Leona Maguire entered the 2023 Meijer LPGA Classic already twice a runner up at this event. Falling to Jennifer Kupcho in a playoff in 2022 and coming up two stokes shy of Nelly Korda the year prior, the now 28-year-old Maguire finally got over the hump at Blythefield Country Club by racing to the finish line for a two-stroke victory over Ariya Jutanugarn at 21 under.
“I feel like I’ve taken different things from both years,” said Maguire, who posted a sterling 8-under 64 on Sunday. “I’ve been playing some really good golf leading into this week, and just tried to be patient. It was nice to go bogey-free I think on Sunday, and my goal today was to get to 20 under. Nice to go one better than that.”
The Irishwoman began the final round two strokes off the pace of 54-hole leader Amy Yang. A steady front nine saw her pick up birdies on both the par 3s and reach 15 under where she would stand until the 13th. Another birdie on another par 3 followed, but Maguire’s charge wouldn’t be kickstarted until an eagle on the par-5 15th pushed her into a share of the lead at 18 under.
Behind Maguire on the golf course, Xiyu Lin persisted and tacked on a birdie to push the lead out to 19 under. Maguire countered immediately with a birdie on the 16th and two more on the 17th and 18th to push herself ahead and ultimately out of reach.
In total, the Duke product’s final six holes featured an eagle, four birdies and a par as she played the final third of her last round in 6-under fashion to snatch her second career LPGA victory.
“I felt like I played some really good golf last year,” said Maguire. “Missed out on a playoff here, second at CME. You have to play really good golf to win out here. It’s tough. It’s a really nice feeling to get this one, and especially heading into the majors we have coming up.”
The victory couldn’t come at a better time for the woman who once stood atop of the amateur game for 135 weeks, a record that stood until Rose Zhang broke it. The 2023 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Baltusrol looms and a major run may well be in Maguire’s near future.