AIB Ladies Masters Dublin 2010
As one of the best events on the Ladies European Tour, I was determined to get a bag for the Dublin Masters With only a few days to go, I was running out of ideas and losing the motivation to continue this crazy caddying lark.
On the Friday evening of the RICOH British Open however, I received a message from the head of our Caddy Association asking if I had anything lined up for the event on the Emerald Isle.
Lying isn’t my thing – I’m a non-fiction writer after all – so I said I had no job for the week. He kindly gave me the number of a friend of his in Ireland. I didn’t know who he was or whom he managed but after a brief but pleasant chat we agreed monies and all things logistical and administrative and on Tuesday morning I met my new player.
Having been told who I was to work for I did my research online and it didn’t take me long to realise I was getting involved with a girl who is more than just a little bit special. I say girl but when dealing with the Maguire twins it’s hard to talk about one without mentioning the other. Lisa and Leona are delightful twins who, without suggesting they have nothing unique about them individually, look identical.
So having done my research I headed down to the beautiful Killeen Castle Golf Club and down to the range. Summer in County Meath is like April in the south east of England – rain and shine with imminent change at any given, unannounced minute. So with all the girls fearing the worst and clad in wet weather gear, my quest to find Lisa was going to be a little tough. Thankfully the two siblings were dressed in exactly the same gear; blue waterproof jackets and white pants; accompanying white PING hat finished the look and made my search a little easier.
From County Cavan, north west of Dublin the twins are blessed with dark hair, blue eyes and a fair Irish complexion making them typically colloquial. They look the same; dress the same; talk the same; in the individual and selfish world of professional golf, this makes them quite unique.
A brief but charming introduction later and I had the chance to watch them hit a ball and see what all the fuss is about. I wasn't disappointed either. Their beautifully balanced, quick swings return to the ball with timing Breitling would be happy with. During my homework I had read various articles suggesting that one might be better than the other but after a few minutes of divot watching I deduced that there really isn’t much between them.
After witnessing them smash their way through a bucket of balls each, we then ventured out into the balmy (ahem…) Irish summer elements for a practice round.
Set in 200 acres of fine rural Irish countryside surrounding the formidable Killeen Castle, the Jack NIcklaus designed golf course is one of his masterpieces. Wide rolling fairways, deep bunkers and heavily sloping greens are amongst Jack’s trademarks and Killeen Castle is no exception.
Standing on the first tee I ask Lisa for her rough carries and looking at the yardage book I see we have a 205yard carry over the protruding bunker covering over half of the fairway. Having had a brief sprint around the course the evening before, I’m thinking we lay up short and leave a sizeable approach to the green ahead but whilst I wallow in this negativity she plucks out the driver and in the blink of an eye smashes her poor little Pro V straight over the top of the bunker down to the 150yard marker. She’s about 5’ 4” and probably a size four and hits it over 250yards - I’m suitably impressed.
Left with a reasonable approach for the young 15 year old – 177 to the pin – she grabs her 5-iron and pops it over a high bunker to the raised green and it rolls up to six feet. In the words of the PGA Tour Advertisement - She’s good. Really good.
We spent a delightful morning plotting our way around this long open, windswept American style course with the guidance of Shane O’Grady, the girls’ coach and their parents Declan and Breda. Leona and Lisa are desperately competitive and want the earth out of this game. Their long game is awesome, short game seamless, putting exemplary but above all for a players of such tender years their mental strength is their strongest attribute.
We’re teeing off on Friday morning with Laura Davies and the runner up from last week’s British Open Katherine Hull. They might be nervous but Lisa Maguire isn’t.
I asked Lisa whether she was feeling a touch of the old nerves over lunch on Friday before we were due to tee off in an hour or so. Lisa doesn’t necessarily talk unless spoken to and occasionally will limit her answers to only a few words and this was no exception. “Not really.” was all I got.
Laura Davies quite rightly draws the biggest crowds whenever and wherever she plays. With Katherine Hull, runner up of last week’s British Open and world number seven playing alongside us not to mention one half of the most naturally gifted twins Ireland has produced, I knew the first tee at 1.40pm was going to be a popular spot.
I calculated around 300 spectators surrounding the first tee box and a couple of hundred more lining the first fairway. This would normally be routine for a glimpse of Laura smashing a driver down the opening hole but something told me the majority were there to see my player.
