Cavan’s Leona Maguire will be pleased with her weeks work at the Aramco Championship as the 31-year-old got the better of the difficult course at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas, posting three under-par rounds to see her finish in a share of second place at two-under-par.
Maguire, who began her final round sitting fifth on the leaderboard, posted four birdies on the front nine on Sunday to take the turn at two-under.
Maguire struggled on holes 11 and 12, posting back to back bogeys but a strong birdie finish on the par-5 18th saw her jump one spot on the leaderboard to share T2 with Nelly Korda.
Maguire had been vocal about her love for Shadow Creek during the week, relishing in the difficulty.
“I’ve always said it’s one of my favourite venues of the year. I felt like my game had been a lot better lately than some of the scores I shot, and it was nice to see that sort of come to fruition this week on really the hardest course we have played all year. It was a really positive week and I really enjoyed the test that was Shadow Creek,” said Maguire.
“Any time you can shoot three rounds under par at Shadow Creek, you’re pretty happy,” she added.
This was Maguire’s best performace of the year to date, earning just over $290,000 for her efforts in Las Vegas.
Leading after each of the four rounds it was a dominant display from USA’s Lauren Coughlin who secured her third title on the LPGA and second win on the Ladies European Tour as the 33-year-old posted an even-par final round to finish five-strokes clear of the field at seven-under.
Coughlin began the day with a two-shot lead and started strong with a birdie at the first and another on the eighth. Bogeys on 10 and 12 didn’t make a dent in the lead as other contenders fell away with Shadow Creek proving to be tough once again.
“I just played really great all week. I had a lot of fun and I’m just happy,” said Coughlin. “It definitely left a sour taste in my mouth last year here not getting the win given how well I played all week, so this makes it extra special this week.”
“I didn’t get it done earlier in the year last year when I had a couple chances and that really bothered me. I was like, what if I don’t ever get to do it again? What if that’s the best golf I ever played in 2024?… It definitely means more just because you never know if you’re going to get the chance again,” added Coughlin.
Dublin’s Anna Foster posted a five-over-par final round, closing out her week on 16-over-par in a share of 62nd place.
Kildare’s Lauren Walsh posted an eight-over-par final round to finish T71 on 20-over-par.
In the LET Order of Merit, Maguire’s weeks work sees her jump to eight place with 412.50 points, with South Africa’s Casandra Alexander extending her lead at the top of the rankings, reaching 832.65 points.
The LET now takes a one-week break before the South African swing begins with the Joburg Ladies Open at Randpark Golf Club on the 16th of April.
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