Leona Maguire feels her game has turned a corner after 'up-and-down year'
Leona Maguire feels her game has turned a corner after an often frustrating season as she lands in Carton House for this week's KPMG Women's Irish Open.
Maguire, already a two-time LPGA Tour winner, arrives at the Kildare venue having secured her first victory on the Ladies European Tour at the Aramco Team Series event in London last month.
That was a historic first ever win for an Irish golfer on the LET but came in the midst of an otherwise uneven year for Maguire, who missed three cuts in the majors and struggled badly at the Paris Olympics after a bout of sickness that week.
Maguire did survive to the weekend at the fifth and final major of the year last week, the AIG Women's Open, battling to a tied-37th finish in treacherous weather conditions at the Old Course in St Andrews.
With the Solheim Cup - Maguire's playground in recent years - looming into view, the Cavan woman reckons her game is coming together following a patchy season.
"It's been a bit of an up-and-down year," she told RTÉ Sport's Dave Kelly.
"There's been a lot of stuff going on. I feel like my game is starting to turn a corner lately.
"Played really solid stuff in St Andrews last week. It was a very tough test.
"So, I'm looking forward to this week. Looking forward to the Solheim Cup in a couple of weeks time and there's still plenty of golf to be played for the rest of the year."
This week sees the third edition of the Women's Irish Open since its return to the European Tour schedule after a 10-year absence.
The tournament initially had an unbroken run on the Tour between 1994 and 2003, the legendary Laura Davies winning the first couple of instalments at the St Margaret's course in north Dublin, then returning for another five-year period between 2008 and