When it came to introductions on the tee, civility ruled the roost and pleasantries were exchanged without too much fuss or celebrity. Laura was up first and it gave Lisa the chance to see for herself the routine she would have heard about from her sister who played with Europe’s number one the previous year. If driver is the club of choice then a tee just won’t suffice for Laura Davies. Lining up on the right side of the tee she plucks the lob wedge from the clutches of Jonny Scott, her caddy and friend and goes about building herself a platform upon which to rest her yellow Srixon.
She then slams the wedge quite vivaciously into the turf and constructs a ridge rather like a crimped piece of paper and then hurls the dirty club back at Jonny with such nonchalance and ambiguity it always makes me smile. She then rests the ball on the precarious ledge and begins her pre-shot routine. This little charade actually serves a purpose for LD – if she puts the ball on a tee her tendency is to block it right so by putting the ball on this divot she can then hit down on it thus playing a 'cutty' fade down the left side. It guarantees (to an extent) a better strike and forces a level of commitment to a shot that a tee doesn’t – according to Laura. Should Jonny give the all clear to play a high draw down a wide fairway, however you’ll see a glimmer of the excited child in Laura as she prepares to give everything she has to one of her favourite aspects of the game.
So Davies duly launches a monster off her homemade tee down the first to rapturous applause and Miss Hull follows suit. Lisa’s turn. She must be nervous isn’t she? Not a chance. She’s chomping at the bit to get this round underway and after a brief celebration of her presence from the masses and a line to aim for from yours truly, she smashes her Pro V 25 yards over the aforementioned bunker running down the off ramp to within a couple of yards of Laura’s ball. Welcome to the professional game, young lady.
I, for one have never played in front of crowds like the snake of spectators weaving their way down the peripheries of the fairway that day and after a short but sweet conversation, it turns out Lisa hasn’t either. You wouldn’t know it though.
Left with a decent hit to the first she nuts her approach right at the pin and it rolls just into the fringe behind the flag. An inch less and she’d have been tapping in for an opening birdie. Short game can often let you down when you’re nervous but not this girl. A delicate flop out of the thick rough would have Mickelson tipping his hat to the crowd and a tap in secures a rock solid start for Lisa Maguire.
Miraculously the pint-sized Irish star manages to out-drive Hull and Davies on the par five second hole and a after a quality lay up and a pin-point pitch, a birdie ensues sending the crowd into a frenzy.
It wasn't a great day on the links for Laura and Katherine but that takes nothing away from a stellar performance from rising superstar Lisa Maguire. With four birdies, one bogey and one unfortunate triple bogey on the tough par three sixth, she walked off the course four better than Davies and two better than Hull.
Dealing with the largest crowds she’s ever seen and playing alongside the biggest names in the world of women’s golf, she handled the pressure with consummate ease. After a gutsy 15 footer on the 18th for a round of level par, a hero’s welcome awaited her. Throngs of fans and well wishers created an avenue from the green to the scorer’s hut desperate for a glimpse of Ireland’s most anticipated talent. She must have signed over fifty autographs and by the time she made it to the scorer’s hut Lisa knew she’d really stamped her name on the world of golf.
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An early start on Saturday morning meant a slightly less rapturous audience but the golf no less impressive. With windy conditions Lisa managed a more than respectable two over par 74 thus affording her playing rights for the Sunday’s play. This was her first professional tournament where she made the cut. Her parents were understandably thrilled and her coach Shane delighted with her and dare I say my performance.
My remit from Shane was to get Lisa through to the weekend and we’d done it – easily. Shane and Lisa’s parent’s were thrilled to bits and emphatic embraces were exchanged between us all. I was proud of Lisa and in a special way proud of what I had achieved with her and the attention surrounding this child protégé.
Her twin Leona was in no way overshadowed by her sister either. With rounds of 72 and 74 she also made the cut quite comfortably.
These two girls are incredible; when asked to drive to a specific target they complete the task without batting an eyelid. However small the target I gave Lisa she hit it from any distance. Swing a high drive up in to the wind and draw it back off the far tree into the middle of the fairway please... done. Every club in the bag is a weapon – a deadly one. There isn’t a weakness in their game at all.
Sunday morning we drew the crowds once more and after a frustrating but solid performance from the young Irish star we finished the round level par and +2 for the tournament thus winning the Best Amateur Award. Watching Lisa accepting a large cut crystal vase in front of Sophie Gustafson the eventual professional winner, the masses of spectators and press gifted me a level of satisfaction I hadn’t experienced before.
It was a privilege to be asked to work for Lisa this week and an even bigger honour to be able to be inside the ropes alongside one of two up and coming global superstars.
You may not know the names Lisa and Leona Maguire yet but believe me, you will.
CK
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