Leona Maguire has become Europe’s silent assassin in each of her two Solheim Cup appearances, but it’s a role she embraces and she does her talking where it matters – on the golf course.
“I’m not a big personality,” she admits. “I’ve never been the loudest in the room. I’m not going to be giving massive team talks. For the last two, my job is to get as many points as possible. That’s how I can contribute best to the team, and that’s what I try to do.
“Again, every Solheim Cup is different, and whatever Suzann [Pettersen] wants me to do this week, that’s what I’ll do.”
Despite the fearsome reputation she’s garnered through her stellar performances at Inverness in 2021 and at Finca Cortesin last year, she feels that that doesn’t count for too much as she embarks on her third Solheim Cup campaign, but the thrill of the competition and being in that team environment is unrivalled.
“Yeah, obviously every Solheim is a new Solheim, very different teams on both sides and very different conditions. This is my favorite week of the year every two years,” she said.
“Like Anna [Nordqvist] said, once you’re part of one, you just want to be a part of all the rest of them. So excited for whatever this week brings.”
With the Solheim Cup changing to even years, we go back-to-back for the first time since 2003, when the it originally switched from evens to odds. As such, both sides have the same figurehead and Maguire fees that while Suzann Pettersen’s competitive fire hasn’t diminished, she has learned from her first stint at the helm in 2023 and that Europe are better prepared for what they’ll face this time around.
“I think Suzann is Suzann. She’s been pretty similar. She obviously brings a lot of energy to the team, a lot of passion. She’s very, very competitive, and nobody wants to win more than her this week,” she explained.
“I think she learned a lot from Spain. While we did bring back the trophy, there was a lot of things that didn’t quite go right in Spain. I think, to be fair to her, she was very open to feedback, and she’s taken a lot of that on board.
“Yeah, she’s changed a few things. Obviously Mel [Reid, vice-captain] has come in, like Anna said, and we have a lot of helpers behind the scenes this week as well, which is nice to have them people involved again. A lot of the people have been involved in the Solheim Cups in the past, so nice to have sort of a few new faces and some fresh energy as well behind the scenes as well.
“While it’s us 12 hitting the shots, there’s a lot of people that go into making this event happen, and we’re lucky to have them sort of in our team. Yeah, I think we’re all looking forward to another go at it.”
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