Leona Maguire is in a great position to land her third LPGA Tour title as she prepares for the quarter-finals of the T-Mobile MatchPlay presented by MGM Rewards at Shadow Creek.
Maguire topped the 54-holes of strokeplay on six-under-par with the top-8 players advancing to the matchplay stages and given her outstanding Solheim Cup record and the 30mph gales, this is a huge opportunity to enter the winners circle again.
The Cavan star was third here last year in the old round robin format but the new tournament layout has brought the cream to the top with the likes of Nelly Korda, Moriya Jutanugarn, Angel Yin and Rose Zhang advancing to the knockout rounds.
It’s Maguire’s mentality in the toughest of conditions that could see her topple some of the big names this weekend.
“Today was a big mental win for me. I think going out we knew the conditions were going to be tough. It was going to be windy, it was going to be swirling, the greens were going to get firm in the afternoon.
“Just really committed to our targets and picked some really nice shots and executed really well. Me and Dermot worked really well out there today and stayed very patient, just stayed really positive as well, embraced the challenge today.
“That was sort of the mentality, was enjoying sort of putting the pieces of the puzzle together on every shot rather than focusing on how hard it actually was.”
Not only has Maguire won two of her two singles matches in the Solheim Cup and has a good record in this tournament, she also loves this golf course and is a worthy number one seed heading into the quarter finals.
The 29-year-old will play in her first major championship of the season in two weeks and whatever happens this weekend she will feel battle hardened for the Chevron.
“I love this golf course. I think it’s one of the best, if not the best, golf course we play all year. It’s an unbelievable test. It’s really a major championship golf course. You get punished if you hit bad shots and get rewarded if you hit good shots, and that’s exactly how golf should be I think.
“I really enjoy the test that it brings. Looking forward to another day tomorrow.”
Maguire and Korda are on opposite sides of the draw meaning they could potentially meet in the final but the two-time LPGA Tour winner isn’t thinking of a tussle with the four-in-a-row chasing world number one.
“Nelly is the best player in the world right now. She’s playing great golf, so no surprise she’s in the match play. The conditions on the golf course brings out the best in everybody, and it’s no surprise to see some of the best players in the world up near the top of the leaderboard.
“I’m sure Nelly is going to be a tough match for whoever she plays. She’s been on quite a roll and very impressive to watch.”
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