The Cavan native finished 13th at the British Open last weekend in the final tournament before the Solheim Cup qualification window closed.

Maguire has had a strong 2021 season that has seen her break into the top 50 in the world after two second-place finishes and six top-15 finishes in a row in LPGA tournaments.

The 26-year-old reacted to the news on Twitter: “The least Monday Monday of the year! 14year old me had a big dream and it’s been quite the journey since that ‘09 JR Solheim cup but today we made history!! So excited to represent @SolheimCupEuro.”

Maguire is a two-time Olympic golfer and recently represented Team Ireland at Tokyo 2020 alongside Stephanie Meadow.

The former number one amateur golfer in the world finished the Olympics tied-23rd with five other golfers.

Captain Matthews was full of praise for Maguire after selecting her as a wildcard.

“Leona has had a fantastic year this year,” she said. “Obviously she was world number one amateur for a couple of years and it’s maybe just taken her two or three years longer than perhaps others to settle I think as a pro.

“I think she’s got that real grittiness. I think she’s a really good match player, has a great record from the Curtis Cup and played well in the match play [event] in Vegas. I think she’ll be a solid, one of these never-give-up type players.

“It’s the first Irish player, the first Finnish player [Castren]. I think it’s great to see other players from different countries getting on the side.”

The 2021 Solheim Cup takes place at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio from Tuesday, August 31st to Monday, September 6th.

The post Leona Maguire To Become First-Ever Irish Solheim Cup Player appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Stephanie Meadow finished on a high after a rough start to go three-under-par for the day and seven-under across 54 holes.

Leona Maguire posted two 35’s across both sets of nine holes to finish the day on five-under.

Meadow expanded upon her round two form with a strong finish enough to maintain her chase of the medal positions.

The Northern Irish golfer struggled initially with a bogey on the second hole and did not correct it until hole 6.

A second birdie on hole 8 looked to set Meadow on her way but another bogey left her waiting until the back nine to mount her charge up the leaderboard.

A birdie on the 13th hole was left unaccompanied by anything but par until the final two holes where the Team Ireland golfer added two more to finish strongly and sit joint-10th.

Maguire finished on a lesser total for the day but her round was packed with action as she fluctuated throughout the 18 holes.

The Cavan native came out of the blocks like a bull in a china shop with two birdies in the first two holes.

Two further birdies on holes seven and eight moved her to four-under across the tournament and the golfer looked set to build on that.

However, a disastrous ninth hole killed her momentum after a shot went into the trees and she struggled to recover from it.

Maguire ended up posting a triple-bogey on the par-4 hole after the fiasco which brought her back down to Earth.

She never recovered from it until it was too late – a birdie on the penultimate hole to move under par – bringing an end to what should have been a fantastic day for the Team Ireland golfer.

Maguire’s final round will begin at 11:18 pm on Friday night at the same time as Switzerland’s Albane Valenzuela and Sanna Nuutinen of Finland.

The post Olympic Golf: Meadows Chases Medal While Maguire Stagnates appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Maguire shot four-under-par to improve her overall total to that amount and get within five strokes of a medal.

Her Team Ireland teammate Stephanie Meadow is also on four-under and is tied with Maguire for 11th.

Maguire’s hole one bogey was soothed by four quick-fire birdies on the front nine to shoot the Cavan golfer up the leaderboard.

Her front nine of 33 was matched by a back nine of 34 that included two additional birdies and a bogey.

She credited her opportunity creation for her score, something she struggled with on day one.

“I played a lot better today and gave myself a lot more chances,” said Maguire. “I didn’t get off to the best of starts but I chipped in on 4 and I kind of feel like that turned the day for me.

“I then went on and had 3 birdies in a row on 6, 7 and 8 which was nice. It felt like I played quite solid today.

“There were a few putts that, had they gone in, it would have completely changed the day, but it was nice to finish with a birdie on 18 to head into tomorrow.”

Upon finishing her round, Maguire was also delighted to hear of boxer Kellie Harrington securing her place in the gold medal fight to take place this coming Sunday.

“What Kellie is doing is incredible,” Maguire said. “She was one of the first people I met when I got into the village last week.

