Anglo-Celt Rehab Cavan Person of the Year 2010 Special Achievement Award - Lisa and Leona Maguire
MartinMcGowan from Slieve Russell Golf Club presents The Special Achievment Award to Lisa and Leona Maguire. Photo: Sheila Rooney
From small acorns... At age 11, Lisa Maguire won the World Under 12 Championship by five shots at Pinehurst with rounds of 68, 68 and 65. Leona was a very creditable third.
The following year the Ballyconnell sisters won a host of girls' championships and also played in their first professional tournament, the Northern Ireland Ladies Open, while in 2008 they raised the bar considerably. At Westport they came face-to-face in the final of the Irish Ladies Close Championship when Leona became the youngest player ever to win the title. Lisa took home the Leitrim Cup as leading qualifier.
Lisa also took the Irish Girls Championship and won the European Junior Masters' with Leona filling second place. These successes automatically earned them places in Europe's Junior Ryder Cup side, and although the team was overwhelmed in Kentucky in September, Lisa went down by just one hole in an outstanding game to Alexis Thompson, the youngest player ever to qualify for the US Women's Open.
As a result of these and many other outstanding performances during 2008, the girls were selected in the squad for the 2009 Vagliano Trophy match against the Continent of Europe in Germany.
Students at Loreto College, Cavan and members of the Slieve Russell Club, the girls have been superb ambassadors for Cavan at home and abroad. They continued their amazing run by becoming the youngest ever Curtis Cup representatives.
In Januray, Leona smashed the record when she won the Portuguese Open by 15 shots and, not to be outdone, Lisa went on to win the Spanish Open a few weeks later.
The pair are accompanied on many of their trips by proud parents Declan and Breda and younger brother Odhran, who is himself a very promising golfer.
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