KINSALE caddie Shane O’Connell has teamed up with Ireland’s No. 1 women’s golfer, Leona Maguire.
O’Connell (27) had been working with his childhood friend John Murphy for several years, but has now joined forces with Maguire who parted ways with her former caddie, Tralee man Verners Tess. This will be the Cavan golfing sensation’s third caddie in less than 12 months as Tess took over Dermot Byrne in July 2024.
Maguire’s early assessment of her new partnership with O’Connell is ‘so far, so good’, as the two-time LPGA tournament winner looks to rediscover her best form.
‘Shane has come across from the men’s side, so it’s been a learning experience for him,’ Maguire (30) explained ahead of last weekend’s first major of the year, the Chevron Championship in Texas where she finished tied for 68th.
‘But we’ve been getting along very well personality-wise. We’re similar and both pretty level-headed and it’s nice to have a fellow Irish person on the bag. Same sort of sense of humour and way of doing things.
‘So I’m getting used to him. He’s getting used to me and we’re just trying to adapt as well as we can and learn as we go.’
John Murphy and Shane O'Connell celebrate after John won his DP World Tour card in November 2022.(Photo: @shaneoconnell18 on X)
Maguire has made headlines in recent years when she became the first Irish woman to win on the LPGA Tour and has also starred at the Solheim Cup, but has fallen down the world rankings from a career high of tenth in 2023 to 67 currently.
This is where O’Connell will hope to make a difference, having earned a reputation as a hard-working and meticulous caddie. When John Murphy won his card for the DP World Tour, otherwise known as the European Tour, in November 2023, he was quick to highlight the leading role that childhood friend O’Connell played in his success.
‘We grew up 100 yards from each other,’ Murphy previously told The Southern Star, ‘were in junior infants together, and all the way up.
‘Shane works very hard. He does the work that people don’t see – he is out walking the course every evening, checking pins, just looking for that extra one percent to help me.
‘I hit 411 shots at qualifying school (in November 2022), and had I hit 412 I wouldn't have my DP World Tour card, so that makes all the difference. It’s the small stuff that makes the difference.’
Leona Maguire in action.
O’Connell previously worked as a caddie at the Old Head of Kinsale from 2013 to 2019 before turning professional alongside John Murphy in 2021, and together they won a place on the DP World Tour in 2023.
‘Most of my work is in the early parts of the week,’ O’Connell previously explained.
‘It’s all about getting to know the course as best you can. Knowing exactly where you can and can’t hit it.’
