LEONA MAGUIRE FELL just short in Spain at the season-ending event on the Ladies European Tour, finishing two shots off the winner and in fourth place after a big final day challenge.
The Cavan star capped a brilliant season with a four-under round of 69 at the Andalucia Open de Espana., to sign off on 16-under overall and secure another top-five finish.
Caroline Hedwall of Sweden and Switzerland’s Morgane Metraux ended up tied at the top, and now head for a play-off.
The @Openfemenino is going to a play-off.
— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) November 27, 2022
Caroline Hedwall & Morgane Metraux finish tied at the top on -18 & will be heading back to the 18th tee shortly.#RaiseOurGame | #OpenDeEspaña pic.twitter.com/o81zodk5Ba
It was a super effort from Maguire, but ultimately another near miss after she finished in second place at the CME Group Tour Championship in Florida last week.
The 27-year-old started the final day two shots off the lead, and in a three-way tie for second place. She shot back-to-back birdies on the third and fourth, before another on the 11th brought her within one shot; on 15-under and in a group of three in second place.
A string of pars was followed by another birdie on the 17th, Maguire two shots behind at that point with Hedwall and Metraux finishing strong. She failed to capitalise on the 18th, though, clocking off with another par.
Hedwall’s fellow Swede, Linn Grant, finished third.
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Elsewhere, Holywood teenager Tom McKibbin shot a final round of 66, five-under par, to finish on nine-under overall in a tie for 18th at the Joburg Open in South Africa.
The round was McKibbin’s best of the week after he opened with rounds of 68 and 67 to make the cut before a disappointing 74 yesterday.
McKibbin began today’s round in impressive fashion with birdies in his first three holes before setbacks with three dropped shots in the space of two holes at the end of his front nine.
Yet McKibbin’s fortunes turned with a superb back nine, four birdies on the bounce between the 11th and 14th holes, while another arrived on the par-four 17th to see him finish on five-under for the day.
English golfer Dan Bradbury won the tournament, the first of the 2023 DP World Tour schedule, on 21-under.
The tournament at Houghton GC in Johannesburg was McKibbin’s first tournament as a full card holder on the DP World Tour. He has the distinction of being the youngster Irish golfer to earn his card since Rory McIlroy in 2007, a prize achieved by his tenth place finish on the Challenge Tour rankings.
World number three and reigning British Open champion Cameron Smith overcame a final round challenge and electrical storms to win the Australian PGA Championships for a third time on Sunday by three strokes.
The 29-year-old was back on home soil after three Covid-impacted years away, with his presence helping draw the biggest galleries to the Royal Queensland Golf Club in Brisbane since the 1980s.
He didn’t disappoint the fans, firing a final round 68 to end on 14-under 270, seeing off the challenge of Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune (65) and Australian Jason Scrivener (67) who both tied for second at the DP World Tour-sanctioned event.
- Additional reporting by – © AFP 2022
