It was a weekend of history for Irish players on the Golf courses of the United States over the weekend.
Leona Maguire became the first-ever Irish winner on the LPGA Tour in the Drive On Championship that concluded on Saturday.
It was the seventh Top 10 finish of her career but her first win on the pro tour and the prize money brings her career earnings up to $1.3 million.
She said after the win that it had been 17 years in the making but it is in the last two years that her career and her visibility around the world has soared and this felt like a win that was coming over that whole period.
Her star turn in the Solheim Cup last year put the world on notice that she was playing at the very highest level and this three-stroke victory over a strong field was a model of consistency with three rounds of 66, 65 and a closing 67.
Niall Horan, whose Modest Golf looks after her commercial affairs was quick to tweet out a celebration message to his 41.3 million followers making sure to tag KPMG, Davy Group, Kinetica Sports, Kastus and Ping, the blue-chip brands that adorn her playing gear.
This was a special win for a special player continues the surge of momentum behind our top female athletes on the world stage.
Seamus Power was also in record-breaking form, posting the lowest ever 36 hole opening total on the PGA Tour.
His back to back 64’s at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was a record that beat the previous low score set by Phil Mickelson in 2005.
He finished in a tie for 9th, his seventh Top 10 finish out of 27 tournaments over the past 18 months.
Coming only days after Golf Ireland published its Strategic Plan to make the most of the rising participation levels here and the excellent performance of Irish stars on the world stage, this was a weekend that could hardly have been bettered.
