Leona Maguire finished tied for eighth at the US Open over the weekend. The Cavan golfer ended the tournament on two-under, 11 shots off winner Minjee Lee of Australia.
It was a notable performance by Maguire for a number of reasons: It was her first time making the cut at a US Open following three previous failed attempts; it was also her first time making the cut since the Lotte Championship in mid-April; and there was record prize money on offer.
The tournament was played at the Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club in North Carolina, just an hour south of Duke University where Maguire spent four years.
Leona Maguire: 'It's my first top 10 at a US Open'
"It's my first top 10 at a US Open, first cut I've made at a US Open, so that's big progress for me, and really enjoyed the week, really enjoyed being back in North Carolina, so overall it's been a great week," she said.
Had a ball being back in North Carolina this week, @PineNeedlesGolfwad was a top class venue 🤩 Really proud of my first top10 @uswomensopen 🇺🇸 #onwardsandupwards pic.twitter.com/X3igkWgoiU
— Leona Maguire (@leona_maguire) June 6, 2022
There was a historic $10 million prize money on offer for the tournament. Minjee Lee won $1.8 million while Maguire also had a major payday, taking home $261,193. That's $36,000 more than she earned for winning the LPGA Drive On Championship in February.
"Didn't get off to the best of starts but tried to stay really patient," Maguire said about her final round.
"I knew everybody was kind of struggling out there. I knew it wasn't going to be easy out there. A lot of the pins were tucked and you couldn't make a lot of birdies. It was just trying to limit the amount of mistakes really.
"I think it was a little firmer today and it was definitely set up a little bit tougher. There was definitely a little bit more breeze, pins were a little trickier today. Overall that's reflected in the scores. You couldn't get close to a lot of the pins today, so you just had to take your chances when you got them."
Tied 8th in the US Women’s earned Leona Maguire around $261,000 - more than she earned for her LPGA win in the Drive On Championship. It’s some bounce back to form after 3 missed cuts in a row & no top 30 finishes in her last 6 events & it’s her first top 10 since she won in Feb.
— Greg Allen (@gregallenRTE) June 5, 2022
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