Leona Maguire Bio
Leona Maguire (born 30 November 1994) is an Irish professional golfer from County Cavan, Ireland. A former standout at Duke University, she turned professional in 2018 and plays on both the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour. Maguire is widely recognized as one of the most decorated amateur golfers of her generation and the most successful Irish women’s professional golfer in history.
In 2022 she became the first Irish woman to win on the LPGA Tour, capturing the LPGA Drive On Championship by three strokes. Two years later she added a Ladies European Tour title, becoming the first Irish woman to do so. With a record-setting 61 in the final round of the 2021 Evian Championship, she also holds the lowest final-round score in major-championship history.
Early Life and Background
Leona Maguire was born on 30 November 1994 in County Cavan, Ireland, where she continues to make her home. She grew up in a family with a strong sporting tradition, and at the age of nine she gave up a promising swimming career to concentrate on golf. The decision proved formative, and by her early teenage years she was already competing against senior professionals.
Maguire attended Loreto College in Cavan, leaving secondary school with top scholastic honors before enrolling at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. At Duke, where one of her classmates was American basketball player Grayson Allen, she earned a degree in psychology along with a certificate in markets and management studies, finishing with a 3.94 grade-point average.
Path to Professional Golf
Maguire’s rise through the amateur ranks was swift. In 2007, at just 12 years old, she became the youngest golfer ever to play in a Ladies European Tour event at the Northern Ireland Ladies Open. Two years later, at 14, she became the youngest-ever winner of the Irish Women’s Amateur Golfer of the Year award.
Her amateur career peaked between 2015 and 2017, when she won the Mark H. McCormack Medal as the world’s top-ranked female amateur three consecutive years, equalling the record held by Lydia Ko. She also won the Annika Award twice, was named WGCA Player of the Year twice, and in 2017 captured the British Ladies Amateur Championship. On 31 January 2018 she broke Lydia Ko’s record for most weeks atop the World Amateur Golf Ranking, finishing with 131 weeks at number one.
Leona Maguire Career
Early Career (2018–2019)
Leona Maguire turned professional on 5 June 2018, signing with Niall Horan’s Modest! Golf management company along with endorsement deals from Puma, Ping, Allianz and KPMG. She based herself in Scottsdale, Arizona, and made her professional debut the same week at the ShopRite LPGA Classic, finishing tied for 15th. Later that year she made her Ladies European Tour debut at the Andalucía Costa Del Sol Open de España Femenino.
Her first professional victory came on 7 April 2019 at the Windsor Golf Classic on the Symetra Tour, where she won with a birdie on the first playoff hole. She followed it with a five-stroke win at the Symetra Classic in Davidson, North Carolina, finishing the season ranked number one on the Symetra Tour money list. In October 2019 she secured her LPGA Tour card for the 2020 season by finishing seventh on the Symetra Tour money list, joining Stephanie Meadow as only the second Irish professional on the LPGA Tour.
LPGA Tour Breakthrough (2020–2022)
Maguire made her LPGA Tour debut in January 2020 at the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio and quickly found her footing. By the end of that season she led the LPGA in putting average, the first Irish golfer and the first Duke alumna to do so. In 2021 she recorded her career-defining moment, a final-round 61 at the Evian Championship that stands as the lowest final-round score in major-championship history.
That same season she set the all-time rookie points record at the 2021 Solheim Cup with 4.5 points, helping Europe defeat the United States 15–13 and becoming the first Irish golfer ever selected for the event. In February 2022 she captured the LPGA Drive On Championship in Fort Myers, Florida, by three strokes over Lexi Thompson, becoming the first Irish woman to win on the LPGA Tour. She closed 2022 ranked 11th in the world, the highest-ranked European player.
Continued Tour Success (2023–2024)
In June 2023, Leona Maguire won her second LPGA Tour title at the Meijer LPGA Classic, becoming the first Irish woman to win multiple times on the tour. The following week she reached a career-high world ranking of 10th, again the first Irish woman to break into the top ten. She finished the season with $1.37 million in on-course earnings and was named Irish Women’s Professional Golfer of the Year.
