GAINESVILLE, Va. – There was a name conspicuously missing from the session lineups on Saturday: Leona Maguire.
The Irishwoman and Switzerland’s Albane Valenzuela were the only players to not compete on Day 2 of the Solheim Cup.
“When it ended up being where we kind of stood after yesterday (down 6-2), we kind of had to go by form. Unfortunately up until now, Leona hasn’t kind of been, I don’t know, the rock that I kind of was hoping for,” Pettersen explained Sunday evening.
“That being said, that doesn’t mean she’s not fired up about going out there tomorrow and playing her absolute best. She’s fine with it. She’s a team player.”
Maguire was front and center the last time Europe played on U.S. soil as she went 4-0-1 in leading her side to victory. She played in all five matches last year, too, going 3-2 as Europe retained the cup.
Maguire, however, hasn’t played well this year. Despite a win on the Ladies European Tour to start April, she has only one top-10 finish this season on the LPGA, that being a second-place showing in the match-play event.
Returning to that format didn’t equal a return to form. Maguire sat out Friday foursomes and then teamed with Georgia Hall in a 6-and-4 loss in fourballs.
She will next play Sunday’s singles, where all 12 players on each team compete. Maguire, who is 2-0 in the individual session, will face Ally Ewing in the next-to-last match.