LEONA MAGUIRE WINS PLAY-OFF FOR FIRST US COLLEGE VICTORY

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Ireland's Leona Maguire, a freshman at Duke University, won a play-off to mark up her first win on the US college circuit.

It was a double whammy occasion because Maguire's brilliant play in the closing stages enabled Duke to retain the team title in the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate at Long Cove Club, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
The Duke's "Blue Devils" shot the only round under par today to keep the title by a nine-stroke margin.
 Maguire, pictured above by courtesy of Golfweek's Tracy Wilcox), closed with birdies on three of her final five holes to push Duke's team tally under par and force a play-off for the individual title with Sweden's Madelene Sagstrom, a final-year student at Louisiana State
Maguire, who finished at 6-under-par 207 over the regulation 54 holes,  sank a 12-footer for birdie on the first play-off hole to secure her first collegiate title. The rookie from Cavan, Ireland birdied 18 twice in a row for the win.
Maguire, the No. 1 player in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, set the competitive course record at Long Cove Club with a second-round 65 and followed the effort up with a final-round 2-under 69. Her opening round was a par-matching 71.
Sagstrom closed with a bogey-free round of 3-under 68. Maguire and Sagstrom were the only players to finish under par, beating out the next-best finisher – Duke's Sandy Choi – by seven.
“It is great,” Maguire commented about getting the victory.  “I was pretty close in the fall (autumn) to getting a win and to do it the way I did it, in a playoff, it was really nice.
As a team, Duke shot a tournament-record 282 in the final round to close the weekend with a 54-hole tournament record, 858. Rounding out the top 10 were LSU (867), Southern California (867), Tennessee (889), South Carolina (890), Wake Forest (890), Mississippi State (892), Virginia (900), Arkansas (901) and Furman (902).
“We got important contribution from everyone this weekend,” said Duke head coach Dan Brooks.  “I'm real proud of all three freshmen, particularly. Leona's back-to-back birdies on 18, for the individual win, were outstanding. One of the most impressive things I've seen as a coach.”
World No 1 ranked female amateur Celine Boutier from France, who is also a student at Duke University, finished 15th on 220 with scores of 74, 72 and 74.
The win is the second on the season for Duke, the defending national champions, who rank sixth in the Golfweek's team rankings. It's also a turnaround for the Blue Devils after they opened the spring campaign with a ninth-place finish at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge.
Leona's twin Lisa, whose own record stood up to comparison with her sister until the last year or so, finished T72 in a field of 90 with scores of 81, 81 and 74 for 230.
England's Elizabeth Mallett (North Carolina) finished 88th on 262 with scores of 96, 82 and 84.