“Proud is an understatement.”
Niall Horan was not the only golf fan trying to find new superlatives after Leona Maguire went on a three-day rout of Team USA at The Solheim Cup.
Maguire won four of her five matches and split the other one to win a rookie record of 4.5 points in the competition. The Cavan native did so well over the three days of matches that her teammates serenaded her with ‘M.V.P’ chants, on Monday, as she lifted the trophy for Team Europe.
As Maguire ruthlessly about her business, the NBC commentary team could scarcely contain their fulsome praise. One set of avid golf fans that were following Maguire closely over the past few days and, indeed, last few years, are the No Laying Up team.
The team behind the hugely popular show were at the Inverness Club in Toldeo, Ohio and bore witness to a rookie outing like no other from Maguire.
Leona Maguire of Team Europe celebrates with the Solheim Cup after winning over Team USA at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)Having already gained some headlines with their ‘A star is born’ claims, after Maguire went 3.5 from her four weekend matches, the guys gave a shout-out to any Irish outlets or newspapers that may be listening to their tournament wrap.
“If we were raving about her performance, as of Sunday night,” host Chris Solomon began, “Leona came out and… I had predicted that Jennifer Kupcho was going to outlast her [in the Singles]. I was really impressed with what Jennifer has done, and thought Maguire was just going to run out of steam and, gosh, that is just so polar opposite from what happened.
“She went out and birdied [one eagle, three birdies] four of those first seven holes, including on the seventh, which no-one was birdie-ing the entire week. And I think she said she had never parred the sixth hole all week – she had bogeyed it all week. She went out and birdied that hole today. It was just a freakin’ statement.
“That was a match where I did not see a path to victory for the US without Jennifer Kupcho winning that match, and it wasn’t even close.”
Co-host Phil Landes, who goes by the on-air name of ‘Big Randy’, was blown away by Maguire’s “incredible, incredible” performance.
“She looked like she could not have enjoyed beating the Americans on their home soil any more,” he declared. “It was so much fun to watch her go about it.”
With the Ryder Cup – the men’s equivalent of USA vs. Europe – coming up from September 24 to 26, one wise soul had a suggestion for Team Europe captain Padráig Harrington:
Should Paddy Harrington use a captain's pick on Leona Maguire??
— Zephyr Melton (@zephyrmelton) September 6, 2021
The way Maguire has played over the past few months, Harrington would be advised to have a sneaky peek at the Ryder Cup rule-books.
Jon Rahm and Leona Maguire taking on the best of Steve Stricker’s Team USA at Whistling Straits, in two weeks. It would be a riveting watch.
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