off the No. 1 tee at 12:33 p.m. PT with Stacy Lewis and last week’s LPGA Tour winner Inbee Park.  

ROLEX RANKINGS NO. 1 ON (UPDATED) LIST OF GOALS FOR INBEE PARK 
Inbee Park has spent 106 weeks as the Rolex Rankings No. 1 in her pro career but has not held the top position since July 29, 2018. Following her win on Sunday at the Kia Classic, she’s knocking on the doorstep.

It’s an easy add to her list of goals, especially since it aligns with her primary objective: representing the Republic of Korea at the Tokyo Olympic Games in August.

“I really haven’t thought about being No. 1, but to qualify for the Olympics, being No. 1 definitely helps a lot,” said Park, who moved up two spots to No. 2 after stepping into the winner’s circle for the 21st time in her LPGA Tour career three days ago. “I guess that would be a big yes [to focusing on it more].”

A seven-time major championship winner, most recently at the 2015 AIG Women’s Open, Park owns 11 top-10 finishes across her last 20 major championship starts since that victory. Beyond the Rolex Rankings and the Olympics, there are other grand ambitions for the LPGA Hall of Fame member, starting this week in Rancho Mirage, Calif., with golf’s first major in 2021.

“Playing good in majors is a big focus of my season,” Park said. “I haven’t won a major in a while, so hopefully this year could be the one. I have come close a few times, but my putting wasn’t exactly there. That is part of the game I am really trying to improve a little bit. I’m trying to get back to where I was, in 2013-2015, that area. I think that is something that I have been missing.”

Park begins her quest for a second consecutive win off the first tee at 12:33 p.m. PT. She will be joined by Jin Young Ko, the current Rolex Rankings No. 1, and Stacy Lewis, another former World No. 1.  

THOUGHT OF ANA INSPIRATION WIN LEAVES DANIELLE KANG SPEECHLESS  
The list of past ANA Inspiration champions is legendary — Mickey Wright, Judy Rankin, Kathy Whitworth, Nancy Lopez, Annika Sorenstam, Lorena Ochoa, Dottie Pepper, Karrie Webb, to name a few. It’s just one reason why Danielle Kang and the rest of the 119-player field greatly respect this major championship and the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club, nestled in the Coachella Valley between the San Jacinto Mountains.

“This is like our Masters, right? There is so much history here. I know that sometimes people talk about Augusta being Augusta, but for us Dinah Shore is Dinah Shore,” said Kang, the 2017 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship winner. “It’s the history that makes the golf tournament. All the great players, all the great women that played here before us have left the tradition for us. To be part of that is pretty amazing.” 

Kang flashed a great desire to etch her name into ANA Inspiration lore when she spoke with media on Wednesday, giving insight into a conversation she recently had with the great Inbee Park.

“I don’t think many people know she’s literally like my older sister, my adopted mom. I joke around that I’m an adopted child of her and her husband,” Kang said with a laugh. “She actually asked me earlier this year, ‘What major do you want to win?’ And I told her that I want to win the ANA Inspiration. She goes, ‘You do that. You need to win that one. It is something you should win because it’s pretty amazing.’ 

“What it would mean to me is just, I don’t know. I can’t really put it into words. I could imagine. There is always an imagination of what my goals and achievements [would feel like]. When that day comes, I’ll let you know.” 

Kang opens play Thursday at 12:44 p.m. PT off the No. 1 tee alongside 2020 U.S. Women’s Open champion A Lim Kim and Jennifer Kupcho.