Leona Maguire endured a difficult weekend as her challenge for the Kroger Queen City Championship faded, with the 27-year-old Cavan golfer left to settle for a tied-24th finish as American Ally Ewing powered her way to a third career win on the LPGA Tour.
With top-10 finishes in each of her last three tournaments, Maguire headed into the weekend with genuine ambitions of a second tour win of the season only to suffer rounds of 73-72 for a total of six-under-par 282, eventually finishing 16 strokes behind Ewing.
Maguire’s started the final round on the back foot after a double-bogey six on her opening hole, and although she responded with a birdie on the second, another dropped shot on the sixth saw her turn in 38 strokes. A run of three birdies in five holes – on the 10th, 11th and 14th – saw her gain some forward momentum but Maguire finished with a closing bogey.
Stephanie Meadow had an extremely disappointing final round of 78 for 289 in tied-63rd, as she struggled to get going and signed for a lone birdie, five bogeys and a double-bogey on the 17th.
China’s Xiyu Lin had seemed destined to claim victory until a wonderful back nine charge from Ewing saw her claim the title. In a bogey-free round of 66, Ewing claimed five successive birdies from the 12th to the 16th hole to edge in front of Lin.
Ewing attributed her win – a first on the LPGA Tour since last year’s Bank of Hope Matchplay Championship – to a new shorter putting stroke which she had first implemented at last month’s Canadian Open.
“The change that I made in the couple of weeks before Canada was big in just shortening the back stroke. In Canada I was really close to putting some stuff together, but still kind of a little finicky. This week I saw putts go in. Once I saw them go, I had that confidence . . . . I struggled with nerves all day because I just haven’t been able to put it together for a full tournament this year. To see it all (come together) and all the results finally come into place, it’s really exciting,” said Ewing who moved up 42 places to 30th on the LPGA Tour order of merit with the win.
