Maguire twins lead Ireland to historic win

Editorial Department • Published 16 Jul 2009 11:45 Comments 1 Comment

Share this

European Girls Team Championship; The Maguire twins continued their dominance of girls golf last weekend by leading Ireland to their first ever triumph in the European Girls Team Championship.

The event, held in Finland, attracted the best of Europe"s next generation, but it was Leona and Lisa Maguire who along with their two teammates emerged as the class of the field, defeating Sweden in the final.

The event started with 36 holes of strokeplay, with the top eight teams qualifying for the matchplay stages. Ireland eased their way into the next phase of the tournament with Leona posting the best score of the entire field, and Lisa finishing fifth. After the first 18 holes, Lisa"s opening level par round left her in third spot, with Leona slipping well down the pack after a disappointing 77.

Roles were reversed on day two however, with Leona"s five under par 67 catapulting her to the top of the qualifiers. Lisa"s second day 74 left her two adrift of her sister.

The quarter finals matched the Ireland team against Belgium, and they quickly put their first foursome point on the board when the twins teamed up to defeat their opponents with three holes to spare. Although Lisa lost her singles match in the afternoon, Leona"s victory was enough to take them through to a semi-final tie against England.

Once again the Maguire pairing won their foursome match, and this time the fortunes of Lisa and Leona were reversed in the singles, with Lisa claiming the match winning point.

That victory sent the team into a final against Sweden, who have won the title three times in the past five years. The Ireland team were in no mood to respect history however, and they eased past their opponents by four points to one.

The twins maintained their unbeaten foursome record with a 2&1 success, and after Lisa had secured half a point in the singles, Leona"s victory on the 18th green was enough to ensure the prestigious title went to Ireland for the first time.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 16 Jul 09

Have your say. Post a comment on this article.

baya benkara
Unregistered User
Jan 20, 12:33
Report comment

congratulations, wish more success in your future.

by the occasion, i just want you to helpe finding a person, she was my teacher of english in Algeria, at Ksar El Boukhari 1979. i really loved her, an really want to contact her. her name in Breda Maguire. Many thanks. i'm Baya Benkara.

Recommend? Yes 0 No 0

Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our Sport archives.