Leona Maguire failed to bring the momentum of a career first top-10 finish in the US Women’s Open onwards to the ShopRite LPGA Classic at Galloway in New Jersey, where a poor start to her opening round put the world number 24 on the back foot.
Maguire suffered three bogeys in her opening five holes but ultimately rallied to sign for a round of 73, two-over-par, to lie eight strokes off the pace set by clubhouse leader Steph Kyriacou of Australia, who signed for a stunning 65. World number one Jin Young Ko – playing in the group with Maguire – signed for a 67 to get into contention.
However, it was a struggle early on for Maguire, who was so impressive in a tied-eighth finish in last week’s Major, as those early bogeys (on the 11th, 13th and 14th) put her under pressure. She managed to get a shot back with a birdie on the 18th and bounced back from a bogey on the fourth with a birdie on the fifth, although she faces a battle to survive the 36-hole cut.
There was disappointment for Lauren Walsh in the Curtis Cup at Merion, where the Kildare golfer and fourball team-mate Caley McGinty lost 2 and 1 to American pairing Amari Avery and Megha Ganne in the opening morning’s session at the end of which the USA team led 2-1 against Britain and Ireland.
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On the DP World Cup, defending champion Jonathan Caldwell ended a run of four successive missed cuts on the circuit to post a second round 71 for a midway total of 142 in the Scandinavian Mixed at Halmstad in Sweden. Caldwell trailed midway leader Jason Scrivener by 10 shots. Olivia Mehaffey, however, missed the cut.
In the RBC Canadian Open on the PGA Tour, world number one and Masters champion Scottie Scheffler played his way into contention when adding a second round 67 to his opening 69 for a midway total of four-under-par 136, which left him two shots adrift of clubhouse leaders Alex Smalley and Keith Mitchell who each signed for successive rounds of 67.
Aiming to contend and use the event as momentum going into next week’s US Open at Brookline, Scheffler said: " Typically I play a week before a Major. That’s something that’s worked for me well in the past, kind of like playing into those events. So for me getting a good prep week here where I can get some practice in and the golf course is somewhat similar is really helpful.”
Matt Fitzpatrick had the oncourse lead, reaching nine-under through 10 holes of his second round. Rory McIlroy was level for his round through 10 holes (remaining on four-under after his opening 66), while Shane Lowry was also level on his round through 10 (remaining on three-under) and set to be on the fringes of contention heading into the weekend.
