What a Games this has been for the most enduring of all global sports: sibling rivalry. Competing in the women’s marathon last Sunday were a history‑making trio of Estonian triplets, with two additional sets of twins from North Korea and Germany also involved. Talk about keeping it in the family; to have more than one child in the same Olympic event is every pushy parent’s ultimate fantasy.
Even the treble-chance Estonians, though, cannot quite match the uniquely delicate situation facing Irish golf’s identical twins, 21-year-old Leona and Lisa Maguire. Leona is the world’s leading woman amateur, which would be a lovely tale in itself if Lisa were not also a player with lofty ambitions of her own.
This week, to add another intriguing twist, Lisa is in Rio caddying for her sister. Watching the diminutive pair from Co Cavan, green-shirted peas from the same pod, marching down the manicured fairways of the Olympic course, gave a whole fresh meaning to the phrase “Olympic family”.
Lisa, the oldest by 15 minutes, was honest enough to admit later that it has not been an entirely straightforward dynamic. Had Leona, for example, been listening to her advice? “On occasions,” she muttered, the tiniest hint of sisterly impatience momentarily visible. Did she not feel a little jealous as she lugged Leona’s bag around on a seriously hot morning? “I’d love to be playing this week, just hitting some of the shots she hits.” That will be a definite yes, then.
Sadly, the perfect solution – nipping behind a convenient bush halfway round, switching roles and giving Lisa a go on the back nine – was not a permitted option. By the time the Games reconvene in Tokyo in four years’ time, however, Lisa is determined to be among the field herself, swinging clubs rather than carrying them.
“I’m a better putter than Leona for sure but she probably strikes it better than I do off the tee. I’m trying to work on that, she’s trying to work on her putting ... we’re kind of opposites on the golf course.”
Pity their opponents, either way. At the age of 11 Lisa beat more than 800 entrants to win the world under-12 championship in North Carolina; her sister came third. More recently both have enrolled on scholarships at Duke University in the United States; coming from a family of teachers, both are also extremely bright.
So how many shots, someone asked, would Leona have to give Lisa when they next play against each other and who would win? “I’d play her straight up” came the instant retort. “There’d be no bragging rights if I didn’t play her straight up. I’d give her a good go; it would be a good match.”
Leona was slightly less upbeat after signing for a three-over-par opening round of 74. Despite her sister’s proximity, too many putts stubbornly refused to drop. “I could have had her hitting a few putts out there for me,” she said with a nod.
With the pace of play distinctly sluggish all day, their group was also on the clock from the 3rd hole onwards, adding a further element of stress.
Great Britain’s two representatives, Charley Hull and Catriona Matthew, fared better, with the 20-year-old Hull (68) tucked in right behind the pacesetters, Thailand’s British Open champion Ariya Jutanugarn (six-under 65) and South Korea’s Inbee Park and Kim Sei-young (66). Matthew’s level-par 71 would have been better had she not plugged in a bunker on the par-four 3rd and recorded a double-bogey six, but she still has aspirations of emulating Justin Rose’s triumph in the men’s event. “I’m a little bit disappointed but I’m still in it,” she said. “I had a lot of chances and hit some good putts which just didn’t go in.”
With the hard, close-shaven Brazilian fairways putting a premium on driving accuracy even the world No1, New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, occasionally found life tricky.
The par-five 10th, a formidable dogleg with water down the left, scrub on the right and a deceptively narrow landing area, is certainly not for the faint-hearted and some rain is also being predicted for Rio in the coming days.
Having waited 116 years for Olympic readmission, a few raindrops are not going to stop the world’s best women golfers. Virtually all the top players are present, in defiance of pre‑Games warnings about the Zika virus. Those leading men who stayed at home may be interested to hear mosquitoes have been conspicuously absent, although the occasional snake has been spotted in the vicinity.
