Leona Maguire never dreamed she’d be competing in the same field at Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. Yet there she was, the lone female pro at the JP McManus Pro-Am at Adare Manor in Limerick, Ireland, where tens of thousands of Irish fans were on hand for the charity event that has raised more than $145 million in its previous five stagings.
The former Duke star made sure to have her picture taken with Woods, replicating a photo souvenir from the 2006 Ryder Cup at The K Club. Other notable pros in the event include Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Matt Fitzpatrick, Collin Morikawa, Rickie Fowler and Brooks Koepka. Jordan Spieth was disqualified after the first round.
“There’s a greater buzz about the event,” said Maguire, who was sandwiched in between Woods and McIlory on Monday. “There’s supposed to be 35,000, 40,000 thousand people in the gates. We don’t normally get that in LPGA events.”
