The season did not end the way she would have liked, but Leona Maguire still continued to rack up the honors at the NCAA championship.
The Duke freshman earned National Player of the Year honors by being named the recipient of the ANNIKA Award following the fourth round of stroke play at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla., Monday. Maguire adds the trophy to a long list of accolades from her first season in Durham, including ACC Player of the Year and ACC Rookie of the Year honors.
Maguire finished tied for second during the individual portion of the NCAA championship, one of just four golfers to post a four-day score at or below par. The Cavan, Ireland, took that momentum into Tuesday morning’s match play quarterfinal against Texas Tech, earning a victory, but ran into trouble down the stretch in Tuesday afternoon’s semifinal match against Baylor. She fell behind Dylan Kim on the 17th hole and could not catch up on the 18th after her putt came to rest on the lip of the hole as the Bears evened the match 2-2. Baylor went on to win 3-2 as the final match was decided on the sixth playoff hole.
The freshman claimed eight top-five finishes during her rookie campaign, including wins at the ACC championship and the NCAA regional in South Bend, Ind. Maguire finished the season with a stroke average of 70.8, breaking the school record of 71.0 held by current LPGA member Amanda Blumenhurst.