In April 2024 she reached the final of the T-Mobile Match Play before falling to Nelly Korda, then on 5 July 2024 she became the first Irish woman to win on the Ladies European Tour at the Aramco Team Series event at Centurion Club in England. In December 2024 she was inducted into the Women’s Golf Coaches Association Players Hall of Fame, the first Irish golfer honored, and received an honorary doctorate in science from Ulster University.
Driving Style and Strengths
Maguire is widely regarded as one of the straightest drivers on the LPGA Tour, consistently ranking among the leaders in driving accuracy. She pairs that accuracy with one of the tour’s best putting averages, an unusual combination that played a major role in her historic 2021 season. Her course management and composure in match-play formats have also stood out, particularly during her record-setting Solheim Cup performance.
Notable Events and Milestones
Maguire’s most iconic moment came on 25 July 2021, when her final-round 61 at the Evian Championship set the record for the lowest final-round score in major-championship history. Her 4.5-point performance at the 2021 Solheim Cup remains the all-time rookie record in either the Solheim Cup or Ryder Cup. She also represented Ireland at both the 2016 Rio and 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Leona Maguire Career Wins
Across her professional career Leona Maguire has recorded five verified tour victories: two on the LPGA Tour, two on the Symetra Tour, and one on the Ladies European Tour. Her breakthrough LPGA win in 2022 was followed by a second LPGA title in 2023, while her 2024 LET win cemented her status as the most successful Irish women’s golfer of the professional era.
LPGA Tour Highlights
Maguire’s first LPGA Tour win came at the 2022 LPGA Drive On Championship in Fort Myers, Florida, where she led by three strokes over Lexi Thompson. Her second victory arrived at the 2023 Meijer LPGA Classic, making her the first Irish woman to win multiple times on the LPGA Tour. She has also posted runner-up finishes at the Lotte Championship, Meijer LPGA Classic, Pelican Women’s Championship, and CME Group Tour Championship.
Other Wins and Performances
On the Ladies European Tour, Maguire won the 2024 Aramco Team Series at Centurion Club, leading wire-to-wire to claim the title. Her two Symetra Tour victories in 2019, the Windsor Golf Classic and the Symetra Classic, helped her earn her LPGA Tour card. She has also accumulated top-five finishes at the ISPS Handa Vic Open, KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, and the U.S. Women’s Open.
| Tour | Wins | Notable Finishes | Poles |
|---|---|---|---|
| LPGA Tour | 2 | 2× Meijer LPGA runner-up | 0 |
| Ladies European Tour | 1 | 2024 Aramco Team Series winner | 0 |
| Symetra / Epson Tour | 2 | 2019 money-list qualifier | 0 |
Leona Maguire Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Maguire’s most notable family connection in golf is her twin sister, Lisa Maguire, who was also a professional golfer before retiring in 2019. Leona is 15 minutes older than Lisa. The sisters competed alongside each other throughout their amateur careers, including in junior events such as the 2005 Young Masters Golf Junior Series.
Personal Life
Maguire is a native of County Cavan, Ireland, where her family remains based. She is not publicly known to be married and has no publicly confirmed spouse or children. Outside of golf, she has been recognized for her academic excellence, earning induction into Phi Beta Kappa and receiving the CoSIDA Academic All-America honors during her time at Duke University.
2025 Season Performance
The 2025 season has seen Leona Maguire continue to build on her career earnings, passing the $5 million mark in LPGA Tour career money early in the year. As a veteran presence on both the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour, she is focused on adding to her five professional victories and climbing back toward the top ten in the world rankings.
Her early-season results suggest steady form, with consistent cuts made and several top-25 finishes on the LPGA Tour. On the Ladies European Tour, she remains a leading contender in Aramco Team Series events and is expected to contend in select majors throughout the year.
Looking ahead, Maguire’s goals for the 2025 season include contending in the major championships, securing a return to the European Solheim Cup team, and pushing for additional titles. With her trademark accuracy off the tee and one of the strongest short games on tour, she remains one of Ireland’s most decorated professional golfers and a continuing ambassador for the women’s game.