Leona Maguire is pictured on left and 13-year twin sister Lisa is on the right. Both on the first tee at Panmure Golf Club (Cal Carson Golf Agency images, all rights reserved)

The Maguire girls are Magic!

Appearing at a course near you?

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Thirteen-year-old identical twins - it's a golf writer/photographer's nightmare!Leona Maguire is the Irish WOMEN'S champion and Lisa is the Irish GIRLS' champion (one reader pointed out we got it wrong, the other way round, on this website earlier in the week.Sorry, girls!
Now which one won the European Masters' girls title at Chantilly recently and which one finished joint second? I shall have to look it up.
They will both be playing for Europe - alongwith with Scotland's Carly Booth and England's Kelly Tidy - in the Junior Ryder Cup match against the United States next month in Kentucky.The Maguire sisters are leading off the action for Ireland this week in the Girls' Home Internationals at Panmure Golf Club, Barry and they will be playing in the British girls' open amateur championship over the Monifieth links next week.

If you live in the area, and you are interested in golf - which you must be if you are reading this - then well worth a trip to either venue to see these talented girls in action. There are still people in the Angus area who are proud to say they saw Ben Hogan in action when he won the 1953 Open at Carnoustie. The Maguire girls could be golfing super-stars within another decade so seeing them at this age would be a memory to treasure.
If they are this good at 13, just think of their skills by the time they are 20. Or maybe they will realise just how difficult the game of golf is by that age.

Interestingly enough, the Irish Ladies Golf Union issued a whole list of teams for the second half of the season - and the names of Lisa and Leona were conspicuous by their absence. Well done, the twins' parents, for keeping their daughters' feet on the ground.

School and education are just as important as golf - probably even more important - when you are only 13.

If you have a comment, you can E-mail it to Colin@Scottishgolfview.com