Leona Maguire made history on Saturday by becoming the first Irish golfer to win an LPGA event following a stunning performance at the Drive On Championship in Florida.
Maguire finished on an impressive -18, three shots clear of second-placed Lexi Thompson at the Crown Colony Golf & Country Club in Fort Myers.
The Cavan native shot six birdies on Saturday to card a final round of 67 (-5).
She had gone into the final day tied for the lead with American golfer Marina Alex, but birdies on the 10th, 11th, and 13th holes helped her to pull away from the chasing pack.
She endured a somewhat nervy finish when Thompson holed out on the 10th for an eagle two, but the 27-year-old hung on to claim a three-shot victory.
A bogey from Thompson on the 16th, coupled with a birdie from Maguire on the same hole proved to be the clincher, allowing Maguire to bogey the final hole and still win comfortably.
"It's a bit surreal... it’s 17 years in the making. I’m just proud of how the whole week went, especially today," Maguire said after the historic victory.
"I have a lot of people to thank and it’s been a long road, but it’s probably more relief than anything else."
Maguire recorded five top-ten finishes last year and put in a stellar performance in the Solheim Cup to help Europe retain the trophy in Toledo, Ohio.
She said she channeled those experiences to help propel her to victory on Saturday.
"It was just to stay really patient. I felt like I did a really good job of that this week. I knew my game was close, I did a lot of hard work in the off-season and finally got there in the end."
Maguire spent a record-breaking 135 weeks as world number one in the amateur game while she was a student at Duke University. She enjoyed a breakout year as a professional in 2021 and ended the year ranked 43rd in the world.
Comments