Never mind magic Monday. This ought to go down in golf history as Maguire Monday. Led by the astonishing Leona Maguire and the greatest rookie performance of all time by any man or woman, Europe won the Solheim Cup for only the second time on American soil.
The record books fell open for Europe's warriors and its magnificent captain Catriona Matthew, as the Scot became the first woman skipper to be victorious on two occasions. But there was no disputing the star of this nerve-shredding show at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, even if the modest Maguire would rather let her clubs do all the talking.
The first Irish player ever to compete in the Solheim Cup, she'll be a superstar back home after this. Truly, we've literally never seen anything like it.
Leona Maguire produced the greatest rookie performance of all time in Europe victory
It's rare enough for a debutant to play five matches, let alone give up just a half-point over the whirlwind three days. But the nerveless 26 year old from Cavan looked as fresh as she had on the first tee on Saturday morning as she took on the best rookie in the American team and simply wiped the fairways with her. Or rather the greens.
You think Patrick Cantlay is a good putter in the men's game? Maguire would certainly give him a contest. The abiding memory of her singles match, at least on the front nine, was poor Jennifer Kupcho picking up her ball marker because Maguire had rolled in yet another putt.
How do you take on a player who stands over 20 footers and holes nearly all of them? Each was greeted with a little fist pump as her lead grew larger and larger. After seven holes on the demanding Inverness course in Toledo, Ohio she was a scarcely believable five under par, four up and already out of sight. 'Any chance Padraig could pick her for the Ryder Cup?' asked a cheeky admirer on Twitter. The final margin of victory as she appropriately put the first singles point on the board for Europe was five and four. She never lost a single hole.
Matilda Castren holed a wonderful 12ft putt on the 18th to repel an American fightback
Oh, Leona.
'I couldn't have asked for a better week, it's just been brilliant for me from start to finish,' said Maguire. 'I didn't look at a leaderboard out there, I was just determined to get my point.' The previous best rookie display by either a man or woman was Belgian
