CAVAN GOLF SENSATION Leona Maguire is taking the world of golf by storm, and Solheim Cup star Mel Reid admits the starlet has all the tools in her locker to become one of the greatest players in the game.
At just 20-years-old, Maguire has topped the World Amateur Golf Ranking for most of this year following her scintillating form across the pond for Duke College in the NCAA.
Having been honoured as the Women’s Golf Coaches Association Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year for 2015, Maguire also featured on the WGCA All-American team and went undefeated in Great Britain & Ireland’s Vagliano Cup loss to Europe at Malone Golf Club in July.
And Reid, who herself went undefeated in Team Europe’s Solheim Cup defeat last weekend, admits that while all the ingredients are in place for Maguire, her extreme talent needs to be managed the right way.
“I’ve met her and we’ve played a few times. She’s a very quiet girl, but she’s playing so well over at Duke at the moment,” said Reid at the SSE Women’s Invitational, an event which paved the way for female executives from all industries to mix business and golf.
“She’s a great player and I wish her all the best. She obviously hits the ball great and has come on so far in such a short space of time.
“I’ve known about Leona and her twin sister Lisa since they were both about 11 years old, and I’ll be really interested to see how they both get on.
“They need to have a balanced life as well away from golf, but they do have all the ingredients to be successful. Hopefully now they get managed well and are guided in the right direction.
“But it’s great for Ireland to have a girl coming out and doing so well, as they’ve had so much success with the guys.”
Despite her status as top prodigy in the world of women’s golf, Maguire further underlined her credentials following her invite as a guest amateur to the Ladies European Masters in July.
The starlet stunned the Ladies European Tour professionals, finishing in second just one shot off the lead at Buckinghamshire Golf Club, with her amateur status denying her the €50,000 prize money.
But despite the temptation to make the jump straight onto the LPGA Tour in America, Reid is urging Maguire not to make the mistake of missing any key steps in her development.
She said: “Of course she showed she can play with us already earlier this year, and she certainly has the talent, but playing as an amateur and then when you’re a professional is very different – there’s more pressure.
“From a personal point of view, even though she is in the States playing at the moment at college, I would say she should come back to Europe and win in Europe before heading for the LPGA.
“A lot of people try to skip steps. They win as an amateur, think they can win as a pro, and then go to the LPGA without contending in Europe. I think you definitely need to take the baby steps first; there’s no time limit in golf and you can play for as long as you want.
“So she should definitely try to prove herself here first, as you have to learn to win. All the successful people have done that and it’s important to go via that route.”
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Originally published at 11.30
