Leona Maguire has finished with a flurry of birdies to take out the latest event on the LPGA tour. -AP
Leona Maguire has played her final six holes in six under and shot an eight-under 64 to win the Meijer LPGA Classic by two strokes, her second tour victory.
Irishwoman Maguire made six birdies and an eagle in her bogey-free round at Blythefield on Sunday to finish at 21 under. She caught playing partner Ariya Jutanugarn with an eagle on the par-5 14th hole to reach 18 under, then closed with three straight birdies to pull ahead of the Thai and China’s Xiyu Lin.
Minjee Lee (72) was the best-placed Australian in a tie for 13th at 13 under with compatriots Grace Kim (65) finishing 11 under, Hannah Green (66) six under and Steph Kyriacou (74) one under.
Maguire was solid but unspectacular on the front nine, birdieing both par 3s, and was two under for the day through 12 holes. She then birdied the par-3 13th to kick off her torrid closing stretch.
Jutanugarn, a 12-time winner on tour including two majors, shot her second straight 66 and finished alone in second. Lin, playing in the final group, birdied the 14th to reach 19 under but played her final four holes in one over to shoot 68 and finish tied for third with third-round leader Amy Yang (69) of South Korea.
The 28-year-old Maguire was the runner-up at Blythefield in both 2021 and last year. She won her first LPGA Tour title last year at the Drive On Championship. Sunday’s finish was her third straight in the top 10 heading into two upcoming majors: the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship next week at Baltusrol and the US Women’s Open at Pebble Beach on July 6-9.
South Korean Hyo Joo Kim (69) was fifth. Defending champion Jennifer Kupcho of the United States had a fourth-round 69 and finished in a tie for sixth with another Thai in Jasmine Suwannapura (66).