Throughout their time growing up in rural Ireland, juniors Lisa and Leona Maguire were two of the most popular young golfers in a country that is home to three-time major champion Padraig Harrington.
Whether they were working tirelessly on the golf course or excelling in the classroom, the twins—who happened to have many of the same interests—were nearly inseparable.
“There’s always been that sort of competitiveness between us,” Lisa Maguire said before the start of her freshman season. “We’ve kind of grown up doing everything together so it’s natural enough that there’s a bit of rivalry.”
But two years after crossing the pond and opting to play golf at Duke instead of going pro, the Maguire twins find themselves at a fork in the road that will split them up this fall.
The No. 1 amateur player in the world, Leona Maguire will attempt to qualify for the LPGA Tour this fall by playing in a handful of tournaments in the coming months to gain permanent status on the tour. At the same time, her sister Lisa will remain with the Blue Devils and look to improve her game during a third year in Durham.
“We’re just at different stages right now,” Lisa said last week. “There had to come a point—obviously we weren’t going to do everything together for the rest of our lives. We’re at a crossroads, one of us can go left, one of us can go right, and that’s exciting at the same time.”
Leona’s attempt to jump to the professional circuit should not come as a surprise given the career she has had so far at Duke.
The junior is a two-time first-team All-American and finished with eight top-20 finishes in 2015-16. In addition to finishing with the team’s best stroke average, Maguire finished the season at No. 4 in Golfweek’s individual rankings.
But one of her most memorable accomplishments took place far from Duke’s campus.
The Cavan, Ireland, native finished this summer’s Olympics tied for 21st at 2-under-par, finishing as the low amateur in golf’s return to the Olympics for the first time since 1904. Unlike men’s golf, which saw several top players skip the Games, almost all of the top women’s players in the world traveled to Rio, yet Maguire still held her own. What made it even sweeter was that her sister was with her step for step as her caddy.
“The Olympics is the biggest sporting event in the world and to be a part of that, see all the different countries and all the big athletes that you’re watching on TV since you were a kid, was amazing,” Leona said. “It’s something I’ll never forget.”
The finish in Rio came about three weeks after Leona was the low amateur at the RICOH Women’s British Open, finishing tied for 25th at 4-under-par despite a final-round 75.
As she attempts to build off her strong summer and qualify for the LPGA tour this fall, Leona’s sister will tackle a different challenge. Although Lisa has shown flashes of the potential that made her a highly-touted amateur before she came to Duke, she only played in three events in 2015-16 after playing 11 as a freshman.
In a sport so heavily dependent on being consistent, the junior is hoping that an offseason spent working on all aspects of her game will pay dividends. Maguire spent a chunk of time this summer in the weight room, and will look to team with NCAA individual champion Virginia Elena Carta, senior Sandy Choi, junior Gurbani Singh and freshman Ana Belac to keep the No. 5 Blue Devils among the nation’s best teams.
“It would be nice to see maybe a couple of more yards off the tee,” Lisa said. “More distance would be nice. More consistency across the season. Obviously, you’re not going to play well every tournament but it would be nice to have a strong season at the same time.”
As the Maguires get set to embark on their separate paths, the two hope to reunite on the professional circuit in the future—a goal they set after giving up swimming to pursue golf at age nine.
Although the twins will not take the course together as much this fall, the connection between the two will certainly have just as strong of a connection. In addition to pursuing Duke’s Markets and Management Studies certificate together, the Maguires have roomed together and been with each other every step of the way.
“I don’t think many siblings can say that they got to go to somewhere like Duke together and share the experience together,” Leona said. “We’ve been very lucky that we got to share some of the same experiences, but it’s also good that we’re getting to pursue other opportunities independent of each other.”
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