We can safely assume that Leona Maguire is not the gambling type, so a trip to Las Vegas was never likely to result in any major losses, but the County Cavan star came oh so close to landing the jackpot at Shadow Creek, only to be thwarted at the final hurdle by world number one Nelly Korda.
After cutting a swathe through the 54-hole strokeplay qualifier field to take the number-one seeding into the matchplay section, Maguire dispatched all comers bar one. Korda is riding the crest of a wave, and she carried that form into the final match, closing out Maguire 4&3 to make it four wins in a row on the LPGA Tour and take the $300,000 first prize.
Leona’s consolation, along with signalling her return to form as major season draws near and re-cementing her status as one of, if not the premier matchplay player in the women’s game, was a check $187,584. Her most lucrative week of the year to date, and with it, reversing the steady slide down the Rolex Rankings.
Stephanie Meadow’s disappointing final round saw her miss out on the matchplay cutoff point, but she doesn’t go away empty handed and gets almost $19,000 for her efforts.
On the PGA Tour, Akshay Bhatia overcame a dislodged shoulder – those fist pumps can be dangerous, it seems – and a charging Denny McCarthy to take PGA Tour win number two, $1.656 million in earnings, and becomes the 89th and final man to earn his place in the Masters field.
McCarthy’s incredible 8-under back nine – a new record for TPC San Antonio – looked as though it may be enough for first prize when he rolled in a 12-footer at the last, but Bhatia followed him in from 10 feet and took victory in the first playoff hole when McCarthy dumped his approach into the water. His wait for a first PGA Tour win continues, but his bank balance continues to blossom, another $1 million and change (minus taxes, of course) heading its way.
Rory McIlroy’s final-round 66 saw him climb to third, his highest PGA Tour finish of 2024, and his reward is $634,800 and a confidence boost ahead of Augusta.
On LIV, Sergio Garcia’s wait for a first win continues, this time falling to South African Dean Burmester in a playoff. Burmester’s back-to-back wins on the DP World Tour back in South Africa in November/December saw him come away with €400,000 total, but this week’s efforts are worth almost 10-times that with $4,000,000 heading his way.
Garcia gets $2,250,000 for second, while Graeme McDowell finished strongly to end the week in a tie for 29th and earn $170,000.
LPGA T-Mobile Matchplay selected payouts
| 1 | Nelly Korda | $300,000 |
| 2 | Leona Maguire | $187,584 |
| T3 | Sei Young Kim | $120,673 |
| T3 | Narin An | $120,673 |
| T5 | Moriya Jutanugarn | $65,729 |
| T5 | Rose Zhang | $65,729 |
| T5 | Minami Katsu | $65,729 |
| T5 | Angel Yin | $65,729 |
| T25 | Stephanie Meadow | $18,897 |
PGA Tour Valero Texas Open selected payouts
| 1 | Akshay Bhatia | -20 | $1,656,000 |
| 2 | Denny McCarthy | -20 | $1,002,800 |
| 3 | Rory McIlroy | -11 | $634,800 |
| 4 | Russell Henley | -10 | $450,800 |
| T5 | Adam Schenk | -9 | $355,350 |
| T5 | Brendon Todd | -9 | $355,350 |
LIV Miami selected payouts
| 1 | Dean Burmester | -11 | $4,000,000 |
| 2 | Sergio Garcia | -11 | $2,250,000 |
| 3 | Matthew Wolff | -10 | $1,500,000 |
| T4 | Marc Leishman | -8 | $833,333 |
| T4 | Jon Rahm | -8 | $833,333 |
| T4 | Tyrrell Hatton | -8 | $833,333 |
| T29 | Graeme McDowell | 1 | $170,000 |
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