Leona Maguire and her twin sister Lisa were both golfing child prodigies growing up in Cavan but Leona's sister went on to choose a totally different career.
The 30-year-old professional golfer spoke about their competitive sibling rivalry ahead of the Women's Irish Open, admitting that her twin was her first big competitor, saying: 'I wanted to beat Lisa.'
However, blood is always thicker than water, as despite the competitive nature between the twins, they are also each other's biggest supporters.
Leona told the Irish Times about their friendly golfing rivalry, explaining: 'We were very close, but also I wanted to beat her as well.'
'We were competitive from a young age. It didn't matter what it was. My mam always said we’d fight over snakes and ladders. I wanted to beat Lisa.
'She wanted to beat me, but if I didn’t win, I wanted to see her win as well. So we’d fall out and fall in just as quickly. It never lasted very long, but I think that brought us both on without realising it.'
Lisa, who also played professional golf for one year in 2018, has since retired from the sport and gone down a very different career path from her twin.
She has just graduated from UCC where she trained as a dentist and will be starting a job in Cork this year.
However, Lisa is still often seen on the golf course acting as caddy for Leona and the pair have gotten the chance to travel the world together as well as being by her side during a number of Olympic Games.
Despite wishing her sister was still by her side on tour, Leona praised her sister for carving out her own career as a dentist, saying: 'It's nice to see her happy and doing well and excelling in something that she’s good at. I think she deserves a lot of credit for choosing her own path.'
This comes as Leona is gearing up to play at the 2025 Women's Irish Open which will be held at luxurious Carton House Hotel in Maynooth, County Kildare, this week.
The competition will be held on the O’Meara Course on the grounds and is taking place from Thursday, 3 July and ending on Sunday, 6 July.
Golfers Leona Maguire, Georgia Hall, Annabel Dimmock, and Lottie Woad have all been confirmed to play in the tournament, with Swedish duo Anna Nordqvist and Madelene Sagström also set to join the ladies on the course.
