Leona Maguire: Player Profile
Who is Leona Maguire?
Leona Maguire is an LPGA Tour winner, Solheim Cup winner and a former World No.1 in the amateur game.
The Irishwoman is one half of identical twins both in late November 1994 in Cavan in the Republic of Ireland. She was born 15 minutes after Lisa, who was also a professional golfer until she retired in 2019. Maguire had an amazing amateur career, and was destined to be a golfing star from a young age.
She won the Mark H McCormack Medal in 2015, 2016 and 2017 for being the leading female amateur golfer in the world at the end of each year. That came during her time at Duke University, where she was the best in the world. She spent more than 130 weeks at the top of the World Amateur Golf Rankings.
Maguire has gone on to win four times as a professional, with two of those wins coming on the LPGA Tour. After winning twice on the Symetra Tour in 2019, Maguire had to wait until 2022 for her first LPGA victory. That came at the LPGA Drive On Championship, and she then won again a year later, at the Meijer LPGA Classic.
The Irishwoman was made her Solheim Cup debut in 2021. She produced the best ever rookie performance in both Solheim and Ryder Cup history. She gained 4.5 points from her 5 matches, more than any rookie ever in either of the team events. Her 4.5 points is second only to Caroline Hedwall’s perfect 5-0-0 record in the Solheim Cup back in 2013. She was also a key part of the team that retained the trophy on home soil at Finca Cortesin.
Leona Maguire | An Overview
Personal Information
Name: Leona Maguire
Born: November 30, 1994
Nationality: Republic of Ireland
Residence: Cavan, Republic of Ireland
Career
College: Duke University
Turned Pro: 2018
Professional Wins: 4
Highest World Ranking: 10 – June 26, 2023
Best Results In Majors
Best Finishes:
– Chevron Championship – T18 (2020)
– Women’s PGA Championship – T1 (2023)
– US Women’s Open – T82 (2022)
– Evian Championship – T6 (2021)
– AIG Women’s Open – T4 (2022)
Professional Wins – 16
2019 (2) – Windsor Golf Classic, Symetra Classic
2022 (1) – LPGA Drive On Championship
2023 (1) – Meijer LPGA Classic
Achievements and Awards
Mark H McCormack Medal – 2015, 2016, 2017
Leona Maguire | What’s In Her Bag?
The majority of the Irishwoman’s bag comes from PING, with a G430 driver and three fairway woods of the same model. She also features a pair of Titleist Vokey SM7 wedges and plays the Titleist Pro V1 ball.
Check out our full piece on Leona Maguire’s what’s in the bag here.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Leona Maguire
When and where was Leona Maguire born?
Leona Maguire was born in Cavan in the Republic of Ireland in November 1994. Having been a promising swimmer, Maguire decided to focus on golf at the age of 9.
When did Leona Maguire turn professional?
Maguire turned professional in 2018 after graduating from Duke University. She won the Mark H McCormack in 2015, 2016 and 2017, becoming the second woman after New Zealand’s Lydia Ko to win the award in three consecutive years. Rose Zhang has done the same since, achieving the feat from 2020 to 2022. Maguire’s professional debut came on the LPGA Tour at the ShopRite LPGA Classic, and he then made her Symetra Tour debut the week after.
How many professional titles has Leona Maguire won?
As of September 2023, Maguire has won four times as a professional. Two of those have come on the Symetra Tour, with the other two being on the LPGA Tour. The Irishwoman won for the first time in 2019 on the Symetra, and she shortly added a second title to that. 2022 saw Maguire win the LPGA Drive On Championship, her first win on the LPGA Tour. She then won again on the tour a year later.
Did you Know?
Solheim Cup Debut History
Maguire’s debut in the Solheim Cup was a historic one. She only made her first appearance in the sport’s biggest women’s competition in 2021, but she accrued 4.5 points from a possible 5. That was the highest tally by a rookie in the competition’s history, and the second highest total in a single Solheim Cup. Only Caroline Hedwall has done better, when she took a perfect 5-0-0 in 2013.
Age Records Galore
During her younger years, Maguire became the youngest player in several competitions. She was the youngest player to ever play in the Curtis Cup, at the age of just 15 in 2010. She is also the youngest player to ever feature at the Vagliano Trophy and the youngest to win the Helen Holm Scottish Women’s Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship, doing so at the age of 14.
Ryder Cup Presenters
In 2006, after Team Europe had won the Ryder Cup at the K Club, Leona and twin sister Lisa carried the Ryder Cup trophy onto the stage for the presentation ceremony.
Other Leona Maguire Articles
A Super Swede and magic Maguire! Key moments from the 2023 Solheim Cup
The Slam: Who will be the star of Solheim Cup week?
Why Leona Maguire is convinced she has taken a big step toward major glory
‘Exposure and visibility are huge’: Why Leona Maguire thinks women’s golf is in a strong place
How good is Leona Maguire? Can she break down that major door? Let us know your thoughts with a post on X, formerly Twitter!
Matt Coles
Mention a European country, and Matt will tell you which resorts make the National Club Golfer Top 100s: European Resorts list. He might even throw in who designed the golf course and how many rooms the hotel has got at each one…
Matt got into the game of golf from a young age, following his old man to the local golf club. He fell for the sport, and now can’t seem to go a day without thinking about how to improve his game (Thanks Dad!). Matt has been a member of Howley Hall GC in Leeds since 2020, and is just about managing to maintain a single-figure handicap. He likes to remind people that he once broke 75, but won’t tell people that it was on a shortened course during the winter.
He moved to Leeds after graduating from the University of Central Lancashire with a First Class Honours degree in Sports Journalism. Matt joined NCG after almost five years travelling the world with the Professional Squash Association, working on events in all four corners of the globe.
Matt currently plays a Cobra King LTDx driver and RadSpeed 3-wood. TaylorMade monopolise the rest of his bag, with a SIM UDI, M5 irons and both Milled Grind and HI-TOE wedges, along with a Monza Redline putter. He uses a Vice Pro Plus golf ball, because he’s a bit different…
Away from golf, Matt is a Manchester United fan, and a keen runner, having ran the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon (his first and possibly last), in May 2023.
