After winning the national championship last season, the Blue Devils knew they would need freshman reinforcements to cope with the losses of seniors Alejandra Cangrejo and Laetitia Beck and freshman Yu Liu. It was the dynamic two-under par performances by Cangrejo and Beck in the final round of play that helped Duke come from behind to defeat Southern California and win its sixth national title.
Those reinforcements came in the form of a pair of Irish golfers ready to take their talents to the next level in the United States.
Freshman twins Lisa and Leona Maguire enter the season with sky-high expectations as the Blue Devils look to repeat as national champions in 2014. After being recognized in Irish newspapers for their outstanding athletic and academic accomplishments, the twins’ decision to attend Duke and temporarily postpone their professional golfing careers seemed to be a surprising one. Many young European stars forego college and join the professional circuit right away. But the golfers knew exactly what they were doing.
“We didn’t think we were ready to go pro yet,” Leona Maguire said. "There are a lot of demands when you turn pro and we wanted to have a degree as well to fall back on in case we got injured or golf didn’t work out.”
The Maguire twins didn’t grow up with golfing careers in mind. At the age of nine, the duo was forced to give up competitive swimming—their favorite sport at the time—due to an accident that resulted in a broken bone in Lisa’s arm. But with a golf course nearby and the encouragement of their father, it was only a year or two before the twins were competing at a high level as golfers.
“Dad’s been a huge influence on both of our golfing careers,” Lisa Maguire said. “He’s spent a lot of time helping us on our swings and taking us to tournaments.”
As would be expected of all siblings—let alone twins with nearly identical passions and interests—there has been no shortage of competition between the two. Nevertheless, the golfers have embraced this inner rivalry rather than let it detract from their play.
“There’s always been that sort of competitiveness between us. We’ve kind of grown up doing everything together, so it’s natural enough that there’s a bit of rivalry,” Lisa Maguire said. “It helps make sure that we both go out and do our best every time we go and play golf.”
When asked who the better player was, the competitiveness shined through.
“At the start, Lisa probably won more, but in recent times I’ve won more,” Leona Maguire said.
Another aspect of life that the Maguire twins have never been shy to voice their opinion about is their Irish background. Coming over to the United States after living in a rural Irish town with a population less than that of Duke’s has certainly been no cakewalk for the duo.
“Where we are from is quite rural and there is a lot of farmland. We have chickens and hens and turkeys at home and there is a lot more green area,” Leona Maguire said. "The town we’re from only has about 5,000 people so everybody kind of knows each other, which is quite different from here.”
In addition to the change of scenery, the Irish twins are also making a transition that nearly 1,700 other students at Duke are also facing this fall: the transition to the independence of college life. Some of the biggest adjustments have involved the food and the size of their surroundings.
“It’s definitely been a big change, but everybody has been so nice and friendly," Leona Maguire said.
On the links, the duo has the skill-set to help return Duke to the top of the world in women's college golf.
“They’re both very talented players,” Duke head coach Dan Brooks said. “Lisa has a tremendous short game and she’s tenacious. She’s an extremely smart player and she’s going to make sure she gets the score she wants. Leona’s ball-striking is really good and she also has a great short game.... They have great character and a great sense of humor, and they're just a pleasure to have on the team."
Whether it was their performance in the 2009 Girl’s European Team Championships—helping the Irish win for the first time in history— or their individual victories in numerous other tournaments, the Maguire twins have become accustomed to success in their young golf careers.
The driving force behind this success is two-fold: an intrinsic love for the game, coupled with a commitment to hard work and maximum effort.
“We’re both kind of perfectionists and we want to do the best we can,” Leona Maguire said. “That means spending a lot of time on the course and we both love playing so it’s definitely not a chore.”
The twins' commitment to detail and solid work ethic were traits instilled in them by their parents from a young age.
“Our parents always told us growing up that if you want something you have to work for it because nothing is really guaranteed in life,” Lisa Maguire said.
Although the golf world is eager to watch the twins take their talents to the women’s tour, the Maguire twins are focused on taking things nice and slow. With the opportunity to play golf for one of the top college teams in the country and receive a top-notch education, their decision to come to Duke has been a hole-in-one.
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