Cavan twins Lisa and Leona Maguire will begin their pro careers at the ShopRite LPGA Classic this weekend, both dreaming of taking their sparkling amateur achievements to the next level.
The pair are the first Irish players to sign with Modest! Golf, a management company started by Mullingar pop star Niall Horan.
They'll tee off at the Stockton Seaview Hotel and Golf Club in New jersey on Thursday morning.
Delighted to welcome @leona_maguire & @Lisa_Maguire_ to @modestgolf . The girls will represent @KPMGGolf, @KPMG_Ireland, @AllianzIreland and @PumaGolf. Good luck this week at @ShopriteLPGA! pic.twitter.com/Rf7s7nItWm
— Niall Horan (@NiallOfficial) June 6, 2018
Leona begins her professional career as one of the most decorated amateur golfers in history. She represented Ireland at the 2016 Rio Games, led the Great Britain & Ireland team to victory in the Curtis Cup that same year, and won the 2017 Ladies British Open Amateur Championship.
In her four years competing for Duke University, Leona was twice a winner of the ANNIKA Award as national collegiate player of the year and the WGCA National Player of the Year award (2015, 2017).
The 23-year-old was thrice named Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Player of the Year (2015, 2017, 2018) and won 10 collegiate tournaments, along with three individual ACC Championships.
Leona also holds the records for most weeks at No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (135), breaking Lydia Ko’s record, and best career scoring average for Division I Women’s Golf (70.93).
Lisa has spent the last four years at Duke University with her sister, serving as a major contributor to Duke Women’s Golf’s ACC Championships in 2017 and 2018.
As an amateur, she was a three-time All-Ireland School’s Champion and winner of 16 amateur titles, highlighted by victories at the European Ladies Amateur Championship and Spanish Ladies Amateur Championship in 2011.
Lisa is a winner of Great Britain and Ireland Women’s Order of Merit, and competed internationally in the Junior Solheim Cup and Curtis Cup.
