Leona Maguire highlights more majors improvement after strong finish at Women's Open

After producing a bogey-free finish for a share of fourth spot at the AIG Women's Open, Leona Maguire took much satisfaction after another strong finish at a major.

A blemish free round of 66, decorated by an eagle at the par-5 fifth and birdies at the 4th, 11th and 13th, saw Maguire rise up the leaderboard at Muirfeld. In the end she was just three shots shy of making a play-off, where Ashleigh Buhai got the better of In Gee Chun at the fourth play-off hole.

Reflecting on her best ever major finish, the Cavan golfer told RTÉ Sport: "I played as well as I possibly could today. Overall, 66 on a Sunday, bogey free, in a major in tough conditions, delighted with that. I felt like I was playing great golf and that there was a low score in me.

"The conditions were really tough; it was windy from the get-go. I took my chances a little bit more on the front nine. I had a nice birdie on four and the little eagle on five gave me the bit of momentum.

"I felt like I played some really great golf all week. Today was one of the best rounds I have played in a while. Lots of positives, you could go back over the what ifs like you do in any tournament but definitely more positives than negatives."

It goes without saying that Maguire is seeing an upward trajectory in the tournaments that matter most.

"I feel like I'm really improving in the majors," she added.

"I had a 61 at the Evian last year and a top 10 at the US Open this year, and now another top 10 at the British Open. Those top tens in two of the biggest majors are massive. Hopefully it will give me a nice bit of confidence heading into the back end of the year."