Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MAGUIRE ON SONG
Cavan starlet continues rich vein of form with record high finish on Tour and game ‘trending in right direction’
Really happy with the week. I think it’s my best on the LPGA so far. Everything is trending in the right direction - LEONA MAGUIRE
IRELAND’S Leona Maguire carded a superb final round of 67 to finish tied for second at the Lotte Championship in Hawaii.
The Cavan ace has been in a rich vein of form of late and recorded her highest placing in the LPGA Tour in Kapolei.
Finishing at 21 under par for the tournament, Maguire and three others finished second well behind New Zealand’s Lydia
Ko - who recorded a blistering
28 under par to earn her first win in three years.
Maguire enjoyed a strong final round, carding four birdies, an eagle and just one bogey on her way to the five under par round to take home a record cheque of $125,000. She is now 10th in the Race to CME Globe Tour Championships - the Race to Dubai equivalent for the LPGA.
“Enjoyed every minute of my first trip to Hawaii. My best finish so far on the LPGA Tour - T2! Thank you everyone for the support, especially those who stayed up all night to watch,” she stated after the event.
“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. 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.
“I’m proud of the way I finished strong.”
And speaking after her first victory since 2018, Ko (inset) was delighted to be back in the winner’s circle.
“When you’re in that position [to win] and it doesn’t happen, you do doubt. If I said, no, I didn’t doubt myself at all, that would be a lie,” Ko, 23, told Golf Channel after her victory.
“Hand on my heart, there were times when I wondered, ‘Hey, I don’t know if I’m ever going to be back in the winner’s circle.’
“To be back in this kind of position is obviously super cool.”
Antrim’s Stephanie Meadow finished at eight under (tied for 57th) and won r
$5,276.
SHANE LOWRY shot a magnificent final round of five under par at the RBC Heritage in South Carolina, USA yesterday to move inside the top 10.
The Offaly ace was in a share of ninth place in the clubhouse, nine shots behind runaway leader Stewart Cink at the PGA Tour event.