Leona Maguire looking for hot start to new LPGA season at Tournament of Champions

If proof were needed of Leona Maguire’s ever upward trending status on the LPGA Tour, it is that the 28-year-old Co Cavan golfer is in the limited-field for this week’s Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona in Orlando, Florida.

This time last year, Maguire was in Lake Nona – which is her base in the United States – but was on one end of the range while those playing in the tournament hit balls at the opposite end.

“They were up on the top range at the golf course and we were down at the bottom range so it was one of those things at the start of the year setting a goal, ‘I don’t want to be down here on the bottom range, I want to be up playing in the tournament next year’,” recalled Maguire, who booked her place with a breakthrough LPGA Tour win in the Drive On Championship.

Maguire returned stateside a couple of weeks ago to prepare for this opening $1.5 million tournament – with a field of just 29 players – and is aiming to kickstart the new season:

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“The schedule is a little stop-start at the start of the year so I’ll just pace myself and work my way into it and then get ready for a very busy summer. That will be the big thing, getting the planning right for that, with four Majors in the space of seven weeks, and make sure I’m on top for when those summer months come around.”

Maguire used the off-season to do some work in the gym. “I would like to be a little bit longer (off the tee) but there is a fine line between going down that rabbit hole and searching for distance and losing the accuracy, so I’m trying to do it quite carefully,” said Maguire, who starts the new campaign ranked 11th in the Rolex world rankings.

Strong field for Irish Legends

A strong field is anticipated for the Irish Legends championship – one of the main events on the European Seniors circuit – when the championship moves to Seapoint Golf Links in Termonfeckin this year, with a date on the newly released schedule of June 19th-25th.

Former Ryder Cup player Phillip Price won the last installment of the tournament at Rossapenna in Donegal last August, and the move to Seapoint comes on the back of a recent €1 million facility upgrade at the venue.

Speaking on behalf of the links, Marty Carr remarked: “We are thrilled to bring international tour events back to Seapoint Golf Links. It’s fantastic that members and the local community can witness legends of the game tee it up and challenge themselves on our links.”

Numbers Game: 4

Shane Lowry and Séamus Power – aiming to bounce back after being on the losing side in the Hero Cup – remain on in Abu Dhabi for this week’s €9 million Rolex Series event in the emirate. Lowry and Power are joined in the tournament by Pádraig Harrington, who is starting a three-week long stint in the region before diverting back to the Champions Tour. Tom McKibbin, in his rookie season on the DP World Tour, has also been added to the field.

Word of Mouth

“Winning on the PGA Tour is the hardest thing to do, and sometimes you just get beat. I feel like that’s what happened today” – Haydn Buckley after losing out to Si Woo Kim by a shot in the Sony Open. Kim closed with back-to-back birdies on the 17th, a chip-in, and 18th to finish with a 64 for a total of 18-under-par 262. It was South Korean Kim’s fourth career win on the PGA Tour.

On this day: January 17th, 1988

Don’t believe it if a golfer tells you he didn’t want to win a tournament sitting in the locker-room. Certainly, Steve Pate had no qualms in putting his hands on the Tournament of Champions trophy – and a payday of $90,000 – after a Pacific storm with winds gusting over 40 miles per hour and heavy rain forced the PGA Tour’s season-opening event to be reduced to 54 holes.

“I’m not going to sit here and lie to you and tell you I’m disappointed they cancelled it,” said an honest Pate, after the decision was made to shorten the tournament with further storm forecasts ruling out extending it to a Monday finish.

Pate, a 26-year-old Californian, shots rounds of 66-66-70 for a 54-hole total of 14-under-par 202 to finish one shot clear of Larry Nelson with Nick Faldo tied with Dave Barr in third place.

Playing in the limited field event for the first time, Pate felt the key hole in his way was a birdie on the 15th in his third round, a dogleg left of 378 yards. He had pushed his drive wildly but found a decent lie and hit a 7-iron approach to 10 feet for what would be his last birdie of the tournament.

In the Bag

Si Woo Kim - Sony Open

Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond (8.5 degrees)

3-wood: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond (15 degrees)

5-wood: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond (18 degrees)

Irons: Callaway X Forged CB (3-PW)

Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw (54 degrees and 60 degrees)

Putter: Odyssey 2-Ball 10 (long)

Ball: Callaway Chrome Soft X

Twitter Twaddle

I love Alex Noren – Thomas Pieters on striking up a winning partnership with the Swede at the Hero Cup.

Team GB&I. what can I say other than how unbelievably proud I am to have led you this week. Great golfers and even better people! Congratulations to Fran and Team Europe you played amazing golf! #HeroCup – Tommy Fleetwood magnanimous in defeat.

Sleek. Black and Red. More Forgiving. @taylormadegolf’s #Stealth2Driver is checking all the boxes this year – Tiger Woods confirming what new driver will be in the bag for his (limited) appearances on tour this year.

Know the Rules

Q In stroke play, a player’s ball comes to rest on a gravel surfaced road. He is entitled to relief from the road but decides to play the ball as it lies. He removes some gravel that might interfere with his stroke. What is the ruling?

A There is no penalty. Gravel is a loose impediment and a player may remove loose impediments without penalty anywhere on the course under Rule 15.1. (See also Loose Impediment/4.).