When the family Kris Kindle rolls around there’s always one aunt or uncle you hope draws your name from the hat.
If you believe in the Cavan stereotype, Leona Maguire’s Solheim Cup teammates would probably hope to swerve her in the Christmas gift giving tradition, but when it comes to Suzann Pettersen’s pairings for Friday’s opening session against the USA in Finca Cortesin, there will be fingers crossed and perhaps a few behind closed doors requests to link up with Maguire.
Maguire etched her name into Solheim Cup folklore in Ohio two years ago when she picked up a staggering 4.5 points out of 5 in a record breaking rookie performance as Europe beat the USA 15-13 for just their second away win in the biennial contest.
If Pettersen’s charges are to complete a historic three-peat, finding a suitable partner for Maguire will be crucial.
Of Maguire’s four and a half points in Toledo last time out, Englishwoman Mel Reid accounted for three of her four partnerships (two in foursomes, one in four balls) and while USA Ryder Cup Captain Zach Johnson put pairings ahead of form when selecting Justin Thomas for his team – to resume his formidable partnership with Jordan Spieth – Pettersen opted to leave Reid out, taking a large chunk of points out of the team.
Maguire’s other partner two years ago was Georgia Hall and they defeated Brittany Altomare and Yealimi Noh. It is expected they will combine again at some point this weekend in Spain but if Maguire does play all five sessions for the second time in succession, she will most likely need another partner with Hall likely to match up with close friend Charley Hull also.
The 28-year-old will have no shortage of options or potential all-star pairings with all eight automatic qualifiers inside the top-40 in the Rolex World Rankings.
Finca will be a tough walk in the heat which may tempt Pettersen to rest players for at least one session, but it is also quite a long golf course by women’s standards so perhaps pairing Maguire with a long hitter would be best practice.
Europe boast long hitters in Madelene Sagstrom, Emily Kristine Pedersen, Linn Grant, Carlota Ciganda and Charley Hull. All of whom would combine nicely with Maguire’s driving accuracy (11th on LPGA Tour).
Speaking to the media alongside world number five, Celine Boutier, Maguire showed little concern as to who will fill the Mel Reid void alongside her.
“I think we have a fantastic team this week,” Maguire said. “I think there’s lots of options of who can play with who. It’s obviously a new team and you’ll see some familiar pairings and some new pairings.
“She [Pettersen] has done a lot of these, she’s done nine herself, so she knows what she’s doing. So I think both myself and Celine (Boutier) are pretty flexible. We’ll play with just about anybody, so we’re going to do whatever Suzann needs us to do this week.”
The two-time LPGA Tour winner is Europe’s third highest ranked player at 14th in the world but she admits she still feels like a rookie despite her player of the week performance two years ago.
“Obviously last time went about as well as it possibly could have, but it’s a brand-new event this time. It’s a brand-new venue and 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 will just try and enjoy the week as much as I can and feed off the energy of the crowd.”
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