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Leona Maguire ended her 2022 season by bagging her biggest prize money check, finishing runner-up at the CME World Tour Championship. Though she put up a valiant effort to co-lead with Lydia Ko in round 3, she fell short in the fourth round to finish runner-up and take home $5,50,000 out of the $ 7 million prize money purse, summing up her $1,812,813 total earnings from the LPGA Tour this season.
Leona Maguire entered the fourth round as the joint leader with Lydia Ko after posting an exceptional 9-under 63. The Irish quickly grabbed the lead after Ko bogeyed the 5th hole. However, Ko quickly leveled the score and took a one-point lead with a birdie on the par-3 8th hole.
Moving on, Ko led by another point by hitting back-to-back birdies on the 16th and 17th holes. Maguire matched up with a birdie on the 17th hole, but a bogey on the 18th hole trailed her by two strokes from the eventual champion, Lydia Ko.
Despite the loss, Maguire is happy with how her 2022 season ended.
“It was an incredible week. A really great way to finish off the season. If you had offered me second at the start of the week, I would have grabbed it with both hands,” said Maguire, who also finished runner-up at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give.
She continued:
“It would have been nice to play a little bit better today, but it was really tough out there. The wind was strong. It was cold. Pins were tricky. Had some really key up-and-downs to keep me in it and keep a little pressure on Lydia, but she played really solid all day today and she's a deserving winner.”
Leona Maguire is the highest-ranked European golfer in the world
The result at the CME Group Tour Championship helped Maguire move up to No. 11 in the world rankings, her highest ranking till now, making her the highest-ranked European golfer in the world.
“It's mixed emotions. Obviously, I would have loved to have won, but four years ago pretty much this week I missed Q-School by a shot. I drove by that exit on Sunday driving down here, and to be here today in this position, it's a big jump forward,” Maguire said.
However, she expressed having mixed feelings for missing out on the $2 million CME Group Championship so close.
Leona Maguire had a successful 2022 season. She won the LPGA Drive On Championship earlier this year to become the first golfer from Ireland to win an LPGA tournament. She also had three top-five finishes, including a tie for fourth at the AIG Women's open.
The 27-year-old also had four other top-10 finishes this season, the most significant being the eighth-place finish at the US Women's Open. She said:
"It's been an incredible year. It's been my best season so far, and I've gotten better every year. Looking forward to the off-season now and hopefully can have an even better 2023."
Overall, Leona Maguire finished this year in the top 10 on the LPGA awards list for Player of the Year for the most money and most top 10 finishes.