“I’d love to see her win a gold medal, she really deserves it. It’s great to see the community and people at home rallying around her. I’m fortunate where I’m from it’s the same as well.

“If we can finish off this week on a high note and she can go win a gold medal on Sunday, that would be great.”

The post Olympic Golf: Team Ireland Star Maguire Happy With R2 Performance appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Meadow was two-under for her last three holes on Wednesday and reached the back nine today on two-under-par for her round and 1-under total.

A bogey on the par-three 10^th was followed by birdies on the 14^th, 15^th, 16^th and 18^th holes to secure an impressive second-round score of 66 and leave her tied for 11^th at the end of the round.

The much-improved five-under performance sees the two-time Olympian join the chasing pack, with the Northern Irish golfer and her Team Ireland teammate Leona Maguire sitting five strokes off second place and a medal.

“I just kind of managed it a bit better today I think,” said Meadow afterwards. “I still didn’t have my best stuff but I gave myself a little bit more room on left pins and didn’t short side myself so that was really the key and is always part of shooting under par.

Meadow started off the second round on a better note than she did the first, posting two birdies on the front nine to set the tone.

Her strong finish only backed up the impressive start and puts the golfer in a good position for the next round.

“I guess I hope I can start like that tomorrow. There’s a lot of wedges on the last few, they’re easy-ish holes and they moved the tee on 18 up today so all of those things contribute but I finally got comfortable, hit good shots and started to see it a bit better.”

The heat is still a factor, with tournament organisers implementing additional heat mitigation measures including provision of umbrellas on the first tee and roving carts providing ice and cooling towels to players, caddies and officials.

Meadow and Maguire will be in the same group for round three of the Olympic golf tournament and will tee-off at 0:18 am.

The post Olympic Golf: Meadow Reacts To Improved 2nd Round appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

The tournament follows the men’s tournament, which saw Team Ireland narrowly miss out on a medal.

Leona Maguire will begin the tournament off the back of some top form in the LPGA Tour this year.

Stephanie Meadows, on the other hand, will be looking for a change in her fortunes in 2021 with seven cuts to her name this season – two of them at majors.

Both golfers will return to the Olympic scene, having represented Team Ireland at Rio 2016.

Maguire’s most recent round of golf was one that is tied for the lowest-ever score at a major from both male and female golfers.

The 26-year-old’s incredible final round at The Amundi Evian Championship shot her up the leaderboard into her best-ever final position at a major, tied-sixth.

This round of golf showcased what she is capable of and also continued her great vein of form.

After missing the cut twice in the space of a month, the Cavan native has completed five tournaments since June with her lowest final position being tied-15th.

Maguire will not have a cut to avoid this weekend as the women’s tournament does not have one this year and, if she continues her form, she could find herself chasing a medal on the final day.

However, she is only seen as 12th-favourite by the bookmakers, with Team USA’s Nelly Korda having the best odds at 7/1.

The former world number one amateur golfer will tee-off at 11:52 pm in a group with Bianca Pagdanganan of the Philippines and Finnish player Matilda Castren.

Stephanie Meadow will make her second appearance at an Olympic tournament in the early hours of Thursday morning as she goes out onto the course in search of a medal once again.

Meadow has had a poor 2021 season and will be hoping for some good luck throughout her weekend.

Her seven cuts in the season include five in the last two months and a span of four cuts in a row.

The 29-year-old will get her second Olympics campaign started at approximately 2:47 am and will be in a group with Taiwanese golfer Min Lee, competing under Chinese Taipei, and French professional Perrine Delacour.

Meadow will have the earlier tee time of the Team Ireland golfers in round two, teeing-off at 0:52 with Maguire doing so almost an hour later at 1:47 am.

Team Ireland Golf Tee Times

Round One

Leona Maguire – 11:52 pm

Stephanie Meadow – 2:47 am

Round Two

Stephanie Meadow – 0:52 am

Leona Maguire – 1:47 am

Odds

Leona Maguire – 20/1

Stephanie Meadow – 400/1

The post Olympic Golf: Maguire & Meadows Preview, Tee Times & Odds appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.