Alex Maguire feels it’s a case of beggars can’t be choosers as he looks to make the most of the opportunity presented to him at LIV Promotions and secure some status for 2025.
Maguire is one of five Irish in the field at the qualifying event in Riyadh who are all looking to clinch that one lucrative LIV Golf card but would each happily settle for a top-10 spot and a place on the International Series calendar next season.
The Laytown & Bettystown star does not have any concrete status in Europe for next season and having foregone his place at Asian Tour Q-School this is his last roll of the dice for the year.
“The opportunity this week is massive,” said Maguire after a practice round. “I don’t have any guaranteed status for next year or any year to plan out I think this is another opportunity for me to play a tour, plan my year, know where I’m playing. It’s huge.
“For me it’s anywhere I can get status, anywhere I can play. I entered the Asian Tour Q-School but then this opportunity came up and felt like there were more pros than cons.”
The 54-hole qualifier will bring the curtain down on a difficult maiden campaign as a professional for Maguire.
His year started off well with a runner-up finish on the Alps Tour but since then he missed seven cuts with the odd bright spark including a T20 on the Challenge Tour and a T9 on the Clutch.
A missed cut at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews where Maguire played Walker Cup for Great Britain and Ireland and won the St Andrews Links Trophy was a bitter pill to swallow but he believes he has grown in wisdom despite the results.
“As the year progressed I found myself getting better at being a pro whether the results reflected that or not. I found I understood the pro game and how I conducted myself on the course. I’m very fortunate to be in the position where I can earn a spot on either LIV Golf or the International Series.”
Maguire, Mark Power, Max Kennedy, Matthew McClean and Liam Nolan will all be vying for a big financial windfall at the $1.5m event where the winner picks up a LIV Golf League card and $200,000.
The 24-year-old is excited at the prospect of potentially earning a spot on LIV or the Asian Tour’s International Series and testing himself against some of the best players in the world.
“It’s massive. Everybody knows the opportunities that LIV Golf presents, financially but also the best players in the world are on LIV as well. Major winners, former major winners, former world number one golfers. It’s a stacked tour and I think testing my game against those guys is something I am really looking forward to,” added Maguire.
“You never know how you are as a pro unless you are playing against the best players and an opportunity to play on a tour with some of the best players is a massive pull for me. The International Series cards as well.”
Mental strength would be a particular asset of Maguire’s golf game and he admires the likes of Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.
“The team aspect I wouldn’t be drawn to but you have the best players in the world like Jon Rahm, Brooks (Koepka), Bryson (DeChambeau) and they are massive inspirations to me, major winners and all have a very good mentality and that’s something I look up to.
“When it comes to crunch time and when the pressure is on is something I do well and something I want to keep improving. Koepka winning his majors in a quick space of time, Bryson holding off Rory and Rahm winning the Masters a couple of years ago, whenever I see those performances it inspires me to be better as a golfer and to be better mentally.”
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