Leona Maguire produced a brilliant eagle on the 18th hole to win the Aramco Team Series individual event in London.
The Cavan golfer becomes the first Irish player to claim a victory on the Ladies European Tour.
Maguire had been in front throughout the tournament but endured a difficult final round before the 29-year-old made an impressive second shot at the closing par-five 18th.
Maguire trailed Spain’s Maria Hernandez who posted a seven-under par score by a shot going down the last but it was the Irish player who made an impressive ending on the fairway before sinking her putt.
It’s Maguire’s fifth win as a professional after previously winning twice on the LPGA Tour and the Symetra Tour.
“I did it the hard way, I felt like it was tough out there, I didn’t play my best golf and my caddie Dermot (Byrne) just kept saying, ‘be patient, be patient’. And he said right before I hit (the shot to the 18th), ‘Let’s hit the shot of the year here’ and yeah, it was just a perfect number and my trusty hybrids came in useful once again,” Maguire told Sky Sports.
“I just hung in there even when things weren’t going right and I couldn’t have asked for a better start.
“I was trying to hit a good putt, I knew no Irish girl had won. That putt was for me, for my family and for Ireland.”
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Leona Maguire made a sensational eagle on the final hole at the Aramco Team Series as she became the first Irish player to win a Ladies European Tour event
America’s Alison Lee was undone by a bogey on the last and was unable to capitalise on Maguire’s poor final round.
Maguire started the day on eight-under par but looked in trouble after she dropped two shots out of bounds on the sixth. In her post-match interview, Maguire said she that 10-under was initially the score she had in mind.
She converted for eagle, a level par 73 to claim her fifth win as a professional by one shot from Hernandez and by two from Ireland’s Lauren Walsh, Lee and England’s Georgia Hall who all shared third place on six-under-par.
Hernandez finished in second place on seven-under-par after a bogey-free final round of 68 (-5).
The Spaniard rolled in birdies on holes one, five, 10, 16 and 18 to seal another top-10 finish on the LET in 2024.
“I played very solidly; I didn’t really put myself in any trouble during the round,” said Hernandez.
“I put in a few chances; I didn’t make as many only the ones that were very close.
“I made a good putt on 16 that was four metres, but the rest of the day I had good chances that I didn’t really make. I was playing good for a long time, but I couldn’t really score so the putter has made a big difference.”
In the Team competition, Team Nadaud secured victory over Team Hall after a three-hole playoff at the end of the day.
The captains headed back to the 18th tee as France’s Nastasia Nadaud and England’s Georgia Hall went head to head to win the team title.
Both players made an eagle on the first play-off hole and a birdie on the second play-off hole, before Nadaud rolled in her birdie putt on the third to secure victory for her team.
“I don’t even know how I handled this! I was so nervous on the first tee,” said 19-year-old Nadaud.
“I was really afraid I wouldn’t hit the ball. I was so nervous, I was trembling.”
In the LET Order of Merit, Hernandez climbed up to sixth place with Walsh now 12th and Maguire has jumped from 134th to 28th place.
Next week, the LET moves onto the fourth major of the year with the Amundi Evian Championship taking place at Evian Resort Golf Club in France from July 11-14.
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