Leona Maguire looks to maintain major momentum in California
FORT MYERS, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 05: Leona Maguire of Ireland lines up a putt on the 1st green during the final round of the LPGA Drive On Championship at Crown Colony Golf & Country Club on February 05, 2022 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
LEONA Maguire insists it was her Solheim Cup performance and not her maiden LPGA Tour win that catapulted her game to a new level as she counts down to next week's opening major of the season in this week's JTBC Classic presented by Barbasol in California.
The world number 18 is looking to build on the momentum she gained by following her breakthrough win in the LPGA Drive On Championship with tied 12th and tied 13th finishes on the recent Asian Swing in Singapore and Thailand with another big week at Aviara Golf Club in Carlsbad.
"It definitely gives you confidence knowing that you can compete, that you're good enough to win. I think for me, the biggest switch was after Solheim," said the Co Cavan star, who was unbeaten as a rookie in Europe's win over the US last September and next week will seek her first major win in the Chevron Championship at Mission Hills Country Club.
"I don't feel like this win has added that much more. I felt like I earned a lot of the respect of my peers after Solheim."
Maguire recorded five top-five finishes in 2021, including two runner-up performances before winning in Fort Myers on February 5 to become the first Irish player to win on the LPGA Tour and she's kept that momentum going.
"Was it the best I have ever played? I probably played some better golf last year at points," she admitted.
"Just it all clicked together, and it's one of those things you just never know when it's going to be your week. Just need to hole a few putts at the right time, and felt like I did that in Florida.
"It was a very sort of clinical performance. I mean, if anything, I felt like I played better in Thailand. It was weird. Tee-to-green I played better in Thailand; I just didn't putt as well as I did in Florida, and that's golf."
The Ballyconnell battler tops the LPGA putting statistics this year with 27.8 putts per round and ranks 14th in strokes gained putting per round.
She also ranks fourth in putts per greens in regulation, but while the focus for many is on the opening major next week, she's fully focussed on getting her second win this week and improving on the greens, even after the upset of having her luggage briefly go missing on her arrival.
"This week is all about this week, trying to play as well as I can this week, and when Sunday night comes, we'll switch our attention to Chevron," said Maguire. "Right now, 100 pc of the focus has to be on this week and whatever it takes to putt well and score well around here.
"Bags went missing yesterday, so got my first look today. Played 18 today. Got a little match and Stef Meadow and Madelene Sagstrom, so that was fun.
"It's a good golf course. You have to pick your shots, keep it on the fairways, hit into the right spots on the greens. The greens aren't incredibly fast, but they're sneaky fast above the pins.
"I think staying in the right spot is going to be key this week. Never been a big fan of poa greens, so that's going to be a challenge for me this week to sort of be patient and trusting my lines. So that's going to be the big thing this week."
She said she suffered from "pretty tough jet lag" on her return from Asia to her Orlando base to work hard on all aspects of her game with coach Shane O'Grady.
But she also knows her future success depends on her never resting on her laurels.
"There are a lot of great golfers on the LPGA," she said. "Felt like I played some really great golf in 2021 and got beaten by Lydia (Ko) in Hawaii, who just played some incredible golf and Nelly (Korda) at Meijer.
"You kind of wonder what have to do. I shot 61 at Evian; that wasn't good enough. You just never know when it's going to be your week, and you have to be incredibly patient."
She said her goal this year is "to try to be in contention as much as possible."
"You get a taste, and you want to be back there, so just giving myself as many opportunities as possible," she explained. |And that was the thing even with the win. If I hadn't won in Florida that week, I was proud to keep putting myself in contention, keep knocking on the door, keep giving myself chances, and the win doesn't change that.
"The mentality is still the same for the rest of the year. We've got this week and the major coming up next week, so try to be in contention in as many majors as possible."
While some big names are taking this week off before the opening major of the year, Maguire feels she plays better in majors if she goes in with momentum.
"I've kind of figured out that multiple weeks off are not that good for me," she said. "I enjoy practising, but I enjoy competing more, and it keeps my game sharp, so, yeah, I'm not planning on skipping any events this side of US Open.
"We'll see as the year progresses, but, no, I like to play my way into form. I plan on playing ahead of all the majors this year.
"It's nice now, I guess not being a rookie anymore coming back to golf courses where this week I know what the golf course looks like. You're not figuring out as much. You can get into it pretty quickly."
She hopes this week's warm-up in California can only help her in the Chevron Championship.
