Leona Maguire has officially been given the nod for the Paris 2024 Olympic Golf tournament.
Maguire, Stephanie Meadows, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry have all been selected replicating the team who competed in Tokyo 2020.
“It’s a huge honour to be selected for my third Olympics” explained Maguire who also played at Rio 2016. “There are not a lot of people who can say that they have been to three Olympic Games”.
“Anytime you get to represent your country is a huge honour, and to do it at an Olympic Games, there’s no bigger honour”.
“As golfers we don’t get to be part of a team very often, so it is special to be part of a team heading to Paris”.
“Me and Steph have known each other a lifetime now, it seems” added Maguire. “And it is our third Olympics together”.
“It’s been quite the journey over the last, almost 20 years, at this point. It is nice to see growth in each other’s games and lives, and nice to be able to share this together.”
Last weekend Maguire became the first Irish player to win a Ladies European Tour event; after a fantastic eagle in the 18th hole at the Aramco Team Series.
In Tokyo, McIlroy came agonisingly close to bronze, finishing fourth after a seven-way play-off for the bronze medal.
McIlroy and Lowry head to second Olympic Games
Whereas, Offaly’s Shane Lowry heads to Paris with podium ambitions.
“My first experience in Tokyo was amazing” declared Lowry. “It feeds you with the hunger of wanting to do it again and to come back and give it a better shot this time.
“A lot of what I’ve talked about and done this year has been geared towards the Olympics in Paris”.
“I have always said that I’d love to bring a medal back to Ireland, and that’s my number one goal. It’s great to be going back there with Rory too.”
The golf tournament occurs in Le Golf National, in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, near Versailles to the southwest of Paris. Whereas, Le Golf National is considered amongst the most beautiful golf sites in the world, owned by the French Golf Federation.
Indeed, out of its two 18-hole courses, “L’Albatros” stands out as the most competitive and complex. Having hosted major international competitions, including the Ryder Cup in 2018.
The Olympic Games in Paris will run from July 24th to August 11th, with the Opening Ceremony taking place on the 26th July.
Team Ireland golf team: Shane Lowry (Offaly), Leona Maguire (Cavan), Rory McIlroy (Down) and Stephanie Meadow (Antrim).
