Leona Maguire wins British Amateur, earns invites to U.S., British Opens

Leona Maguire continues her inexorable march toward a pro golf career with her Ladies British Open Amateur victory.

Leona Maguire is continuing her steady march through the amateur ranks. Her 3 and 2 match play victory over Spain’s Ainhoa Olarra at the prestigious 114th Ladies’ British Open Amateur Championship got the Duke Blue Devil rising senior’s tickets to both the U.S. Women’s Open and the Ricoh Women’s British Open punched.

If you’ve not had an opportunity to see Leona Maguire in action, take the time to enjoy these highlights from the Ladies British Open Amateur Championship final round. Maguire brings new meaning to the blending of athletic talent with plain old hard work.

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The girl from Cavan, Ireland has been having quite a spring. She led the Blue Devils to their 20th ACC Women’s Championship in April at The Reserve Golf Club of Pawleys Island, South Carolina where she was medalist for the second time in three years.

Maguire also collected her second ANNIKA award this spring, an annual recognition voted on by players, coaches, and the media of the best among women collegiate golfers. She received her first ANNIKA award after a breakout freshman year at Duke. (Alison Lee, then at UCLA, now playing on the LPGA Tour, was the inaugural recipient of the award and Bronte Law, also a Bruins player who has joined the LPGA Tour, received the award in 2016.)

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It was a well-deserved recognition of her excellence. Maguire ended her 2016-17 collegiate season with an overall 70.29 scoring average, the lowest in women’s collegiate golf since Lorena Ochoa’s 2001-02, record-setting 70.13. It was a stunning season for Maguire, with three wins, two runner-ups, and three thirds for the woman who was also honored by the 2017 Women’s Golf Coaches Association National Player of the Year award.

After reaching the final stage of LPGA Q-School last December, Maguire apparently rethought her career track, withdrew from the competition and returned to Duke to complete her junior year. She’s certainly tied it up with a very nice bow. Now we’ll see what the No. 1 in the Women’s Amateur Golf Rankings does when she tees it up at Trump National in July and Kingsbarns in August. Will it be back to Duke for her senior year or will Maguire respond to the sirens’ call?

Next: LPGA Rookie Race: Park v Yin v Korda

2017 will be Leona Maguire’s second start at both the U.S. Women’s Open and the Ricoh Women’s British Open. She missed the cut at CordeValle but played the weekend at Woburn, so we should be looking for, perhaps, a front page finish this year.

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