Leona Maguire is among the players chasing a maiden major title at Walton Heath; the Irishwoman failed to convert a 54-hole lead at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship earlier this season; watch the AIG Women's Open live on Thursday from 11am on Sky Sports Golf
Thursday 10 August 2023 09:39, UK
Leona Maguire believes she can learn from her final-day disappointment at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship earlier this season and challenge for a maiden major victory at the AIG Women’s Open.
Maguire took a one-shot lead into the final round of the second women's major of the year at Baltusrol in June, having won the Meijer LPGA Classic the previous week, only to fade and end in tied-11th.
The 28-year-old has been unable to contend in the last two majors, ending tied-31st at the US Women's Open and earning a share of 42nd in the Evian Championship, with Maguire keen to learn from that disappointment as she looks to continue the run of first-time major champions.
"I think at Baltusrol, I put three really good rounds together," Maguire explained. "I think I had had seven rounds in the 60s or something leading into that day. I was playing really nice golf.
"I think the win the week before took a lot out of me. I was quite drained come Sunday and just didn't have enough in the tank to get over the line.
"Knowing I could put myself in contention, it was obviously a new learning experience, to be in that situation in the lead last group Saturday and the lead last group Sunday, with the emotions and everything that went along with that.
"I'd like to think that if I get myself in that position again, I'll approach it a little differently and I'll have learned from that experience."
Maguire will be joined in the field by compatriot Anna Foster, who came through Monday's 36-hole final qualifying at Hankley Common, with Foster following on from fellow amateur Aine Donegan qualifying for the US Women's Open earlier this year.
"I haven't met Anna but great achievement for her to qualify, to come through the qualifier," Maguire added. "I'm sure she was watching Áine [Donegan] at the US Women's Open and trying to emulate what she did at Pebble [Beach].
"I was fortunate to play in the AIG Women's Open a few times as an amateur and it's obviously a big experience. I would say and try to enjoy it as much as she can, and hopefully she's got quite a few more of these ahead of her. It's great to see some more Irish girls coming up through the ranks.
"I think golf is a very respected sport in Ireland. It gets a lot of coverage. A lot of people are interested in it. I think you'll see that with the Irish Women's Open in a few weeks, then the Irish Open in a few weeks' time.
"People are very passionate and knowledgeable about their golf in Ireland and I think the reporting on that fits in with that as well."
Maguire is the highest-ranked British and Irish player in the field for the final women's major of the year, coming into the week as world No 13, although the two-time LPGA Tour champion is more concerned about results than her ranking.
"Rankings are not something that I focus on too much," Maguire admitted. "I think you focus on playing well and doing as well as you can at every tournament, and things like rankings just look after themselves.
"Yeah, it's the last major of the year and one that I always look forward to every year and want to do well in, so we'll focus on trying to play as well as we can this week and let rankings and all that take care of themselves."
Who can boost their Solheim Cup hopes at the AIG Women's Open? Watch the final women's major of the year on Sky Sports Golf, with the opening round live on Thursday from 11am. Stream the AIG Women's Open with NOW.
