Lisa's turn in Maguire twin-track approach

IN MAY of 2007 and 2008 we made joint awards to the Maguire twins from Co Cavan, Lisa and Leona. It wasn’t that we were unwilling to separate them, it was just that their achievements proved inseparable.

Whenever it looked as if one of the sisters was beginning to pull away, the other came bouncing back, the competitive edge between them seemingly driving them both on to a higher level. Leona confirmed as much when she said recently that practising with Lisa helped them both to “raise” their games.

At the end of April, however, the judges bit the bullet, so to speak, opting for the first time to make a solo Maguire award. Leona had a quite exceptional month, winning the French International Under-21 Amateur title and, most impressively, marking her debut at the Scottish Open Amateur Championship at Troon by leading a top-class field from start to finish to become the youngest ever winner of the tournament.

One of her closest competitors in that event was, needless to say, Lisa, who came third. We finished up last month by saying: “Leona now turns her attention to defending her Irish Close title at Fota Island . . . the competition will be fierce, not least from her twin.”

And who won the Irish Close at Fota? Lisa.

The year before it was an all-Maguire affair in the final of the Championship at Westport, Leona becoming the youngest ever winner of the Irish Close when she beat Lisa for the first time in a final. Lisa, though, took a share of our monthly award because she had gone in to the tournament as the leading strokeplay qualifier by winning the Leitrim Cup.

This time? Lisa not only retained the Leitrim Cup she succeeded Leona as Irish Close champion, producing an outstanding display in the final against Mary Dowling of New Ross, during which she birdied the second, third, fourth, sixth, seventh and eighth holes to be six under par at that stage. She finished with a 5 and 4 win.

By then she had beaten Mary Crowley, Karen Delaney, Catherine Tucker and Niamh Kitching en route to the final, with 9 and 7, 5 and 4, 3 and 1 and 4 and 3 victories. Her form, in other words, made her unstoppable.

So, Lisa’s response to our first ever solo Maguire award – for Leona – was to leave us with no option to decide on a second. For Lisa.

Between them the have now won the French, Scottish and Irish amateur titles this season, a remarkable display of domination over their rivals by the 14-year-olds.

What remains the most intriguing aspect of their story is how they continue to push each other on, Lisa recently comparing their rivalry to that of the Williams’s tennis sisters – the best of friends away from the action, but once they’re up against each other, in practice or competition, “you’re out to win”.

Well, they’ve matched each other on The Irish Times/Irish Sports Council Sportswomen Awards’ front for 2009, we’ll be fascinated to see how their rivalry develops on the course.

Monthly awards so far

January: Jessica Kürten (Equestrian). A string of top five finishes, including two successive World Cup Qualifier wins, gave Kürten an exceptional start to the year, lifting her back up to sixth in the world

February: Mary Cullen (Athletics). The Sligo runner broke Sonia O'Sullivan's 1997 3,000 metres indoor record at Boston University before going on to win bronze at the same distance at the European Indoor Championships in Turin.

March: Nina Carberry (Horse racing) and Derval O'Rourke (Athletics). Once again Carberry triumphed at Cheltenham, winning the Cross Country Chase on board Garde Champetre, while O'Rourke won bronze at the European Indoor Championships in Turin in the 60-metres hurdles.

April: Leona Maguire (Golf). The 14-year-old from Cavan won the French International Under-21 Amateur Championship, lifting her to the top of the European Junior Solheim Cup rankings, and then led from start to finish to become the youngest ever winner of the Scottish Open Amateur Championship at Troon.