Women's PGA: Ireland's Leona Maguire carries European hopes at major championship

Leona Maguire takes the now obligatory selfie with the trophy after winning last week's LPGA Classic

Ireland's Leona Maguire is the form horse heading into this week's KPMG Women's PGA at the famed Baltusrol here in New Jersey.

Solheim Cup hero Maguire romped to her second tour triumph last Sunday with a stunning back-nine 30 in a closing 64 to claim the LPGA Classic, having been runner up in each of the previous two years.

It means the Irishwoman should be full of confidence as she seeks her first major win on what promises to be among the sternest of golfing tests. She believes her victory in Michigan was ideal preparation.

And Maguire has already done her homework for the second women's major of the year, which starts on Thursday. She likes what she sees in a layout that staged the men's US PGA Championships of 2005 and 2016 won by Phil Mickelson and Jimmy Walker respectively.

"It's a beastly golf course," said the 28-year-old from Cavan, in the immediate aftermath of Sunday's win. "It's a real major venue. I think this week is good preparation for it. I feel like I drove the ball really well.

"I think the greens are going to be firm and fast there like they were here. A slightly different test, it being a major."

Maguire is trending in the right direction, looking ever more like a potential major winner in waiting. She was a semi-finalist at the recent LPGA Match Play and finished seventh at the Mizuho Americas Open, won by tour debutant Rose Zhang.

Maguire credits three times major winner Padraig Harrington for help to sharpen her short game and it played a crucial role in her latest success.

"I had a few really key up-and-downs this week especially on 17 both Friday and Saturday," she explained. "Padraig showed me some shots, so I have to thank him for it."

Harrington finished six under par to finish 13th at the 2016 PGA so may be a source of further advice this week.

The choice of Baltusrol is further evidence of the women's game seeking to take their biggest tournaments to historic courses. Next month's US Open will be played at Pebble Beach.

We have long since seen the AIG Women's Open played on famous British links such as the Old Course at St Andrews, Royal Birkdale, Royal Lytham and last year for the first time at Muirfield.

This policy can only raise the profile of events such as this one, which boasted record prize money of $9m in 2022. Women's golf lags way behind the value of the men's game, where LIV-inspired hyper inflation widens the pay gap.

Nevertheless this week and the next major at Pebble Beach offer opportunities to raise the profile with plenty of powerful storylines.

While Maguire is spearheading European hopes, the star of the show in the build up will be 20-year-old Zhang who made a stunning start to her pro career with victory in her very first tournament in the paid ranks.

The American golf media are in full hype mode with the Florida Times-Union proclaiming Zhang "by every meaningful measuring stick…a legitimate game-changing presence".

The paper added: "She has game like nothing golf has seen in a US teenaged phenom since a couple of other Stanford University products, Tiger Woods and Michelle Wie West, took hype to another level."

No pressure then for a player who competed in eight majors as an amateur, with a best result of tied 11th at the 2020 ANA Inspiration (now Chevron Championship).

Last year South Korea's In Gee Chun edged Lexi Thompson - who squandered a two-shot lead with three to play - and US Open winner Minjee Lee in a thrilling championship.

This is the one major won to date by world number two Nelly Korda, who triumphed in 2021.

British hopes are once again carried by Georgia Hall and Charley Hull. World number eight Hall has two runner-up finishes this season but only one top-10 in her past five events.

Hull has also come close to winning this year, with a second place at the Tournament of Champions in January but she missed the cut at the Chevron and last week in Michigan.

World number one Jin Young Ko is in fine form with two wins among four top-10s in her last seven events. Twenty-year-old Thai Atthaya Thitikul is another to watch as the former top of the rankings chases a maiden major title.

And it will be fascinating to see how Linn Grant, the LET's Race to Costa Del Sol champion, fares now that her unvaccinated status for covid no longer precludes her from travel to the US.

The 23- year-old Swede is an outstanding talent and like Maguire made the semi-finals of the recent Match Play. These two seem the most likely candidates to yield European success this week.