SPORTS

For the second time in her last three Symetra Tour starts, Leona Maguire (County Cavan, Ireland) is a champion on the “Road to the LPGA.” The Duke University alumna carded a spectacular bogey-free, 6-under par 66 in the final round of the Symetra Classic to win by five strokes at 10-under par overall.

“It was nice that I could sort of cruise in a little bit today,” said Maguire, who won the Windsor Golf Classic last month. “I got pushed down the stretch a lot by Steph [Na] and EJ [Seong]. This one is special, being back in North Carolina. I had four incredible years at Duke and felt really at home this week.”

The first two-time winner on the Symetra Tour this season has now captured five straight top-five finishes. In her six total starts, Maguire has never finished outside the top-25. 

“I’ve got off to a fast start this year and expected to get off to a good start, but maybe not quite this good,” Maguire said. “Have been playing some really solid golf. My putting has been a lot better this year and that has been a big thing for me. I gave myself a lot of chances last year and didn’t take them, but putting has been really solid especially the last few weeks. I was saying to my caddy that this week was more the bogeys I didn’t make rather than the birdies I did.”

Entering the final round, Stephanie Na (Adelaide, Australia) was one of four players tied for the lead at 5-under par overall. When the dust settled this afternoon at River Run Country Club, she was at that same mark and in a tie for second.

“Disappointing finish, but overall I really enjoyed getting some birdies early and leading the way for a little while there,” said Na, who recorded five birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey. “I wasn’t hitting my irons as good, so my swing wasn’t as free and that made it a little tougher. Leona played steady and it was nice to push each other, we traded birdies every now and then.”

Na made a birdie putt on No. 13 to tie Maguire for the lead of 8-under par overall at the time. Two holes later, a double bogey dashed any hopes for her first Symetra Tour win.

“Just a really quick swing off the tee, wanted to try and move the ball a little right to left,” Na said. “I had a shot, but my ball was sitting on a tree root and I wasn’t sure if it was completely in the ground. I ended up being a little scared at impact because I didn’t want to break my wrist. Tough going there, hopefully I can learn from that to put myself in this position again.”

Following the seventh tournament of the 2019 Symetra Tour season, the Volvik Race for the Card welcomes a fresh top-10.

The victory and $26,250 winner’s check move Leona Maguire up one spot to No. 1, having earned $73,790 across six starts this season. Here is a look at the current top-10 heading into the inaugural Zimmer Biomet Championship hosted by Nancy Lopez at the Lake Course of Grand National on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Opelika, Ala. from May 23-26:

 

1. Leona Maguire – $73,790
2. Julieta Granada (Asuncion, Paraguay) – $51,926
3. Jillian Hollis (Rocky River, Ohio) – $37,009
4. Maria Parra (Guadiaro, Spain) – $30,345
5. Cydney Clanton (Concord, North Carolina) – $29,786
6. Kelly Tan (Batu Pahat, Malaysia)- $26,180
7. Lauren Coughlin (Charlottesville, Virginia) – $25,321
8. Kyung Kim (Chandler, Arizona) – $25,302
9. Ssu-Chia Cheng (Taipei, Chinese Taipei) – $24,017
10. Madison Pressel (Boca Raton, Florida) – $22,485

 

NOTABLE QUOTE

Local Davidson resident Amanda Sambach (-1, T11) on what she accomplished as a 16-year-old amateur in the field this week:

“It means a lot, feels so good to come out and finish well especially after last year not playing my best. I’m so lucky to have the community cheering me on and all my friends, it means a lot to me. The course is in such great shape. I play it almost every day and just love it.”

 

 

PLAYER NOTES – Leona Maguire

• Maguire, 24, is from County Cavan, Ireland and had one of the most storied collegiate careers in NCAA history while at Duke University
• Owns the all-time record for most weeks (135) at No. 1 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR)
• 87 rounds of even or under par and 32 rounds in the 60s are the most in NCAA history, while her 70.97 stroke average is the lowest in NCAA history
• Four-time Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) First Team All-American, four-time All-ACC selection, three-time ACC Player of the Year, two-time WGCA and ANNIKA National Player of the Year, and two-time runner-up at the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship (2015, 2017)
• Became only the second player to win the ACC Championship individual title three times, joining fellow Duke alumna Amanda Blumenherst
• Four-time Vagliano Trophy and three-time Curtis Cup team member representing Great Britain & Ireland, including 2012 and 2016 Curtis Cup champions
• Competed in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games with a result of T21, tied for the low amateur
• 2017 Ladies’ British Open Amateur winner and Global Golf Post Female Amateur of the Year
• Made professional debut at the 2018 ShopRite LPGA Classic finishing T15 and Symetra Tour debut at the 2018 Forsyth Classic with a tied for third result
• Stepped into the winner’s circle for the first time in her professional career at the 2019 Windsor Golf Classic