Leona Maguire hit out at Europe’s Solheim Cup captain Suzann Petterson, having played just two matches in Virginia.
Team USA beat Europe to the Solheim Cup for the first time since 2017. Cavan native Maguire beat Ally Ewing 4&3 in her singles match. Alas, it was too little too late for team Europe.
Maguire hit out at Petterson having played just two matches during the week.
“I feel like I've been playing really great golf all week in practice and it was a bitter pill to swallow to be sat out for as many sessions as I was," said Maguire.
"I thought, 'I have got a point to prove today". Maguire added; "I love the Solheim Cup, I love match play and I really wanted to deliver a point for the team today, and nice to do that".
"[Pettersen] didn't give much reason, to be honest. The feeling I got was that I was a little bit too short and didn't make enough birdies, but I think I proved today there's more than one way to skin a cat, and I think I made plenty of birdies today.
"It's Solheim Cup, I don't need any extra motivation but yeah, there probably was a little bit extra there, not going to lie. But ultimately it's what's best for the team this week.
"I would have loved the opportunity to try and deliver more points for the team, but I did what I could today."
Europe captain defends team selection
However, captain Pettersen defended her decision to limit Maguire’s games time.
"I've never lived my life regretting any decisions," Pettersen said in her press conference. "You'd rather play with your gut feel and your heart”.
“Sometimes you get outplayed. There was a reason why Leona and the line-up in the back was what it was. We know what they're capable of”.
"We know what they're facing. If we were going to have a chance at this, we needed all 12 players. It would have been nice to have an anchor like Leona in the back knowing she can take it and get it done.
"I mean, it's a 12-woman team, and it's always going to be hard to do the pairings. Sometimes you get it right, sometimes you get outplayed. Maybe we could have played other players that maybe could have faced different opponents that could have changed the outcome.
"You can always look back, but at the same time I don't think we as a team have any regrets of what we did. We tried our best."
