Leona Maguire’s bit-part role in the 2024 Solheim Cup took most of the golfing world by surprise given that she’d been the standout performer on debut as Europe recorded a narrow, two-point victory at Inverness in Ohio in 2021, and took the competition by the scruff of the horns again at Finca Cortesin in Spain last year.
By her own admission, she hadn’t had her best season, but given the dominance that the United States team exerted, many were left wondering if Maguire’s matchplay pedigree and fighting spirit could’ve provided the spark that the Europeans desperately required, but she only featured in the afternoon foursomes on the opening day and didn’t play again until well the penultimate match in Sunday singles, by which point, the United States were already on the cusp of victory at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia.
An ‘X’ post by Maguire in the aftermath of a 4&3 singles win over Ally Ewing was read by many to be a critique of European captain Suzann Pettersen’s decision to sit her for three of the four paired sessions, but talking to selected Irish media at a media day organised by KPMG for whom Maguire is a standout ambassador, she dispelled any rumours of a rift between Pettersen and herself.
Form is temporary, class is permanent
💪🏼🇪🇺 🦁 https://t.co/xRAYLx15mW— Leona Maguire (@leona_maguire) September 15, 2024
“I think the general consensus was that me and Suzanne weren’t on good terms,” Maguire explained. “I mean, Suzanne’s been a hero of mine since I was 14 years old and played with her in the Irish open at Killeen Castle and she’s always been someone I’ve looked up to. I mean, I have an incredible amount of respect for her and we actually get on very well.
“And, you know, she relied heavily on me in Finca and ultimately, she made the choices that was best for the team and she wanted to do what she thought was best to help the team win.
“And we were faced with very tough opposition and she had certain stats and people she employed this year that felt that other people were better choices and that’s ultimately the choice they made.
“I mean, we’ve had discussions since – some things we agree on, some things we don’t – but there’s absolutely no animosity.”
With the Solheim Cup being staged in back-to-back seasons before reverting back to the traditional biennial staging to avoid clashing with the Ryder Cup, Pettersen was at the helm for both campaigns but will hand over the reins to a successor for the run in to the 2026 staging at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands.
And Maguire said that Pettersen is backing her to be an integral part of the European side there and in the future Solheim Cups.
“The way we left it was she said to me that she thought I was the one to carry the torch going forward for the European team and she’d be there, on the sidelines, cheering us on,” she added.
“So, no, I think there was a lot more made of it than what it was.
“Yes, would I’d have loved to be playing [more]? Absolutely. I would have loved to have been able to contribute more points for the team like I did in past years, but I would have been happy to sit on the sidelines if it meant we won and winning is the most fun thing in the Solheim Cup. You want to win and you want to do whatever it takes to help your team win.
“So, in whatever capacity that is, and I feel like foursomes is a strength of mine and was surprised to be sitting in those sessions, but at the same time, that’s what they felt was best for the team.”
Captaincy is a tough task, and there is a tendency to overplay the importance of the team captain both in winning and losing capacities and that’s something that Maguire is acutely aware of.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s one of those things. If we win, you look like a genius of a captain; we didn’t win.
“So people are obviously questioning decisions and that’s not really for me to sit here and question – that’s for all of you guys to ask those questions and come up with the potential answers.”
Despite the obvious disappointment of watching the United States team celebrate with the trophy that had been in European hands since Pettersen herself secured a dramatic, final match victory at Gleneagles in 2019, being in the team environment was still an immensely enjoyable experience.
“I mean, the European team, as they always have, got along incredibly well all week. We all – we did have a lot of fun behind the scenes.
“We all got along very well and it wasn’t from a lack of trying that we didn’t beat the Americans this year.”
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