Leona Maguire explained a day earlier that she was leaning on her underdog status to possibly assist her in overcoming a three-stroke final-round deficit to one of the LPGA’s best players, Nelly Korda. It didn’t work. Korda followed a career-best 62 on Saturday with a final-round 67 to post a two-stroke victory over Maguire in the Meijer LPGA Classic on Sunday.
Korda’s 72-hole score of 25-under par 263 at Blythefield Country Club in Grand Rapids, Mich., was a tournament record, as was her 10-under 62 in the third round.
“[I] actually really enjoyed today,” Korda said following her fifth LPGA victory and second of the season. “Honestly, there has been times where on Sundays I really, like, haven’t enjoyed it, like the stress kind of ate me and I didn’t stay in the moment and enjoy playing golf on a Sunday in a final group.”
Apparently Maguire was hoping for more of that. “All the pressure is on Nelly,” Maguire said Saturday. “Everybody expects Nelly to win tomorrow. She’s ranked whatever she is in the world, top five. Nobody expects me to do anything tomorrow. I’ve really got nothing to lose.”
Maguire, 22, played accordingly, shooting a bogey-free six-under par 66, to finish solo second, the best performance of her professional career. Moreover, she birdied three straight holes, Nos. 2 through 4, early on the front nine to erase Korda’s lead.
“Leona’s a really good player,” Korda said. “She kept me on my toes all day.”
