Leona Maguire muscled her way to the top of the leaderboard on Thursday at The Amundi Evian Championship, the fourth major tournament of the 2025 LPGA Tour season.
The Cavan star fired a six-under 65 to put herself in the conversation early in France, a first-round effort that was highlighted by a hole-in-one on the par-3 2nd at Evian Resort Golf Club. She dunked her tee shot from 164 yards with her 8-iron to record the first ace of her LPGA Tour career on one of the most iconic holes at this venue, a welcome delight at which the usually stoic 29-year-old couldn’t help but crack a smile.
“It was just taking a little bit off an 8-iron for me,” said Maguire. “Looked good in the air. You’re never sure on that hole until the ball actually lands. Sort of a perfect morning for it. Not much wind which is nice, especially on that tee box. Pretty good highlight to the day.
“The pin was sort of in this little back right bowl. You don’t want to go over, but at the same time, it does land pretty soft hitting from like 30 yards down from there. Overall, it was just a really nice shot. Looked good all the way. Then nice to be able to walk down this hill without a putter in your hand.”
Maguire had started her day on the back nine at Evian Resort Golf Club, recording her hole-in-one not long after she made the turn at 3-under, having recorded one bogey on 10 and four birdies on the par-4 11th, 13th and 17th holes as well as the par-5 18th hole. The ace pushed Maguire to 5-under for the day, and the two-time LPGA Tour winner held on for dear life coming down the stretch, closing out her first round with six pars and a birdie on the par-5 7th hole to polish off her 65.
The score is her second-lowest career round at The Amundi Evian Championship, as Maguire fired a 61 on the final day of the 2021 edition of the major championship, what was then just the third time ever that a 61 had been recorded in a women’s major tournament. It’s Maguire’s first score of 65 or better since day two of the 2024 Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass and is her lowest round of the 2025 season, besting her previous benchmark of 67 by two strokes.
But maybe most significantly, the 65 is Maguire’s first round in the 60s since the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro in the middle of April, where she kicked off her week with a pair of 68s, and the Irishwoman was clearly pleased with her day-one effort, one on which she hopes to build as she pursues her third Tour title and first major victory.
“Just played really nice. Hit a lot of fairways. Hit a lot of greens. Gave myself some really good chances (on) 11, 12, 13 to start the day. Pretty stress-free as it can be around here,” Maguire said. “I always like it here. I think you have to be very patient, very accepting. You know you’re not going to get a flat lie out there. You’ll get some iffy bounces. Did a really good job staying patient. Hit what I thought was a perfect tee shot down six and ended up in a divot. You have to accept things like that.
“My hybrids were nicely dialed in today and that always helps. It was pretty much perfect conditions this morning. Nice to take advantage.”
This is Maguire’s sixth start in The Amundi Evian Championship, and it’s been a mixed bag of results in her five previous appearances in this major tournament. She has only missed one cut, but the Irishwoman has also only found the top 10 one time, doing so in 2021, when she tied for sixth. She hasn’t won on the LPGA Tour since picking up her second career victory at the 2023 Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give, a tournament Maguire won by two shots over Ariya Jutanugarn at Blythefield Country Club in Belmont, Mich.
After getting off to such a strong start following a slow period on the LPGA Tour, Maguire’s self-belief should be bolstered as she looks ahead to the next three rounds in France, 54 holes in which she will work to keep the momentum from her 65 rolling as she fights to maintain her position at the top of The Amundi Evian Championship leaderboard.
“The rough is thick in spots, so you really have to hit the fairways to have that control into the green,” Maguire said. “But the greens are softer than we have had in past years. The fairways you can give yourself some pretty good opportunities. I feel like I left a few out there today. Would’ve been nice to hole a few more putts, so (I’ll) work on that this afternoon. And then it was an early start this morning. It was half four alarm, so maybe a little nap and we’ll get ready to go again.”
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