Leona Maguire got the perfect gift for her mother's birthday on Sunday: Her daughter's first ever LPGA Tour victory. The 27-year-old from Cavan won the LPGA Drive-On Championship in Florida on Saturday, becoming the first ever Irish player to win on the tour.
Maguire went into the final round as joint leader with Marina Alex. She shot five-under on Saturday to finish on 18-under, three clear of second placed Lexi Thompson.
"Yeah, tried not to think about too much stuff," said Maguire about her mindset going into the final round.
"Didn't look at Twitter or anything last night because I knew there would be a lot of talk about that sort of thing.
"I was trying to go out and shoot 20-under par. That was my goal today. I was feeling really calm. Wasn't very nervous. Just pretty much in the moment.
"I mean, [my caddy] Dermot [Byrne] has been a huge help that way. He's pretty calm and we just go about our business pretty quietly and effectively, and just tried not to do nothing different today. Tried to just hit some really good shots.
"It was a different wind today, so I felt like the course played tougher. The par-5s played a lot tougher. Hit some really nice iron shots, which came in pretty handy."
Leona Maguire: 'It's incredible to be the first Irish person'
Dreamt about this moment for a long time and we’re only getting started 🇮🇪🏆 Couldn’t have done it without the help of my incredible team & family 💚 #canseecanbe pic.twitter.com/pYR4Hdfpdh
— Leona Maguire (@leona_maguire) February 6, 2022
Maguire did not realise she had a virtually unassailable lead until she was on the final hole.
"There was no leaderboards out there all day and I didn't look at a leaderboard all day," she said.
"I had no idea what was happening until the 18th fairway. Just tried to hit each shot as it came.
"You say you want to enjoy it but it's hard until that sort of the final putt drops and you know it's for sure. You also worry about maybe the leaderboard being wrong or something like that, so you try not to do any of the maths in your head or anything like that.
"It's my mom's birthday tomorrow so I guess this is a pretty good present for her. I'm not going to be home for it, but yeah, hopefully she'll get celebrate this next week when I'm home. That'll be special.
"My hometown has been an incredible supporter of me. Obviously [you] saw the scenes after the Solheim Cup. I don't think they'll be acting like that maybe again this time. I don't think the weather in Ireland is quite right for riding around in a convertible as it was in September.
"Being from Ireland, a small town, lucky to have the support I have. I think my Solheim Cup teammates were a little jealous that I got a reception that they didn't maybe get.
"It's incredible to be the first Irish person and to show that it is possible from a girl from a small little town in Ireland to be able to compete against the best players in the world and win on the LPGA."
She has done it!! 💪🏻🏆 Words can’t even begin to describe how proud we all are of @leona_maguire ❤️ her hard work and perseverance are truly second to none! An inspiration to us all! #firstofmany #TeamMaguire 🇮🇪 https://t.co/FgajFZ7w4X
— Lisa Maguire (@Lisa_Maguire_) February 5, 2022
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