Leona Maguire powers Duke women's golf to fifth-place finish at Windy City Classic

Duke's lineup might not always have a lot of depth, but it does boast Leona Maguire—at least for now.

Carried by Maguire’s third-place individual finish, the No. 5 Blue Devils finished fifth in the Windy City Classic, holding their own against a field that included six other top-10 teams. Although Maguire contended for the individual title, Duke's other players struggled—no other Blue Devil carded a score lower than a 73 during the three-round event Monday and Tuesday.

The result was that Duke finished with a three-day total of 8-over-par, 18 strokes behind No. 4 Georgia. The Bulldogs took home the trophy at Glen View Golf Club in Chicago with a four-stroke win ahead of No. 6 Stanford. 

“I’m actually really excited about what went on….I pay attention to everything other than results, to be honest with you,” Blue Devil head coach Dan Brooks said. “I pay attention to how people are competing and how their attitudes are and how their games are developing, what’s getting better. In that respect, with the things I pay attention to, I’m very excited.”

Maguire’s first round of 6-under-par 66 set the tone for the tournament, in which she finished 8-under-par overall. The world’s No. 1 amateur hit every fairway in her first two rounds, and all but one green in her first round. After finishing tied for second at the Annika Intercollegiate, Duke’s opening tournament, Maguire missed just two fairways in her first five rounds of the year.

The Cavan, Ireland, native likely will not be completely satisfied with her finish, though, as her final round of even-par 72 was not enough to keep pace with eventual individual champion Andrea Lee, who carded final-round 67. The Stanford star climbed three spots up the leaderboard on the final day, finishing two shots ahead of Maguire at 10-under par.

Although she has started the season on fire, Maguire might not be with the Blue Devils much longer. She is attempting to qualify for the LPGA Tour later this fall, which could leave Duke in a tight spot with just six golfers currently listed on the roster. 

The potential challenges ahead for Brooks' club were shown this week when no other Blue Devil golfer no other golfer finished in the top 30 despite favorable scoring conditions.

“As a freshman, for her first tournament, I thought she played some great golf,” Brooks said. “There was a lot of good stuff going on.”

Noticeably absent from red figures was 2016 NCAA individual champion Virginia Elena Carta, who finished tied for 52nd overall after tying for 14th at the Annika Intercollegiate.

Brooks said Carta was feeling a little bit under the weather with a cough after missing time before the season when her wisdom teeth were taken out. As was the case last week in the Florida heat, Brooks indicated that fatigue might have been a factor that made the sophomore a little less sharp.

Carta and the Blue Devils will have more than a week off before their next tournament Oct.14-16 at the Tar Heel Invitational in Chapel Hill, an event Duke has traditionally dominated.

“This was another great field here,” Brooks said, “so we’re doing okay.”

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