Leona Maguire: “Those are memories you never forget"

Leona Maguire chips in to win her Friday afternoon fourball at Finca Cortesín

Leona Maguire was proud of Europe’s fourball fightback to keep their Solheim Cup hat-trick hopes alive at Finca Cortesin.

The Co Cavan star did not think that Europe deserved to be trailing 4-0 after the morning foursomes but after chipping in at the last alongside Georgia Hall to beat Lexi Thomson and Lilia Vu 1 up, she reckons there’s a lot more to come from Suzann Petterson’s charges.

“Those are memories you never forget,” she said of her birdie chip. “You practice for these moments and it's nice to get a full point on the board. I think me and Georgia were a great team today.

“Yeah, I mean, it came up a little bit short (in three on the 18th). My third shot spun back. But it was a really nice chip.  “Chipping off this Bermuda is quite tricky. I just wanted to get it close to give Georgia a chance to have a go at the putt, but nice to go one better.”

As for the foursomes, where she was partnered by an out-of-sorts Anna Nordqvist and lost one up to Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz, she felt Europe did not do themselves justice on the scoreboard.

“I don't think we did an awful lot wrong this morning,” she said. “It was just to go out and fight in the afternoon and show what we're capable of.  

“Just really proud of the entire team for fighting. Get a quick turnaround tonight, get some sleep, some good food, and we'll be ready to go in the morning.”

She added: “I think both teams are playing incredibly well. It was really tough with the wind. I don't think I ever hit as many 3-woods in my life.  

“But every half point, every point, is really hard-earned and just really proud of the whole team for fighting back this afternoon.”

Skipper Pettersen paid tribute to her troops, adding: “I'm really proud of the way the entire team fought back in the afternoon. It's not easy to stand on that tee in the afternoon knowing you're down four after the first session.  “So I got to say, hat's off to all my players, the way they fought and the way they showed their character on this Friday afternoon. I think the level of golf that was played in the afternoon was unbelievable.

“I mean, you get knocked down, you stand up, and you try it again, and that's kind of what I told the girls and they did.”

“We're not even halfway there and we're right in it. So it was great momentum this afternoon. We kept the energy on the course. We kept the energy in the crowd.  

“I feel like we did a lot of good stuff in the afternoon that we will have to try and feed off in the morning.”

As for Maguire’s performance, especially on the last, she said: “I’ve got to say, the level of golf that was played this afternoon was unbelievable.  

“It's a very tough golf course with the conditions we had today. I mean, you guys could see it for yourself. Putting is not the easiest thing on these greens with the wind and the pressure.

“To finish off the way Leona did, she's made for that, so to say. She turned around to me and said, ‘How would you have done it?’ And I said, ‘Just the same’. So…”