Excitement builds for Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow ahead of women's Olympic golf competition

Before the women's golf competition at the Olympics gets underway on Wednesday, Irish golfers Stephanie Meadow and Leona Maguire share their thoughts and experiences on the iconic Le Golf National course and the unique atmosphere of the Games.

First impressions of Le Golf National

Both Maguire and Meadow have been preparing diligently at Le Golf National, the challenging course that will host this week’s competition. Reflecting on their preparations, Maguire said, "We got here Saturday morning. So it was nice to watch the guys play a few holes Saturday, and a few holes Sunday. Got our first look Sunday afternoon. Played the front nine. I think the two nines are quite different." She emphasised the demanding nature of the course, noting, "It's obviously a phenomenal golf course. It's going to be a great test this week. It's going to really test every part of your game."

Meadow echoed these sentiments, adding, "The golf course is in great shape. Leona is right. You're going to have to do everything well this week to go low and to medal and very happy with how it's playing."

Olympic experience and team spirit

As seasoned Olympians, this is their third Olympics, both golfers understand the significance and unique atmosphere of the Games. Reflecting on her previous experiences, Meadow shared, "Japan was amazing but no fans. I'm very excited. I'm in the first group tomorrow, so I expect the first team will be quite a lot of fun and probably a memory that will last a lifetime."

Maguire also highlighted the sense of camaraderie within the Irish team: "We are very fortunate to come from a country that there's a sense of camaraderie as an Irish team, and had our best Games so far as a country. It's inspiring to watch them succeed and do so well and obviously you want to be able to add to that."

Unique challenges of Le Golf National

The course presents distinct challenges, with the front and back nines offering different tests for the golfers. Maguire noted, "Apart from the opening two holes, not a whole lot of water on the front. I think there's some of the holes on the front nine that are more bunkers are more the issue." She added, "The bunkers are incredibly difficult, especially the greenside bunkers, there's no sand in them at all. They are going to be very penal."

Meadow pointed out the importance of precise play, saying, "It's hard to prepare, especially this course, there's a lot of areas where you can only hit it so far so obviously the guys are hitting to the exact same point we are hitting and they had wedge in and we have 8-iron in."

The Olympics vs other competitions

When comparing the Olympics to other prestigious golf events, both players highlighted the unparalleled honour of representing their country on the world stage. Maguire stated, "It's the Olympic Games. It's the biggest sporting event in the world." She reflected on her experiences at the Solheim Cup and the increased visibility it brought to women's golf, drawing a parallel with the Olympics: "A lot of people watched women's golf for the first time that would never normally watch women's sport or women's golf. And I think the same is probably true of the Olympic Games as well."

Meadow shared the emotional impact of competing at the Olympics, recounting moments of inspiration from watching her peers: "On Sunday hit balls and came up the hill and was able to watch from afar 15, 16, 17, 18, watching people chant for Rory. That's pretty awesome. And obviously Victor on Sunday, the French, and that's just something when a country comes together and people can unite like that, it's really special."

Final thoughts

As they prepare to tee off, Meadow and Maguire are focused and excited, ready to embrace the challenges and opportunities of Olympic competition. And in their quest for a medal, Maguire knows exactly what needs to be done:

"Ultimately like any major, any tournament, whoever holes the right putts at the right time is going to be successful this week."

The round one and two tee times have been released - find out the women's Olympic golf competition tee times here. View the full women's Olympic golf competition leaderboard here.