Leona Maguire happy to be Europe's silent assassin
Leona Maguire with her parents Declan and Breda in Virginia. Picture: LET
Leona Maguire insists he’s happy to be a silent assassin as skipper Suzann Pettersen bids to lead Europe to a record fourth successive success in the Solheim Cup this week.
Europe won for the second match in a row at Inverness Club in 2021 with Maguire putting in a sensational rookie performance by winning four and a half points from five.
It was more of a struggle at Finca Cortesin in Spain last year, but Europe bounced back from a 4-0 hammering in the first morning session to snatch a 14-14 draw and retain the trophy with Maguire playing a key role once more, winning three of her five matches.
The in-form Americans are the hot favourites to win back the Solheim Cup at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club near Washington DC.
But while Co Cavan battler Maguire admits she’s not a big presence in the team room, she’s happy to let her clubs do the talking in her favourite event.
“I'm not a big personality,” said Maguire, who has an incredible 75pc Solheim Cup win record with seven wins, one half and just two defeats from 10 matches.
“I’ve never been the loudest in the room. I'm not going to be giving massive team talks. For the last two, my job is to get as many points as possible. That's how I can contribute best to the team, and that's what I try to do.
“Again, every Solheim Cup is different, and whatever Suzann wants me to do this week, that's what I'll do.”
Maguire believes last year’s match was a timely reminder to Pettersen of what Europe need to improve on to beat a US side boasting superstars such as Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu and Lexi Thompson.
“I think she's a little bit calmer this time around,” Maguire said. “I think she's relying on her assistant captains. She's trusting her own instincts a lot as well.
“Ultimately, every captain is different. Everybody is going to have an opinion what you did right and what you did wrong. Ultimately, I think she has to stick to her guns and go with what she believes is right.
“I think she's doing it this time around. I think she did that from Friday afternoon onward as well. She obviously has an incredible Solheim record as a player. Yeah, she wants to add to it as a captain, and we'll do our very best to help her with that.”
As for what makes the feisty Pettersen an effective leader, Maguire said: “I think Suzann is Suzann. She's been pretty similar. She obviously brings a lot of energy to the team, a lot of passion. She's very, very competitive, and nobody wants to win more than her this week.
“I think she learned a lot from Spain. While we did bring back the trophy, there was a lot of things that didn't quite go right in Spain. I think, to be fair to her, she was very open to feedback, and she's taken a lot of that on board.
“Yeah, she's changed a few things. Obviously Mel (Reid) has come in (as a vice-captain and we have a lot of helpers behind the scenes this week as well, which is nice to have them people involved again.
“A lot of the people have been involved in the Solheim Cups in the past, so nice to have sort of a few new faces and some fresh energy as well behind the scenes as well.
“While it's us 12 hitting the shots, there's a lot of people that go into making this event happen, and we're lucky to have them sort of in our team. Yeah, I think we're all looking forward to another go at it.
European vice-captain Reid believes Maguire remains Europe’s mot valuable asset after partnering her to two foursomes wins and a half in fourballs in Ohio three years ago.
“She's my best friend, as everyone knows,” Reid joked of Maguire, who she found difficult to know at first before striking up a great partnership. “She actually sits next to me at dinner now without me pushing her, which is actually quite nice.
“She's fiery on the golf course. I think you see that. She's very passionate. She loves match play. She loves Solheim Cup. She loves looking her competitor in the face saying, I'm going to beat you, and she wears that extremely well in the team.
“She never gives up. She has so much grit and determination. It's exactly the kind of player you want on your team. And she's not a long player, and I think that's what frustrates the competitors as well, is that she just gets it done not hitting it very far.
“As far as a teammate, obviously she's one of the quieter players, but at the same time, she's really come out of her shell in the last few years.
“I spoke about this at the previous Solheim Cup, I think, that I was part of, and even Inverness. From the start of the week to the end of the week, she's a completely different person.
“I'm just really proud of how she's really kind of grown and is very comfortable in her own skin now. But yeah, we still call her the MVP. She really is.
“She really has excelled at the last two Solheim Cups, and she's really becoming quite a fierce player, someone that you don't want to be drawn against.
“So we're just really proud that she's on our team, and she's a great teammate and just an all-round top-class girl.
“It almost made me sick saying nice things about her (laughter).”
