LEONA MAGUIRE’S EUROPEAN team-mates are confident that she can repeat the magic of her Solheim Cup debut — and warned that nobody on Team USA will be keen to take on the Cavan native.
Maguire unforgettably stole the show as a rookie in Toledo two years ago, going undefeated across all five sessions to contribute a priceless 4.5 points to Europe’s 15-13 win.
In tomorrow’s foursomes, Maguire will be in action in Match 3 at 7.34am. Alongside Anna Nordqvist of Sweden, the pair will take on America’s Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz.
And European captain Suzann Pettersen has already hinted that she would like Maguire to be an ever-present across this weekend at Finca Cortesin in Spain.
“Her last performance was essentially flawless,” European star Celine Boutier said this week. “Very impressive.”
“I think she’s a very steady and consistent player, great around the greens, definitely a very good putter, so I feel like it’s going to be definitely a weapon for match play. Her performance from the last edition of the Solheim Cup definitely shows that.
“So, yeah, I definitely would not want to be paired against Leona.”
Maguire acknowledged this week that “obviously last time went about as well as it possibly could have” from a personal perspective, but cautioned that “it’s a brand-new event this time”.
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She said: “It’s a brand-new venue, a brand-new team, both on the Europe and the US side. I think the US have a fantastic team this time. I think they have a young team that’s ready to go.
“Ultimately, I’ll try and win as many points as I can, but we’ll just prepare as well as we can and go in with very little expectations like the last time, the same way as I approach any other event. Just because it’s worked well in the past doesn’t really make much difference for this time.
“It almost feels a little bit like a rookie again playing on home soil. This is all still a new experience for me, so just try and enjoy the week as much as I can and feed off the energy of the crowd as much as I can.”
For both Maguire and Boutier, Pettersen’s leadership style on her first outing as European captain has been very welcome.
“She’s obviously very competitive, she has an unbelievable record, so we really want to win for her,” Maguire said.
“But she’s been great, she’s been very open, she’s been very transparent with everything this week. She’s been communicating a lot with what she’s thinking about pairings and different things. She’s trying to get all of our inputs and really wants what’s best for the team.
“Ultimately we have to hit the shots, so it’s a little bit out of her control, but she’s been really good so far.
Boutier added: “I definitely feel like it’s been nice to be able to voice our opinions and our thoughts on the pairings. I feel like it’s not always been the case in the past, but I feel like it’s very important that we feel comfortable with the choices that she ultimately decides to make. So I think it’s been nice to be kind of feeling a little bit more involved.
“She’s definitely so competitive that I feel like she’s probably going to be more pumped up than us,” she laughed.
“It’s going to be really cool to be able to play for her and play for the team.”
Neither player would be drawn on questions regarding who they might like to play with this week, but Pettersen made it very clear on Wednesday that Maguire is “the type of player you would like to keep on the course at all times”.
“She’s just that feisty. She’s just that good. As soon as those sunglasses goes on she’s in her own little bubble and just keep her there.
“She kind of proved that pretty well in Toledo and I’m pretty sure she’s going to be quite competitive this week.”
