Leona Maguire of Ireland plays a tee shot on the 11th hole during the third round of the LPGA LOTTE Championship at Kapolei Golf Club on April 16, 2021 in Kapolei, Hawaii.

Leona Maguire was "proud" to finish strongly and clinch a career-best runner-up finish behind Lydia Ko in the LPGA's LOTTE Championship in Hawaii.

The Co Cavan star (26) never threatened to become the first Irish woman to win on the LPGA Tour as former world No 1 Ko (23) knocked in five birdies in six holes around the turn and emphatically ended a three-year victory drought by closing with a seven-under 65 to win by seven strokes with a tournament-record 28-under par total.

But it looks like only a matter of time before the pride of Ballyconnell enters the winner's circle and she must now be considered hugely fancied to secure a spot on Catriona Matthews’ European Solheim Cup team to do battle with the USA at Inverness Cub in Ohio from September 4-6.

Driving the ball beautifully (she didn't miss a fairway on the final day), she shot a final round 67 and tied for second on 21-under with Nelly Korda and major winners Sei Young Kim and Inbee Park at Kapolei Golf Club on Oahu.

It was her best finish on the LPGA Tour and the joint best performance by an Irishwomen on a professional tour, equalling her own playoff defeat to Beth Allen in the Ladies European Tour's 2015 European Masters as an amateur, as well as two runner-up finishes by Maureen Madill in 1989 and 1990.

"I've been calling home and calling my coach and saying, it's close, it's close," said Leona, who will return to Cavan after a gruelling 12 week stretch following next week's HUGEL-AIR PREMIA LA Open in Los Angeles. "So it really is close now. I played really nice this week. Drove the ball really well. Today was probably the best all week today. Irons were solid all week. Putted nicely. Not the best I've ever putted, but nicely.

💪@leona_maguire leaves herself a short eagle putt to take a share of second place

Watch the @LPGALOTTE now on @GolfChannel! pic.twitter.com/DdhcrN9O67
— LPGA (@LPGA) April 18, 2021

"Everything is trending very nicely in the right direction. I knew Lydia was going to go low today, and I was going to have to do something very special to try and catch her. Proud of the way I finished strong."

She picked up a cheque for $125,834 (€105,000) and jumped 12 places to 10th in the LPGA's Race to CME Globe Points List and second in the Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year standings behind ANA Inspiration winner Patty Tavatanakit.

While she's now made $226,542 this season following her second top-10 in five starts, the world No 116 looks set to break into the top 100 in the Rolex Women's World Rankings for the first time next week and move into contention for a Solheim Cup place.

The top two points winners from the Ladies European Tour and the top four from the Rolex Women's World Rankings will be joined by six wildcards from skipper Catriona Matthew.

Maguire's rise to fame on the LPGA Tour is not unexpected, given her stellar trajectory as an amateur.

She broke Ko's record for weeks spent at the top of the World Amateur Golf Rankings, spending 135 weeks at No 1 to Ko's 130 before winning twice on the second-tier Symetra Tour to secure her LPGA Tour card at the end of 2019.

Still technically a rookie, she has added more length to her arsenal over the past six months and honed her putting and her iron game to emerge as a serious contender for LPGA Tour wins

Lydia Ko with the winner’s trophy. Picture Getty Images

She entered the final round alone in fourth, five shots behind Ko. But while she birdied three of her first six holes to close the gap to three, she stalled with seven successive pars and watched New Zealander Ko follow a two-under front nine with a homeward 31 to win with ease and emerge from three years on the doldrums.

Maguire birdied the 14th, but while she three-putted the 15th for what was just her second bogey of the week, she eagled the 17th with a stunning approach to two feet, then got up and down for par at the last after almost tugging her second into a hazard.

"I got off to a nice start again. It was 3-under through six and, just trying to get as many birdies as I can," she said afterwards. "I kept giving myself a lot of chances 9, 10, 11; just didn't get those putts to drop. But I just played really solid all day. Hit my irons nice. Played smart. Didn't hit a great shot into 15 and three-putted that one. Had a really nice up and down on 16.

"Probably hit the best shot of the week on 17 to make that eagle which kind of made up for it. Got a little bit lucky on 18. Didn't hit my best shot into 18.

"Yeah, really happy with the week. I think it's my best on the LPGA so far, so my first trip to Hawaii was a very productive one, I would say."

She's now looking to go one better on her first visit to Wilshire Country Club for this week's HUGEL-AIR PREMIA LA Open, where she is joined by Stephanie Meadow, who finished tied 57th on eight-under in Hawaii.

"Yeah, absolutely. Try and carry forward this momentum," Leona said. "Obviously, it's a quick turnaround being a Wednesday start again. I don't know the new golf course, somewhere we haven't been before.

"I'm looking forward to that challenge, then I get to home. That will be week 12 of 12 on the road. So hopefully, I can finish off this stretch on a positive note."

While Ko could thank Northern Irishman David Jones for helping her to get over the line for the first time since 2018, Maguire has formed a strong partnership with Scottish bagman Gary Marshall.

"I felt really comfortable all week," she said. "I think Gary had the course really well planned out. Went out in the mornings and had a look. We made a lot of smart choices, played away from the pins we needed to play away from; went straight at them when we could. Overall we tried to leave it as fairly stress tree as we could this week, which was nice."

As for Ko, she was thrilled.

"When it doesn't happen you do doubt," Ko said. "If I said I didn't doubt myself at all it would be a lie. I wondered if I'd ever be back in the winner’s circle, but obviously I'm grateful for all that's happened in my career so far. It's been a fun week in Hawaii and to be back in this position is obviously super cool."