BELMONT, Michigan — A lot of things can change in just one year.
Just 12 months ago, Leona Maguire was known as somebody who had been known one of the best amateurs women’s golf has ever seen, but who had failed to make her mark in her brief pro career. That all changed in a big way last summer.
At last year’s Meijer LPGA Classic, she finished alone in second place for the first time in her career, just two shots behind Nelly Korda who became the No. 1 ranked player in the world the following week. A month later, she was competing in the Olympics for her native Ireland. Then in September, she made a dominant run in her Solheim Cup debut, going undefeated and scoring a team-high 4.5 points. Those points helped push Team Europe to a 15-13 win over Team USA. The cherry on top for the 27-year-old was claiming the first-ever LPGA Tour win for an Irishwoman this February at the LPGA Drive On Championship.
