Maguire twins up there with the best

IRISH TIMES/IRISH SPORTS COUNCIL SPORTSWOMAN OF THE MONTHWHEN SCOTLAND'S Carly Booth became the youngest ever player to represent Britain and Ireland in the Curtis Cup last month we could not but wonder if the Maguire twins from Cavan regarded her as something of a veteran. Booth, after all, is 15.

When they were just 12, we chose Leona and Lisa as our joint winners of the sportswoman-of-the-month award, precisely a year ago, their achievements that month at the Irish Close (where Lisa reached the semi-finals) and Hermitage Scratch Cup (which Leona won) making them inseparable when it came to deciding on a winner.

A year on and they're inseparable again.

It was, memorably, an all-Maguire affair in the final of the Irish Close at Westport last month, Leona becoming the youngest ever winner of the tournament when she beat Lisa for the first time in a final - Lisa had won their previous finals in the Leinster and Connacht Girls Championships.

Lisa, though, had already excelled by going into the Close as the leading qualifier by winning the Leitrim Cup, finishing four shots clear of runner-up Maura Morrin, her first round of 69, on a par 74 course, the highlight of an outstanding performance. Meanwhile Leona, the third leading qualifier, was the only player to finish under par in the second round.

Their progress through the matchplay stages of the Close was no less impressive, Leona beating defending champion Karen Delaney in the first round and Lisa reaching the semi-finals with a 5 and 4 win over the international Gillian O'Leary.

The twins then made history by squaring up in the final, the Maguire representation further strengthened by the girls' choice of caddies: their father, Declan, was employed by Lisa, while uncle Tony looked after Leona's bag.

Defying the wind and rain and any tiredness that might have set in after five days of golf, Leona and Lisa produced an absorbing final.

Leona went a hole up after the second, two up after the fifth, but Lisa pulled a shot back on the sixth. Leona restored her two-shot lead on the seventh but Lisa, as Leona might have anticipated, fought back again, eagling the eighth hole to reach the turn just one hole down. She then levelled the match at the 10th, but Leona took the next three holes.

Lisa reduced the deficit on the 14th, but Leona held out, winning the match on the 16th.

"I think they're both happy going home," said Declan, as he set off for Cavan in his trophy-laden car.

"Winning this tournament at 13 years old . . . it's actually hard to put words into it," he said.

Back in March, Leona, who successfully defended her Hermitage Scratch Cup title last month, won the under-18 French Open Championship while Lisa reached the semi-finals of the under-21 event in Paris, losing out by one hole to England's Curtis Cup reserve Rachel Jennings.

Women's golf has its fair share of prodigies, among them the Americans Morgan Pressel and Alexis Thompson, who both qualified for the US Women's Open when they were 12.

It would seem the Maguire twins from Cavan are destined to be up there with the best of them.

MONTHLY AWARDS SO FAR

January- Kelly Proper (Athletics): The Waterford teenager, who was named Athletic Ireland's Junior Athlete of the Year for 2007, broke the Irish indoor record for the long jump over three successive meetings.

February- Chloe Magee (Badminton): Last month the 20-year-old from Donegal got the ultimate reward for an encouraging opening to her year, which included a hat-trick of titles at the National Championships, when she was qualified for a place in the singles in Beijing.

March- Nina Carberry (Horse racing): The young jockey had another memorable visit to Cheltenham, winning the Cross Country Chase for the second successive year on the Enda Bolger-trained Garde Champetre, and also picked up a couple of wins at Fairyhouse later in the month.

April- Siobhán Byrne (Fencing): The German-born 23-year-old, whose father is from Meath, will become the first female Irish fencer to compete in the Olympics in almost 50 years after reaching the final of the European qualifying tournament in Istanbul.

• Each sportswoman is eligible for just one monthly award in 2008 but achievements over the year will be taken into account by the judges in deciding on the overall winner.