Leona Maguire hopes she can build on some improved driving as she looks to piece together her game ahead of the US Women’s Open at the lengthy Erin Hills.
Maguire’s world ranking has plummeted from 31st to 80th over the last twelve months and she arrives at the second major of the year after back to back missed cuts on the LPGA Tour.
The Cavan woman has also missed the cut at the US Women’s Open in four of her six appearances but does boast a T8 finish in 2022 and she believes course management and some tight short game skills can help her mix it with the big hitters this week.
“I just haven’t quite got all the pieces together and on the same week yet,” Maguire said. “Some good improvements off the tee. Some weeks I’ve putted well, some weeks I haven’t.
“And then my approach play just needs to tidy up a bit. So I’m just trying to get all the pieces of the jigsaw together on the same week. It’d be nice to do it this week.”
Known for her steely competitiveness, we haven’t really seen that from Maguire this season who hasn’t been able to get all facets of her game on song at the same time.
The 30-year-old could pass the $5m mark in LPGA Tour career earnings this week and while she knows the long hitters will have an advantage at the 6,829-yard Erin Hills she believes bogey avoidance will take precedent over birdie making.
“I think the long hitters are going to have an advantage,” Maguire said. “But around the greens is so tricky. Precision is also going to be very important. Miss a green by a foot, and you could be 70 yards away with some of the runoffs.
“A lot of it is more to do with the bogeys you don’t make, rather than the birdies you do. Nobody’s been making a ton of birdies out there, so it’s just being very, very patient and very disciplined.”
Maguire tees off alongside Hyo Woo Kim and Gaby Lopez from the 10th tee at 7.14pm Irish time.
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