Leona Maguire feels that she has probably been trying a bit too hard and has gotten too down on herself this season but a more relaxed approach clearly paid dividends as she shot into contention early at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
Last year’s 54-hole leader is just two shots behind Lexi Thompson after a two-under 70 at Sahalee which included four birdies and two bogeys.
Maguire made the ideal start with an opening birdie on the 10th and she recovered from a bogey on 13 with a bounce back birdie on the next. The Cavan star took the outright lead after birdies on the first and fifth but a late bogey on the seventh has seen her fall back into a share of fourth.
“I‘ve probably have been very harsh on myself,” Maguire said reflecting on her performance this season which has seen her yet to register a strokeplay top-10.
“I would say lately probably too harsh. I think I’ve had people around me, family, people on my team, tell me you need to be you need to be kinder to yourself.
“So I think that was kind of the message this week, to not really put too much pressure on myself, not have too many expectations and just sort of embrace the challenge that here’s going to bring like any other major.
“I suppose it’s very tempting to try and be too perfect at a major knowing that the sort of consequences are higher if you miss a shot, but yeah, to try and be a little kinder to myself this week was the big goal.”
Maguire spoke earlier in the week of feeling comfortable with the strategic challenge the golf course presents but after coming in off the golf course on Thursday she feels she coughed up a few birdie chances she ought to have made.
“For the most part, I felt like I gave myself a lot of chances,” she said after missing an eight-footer for a closing birdie two.
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