Leona Maguire battles misbehaving putter to stay in contention in Ohio

Great driving and iron display is undone by 32 putts during the second round at Dana Open

Leona Maguire tees off on the second during the second round of the Dana Open presented by Marathon at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio. Photograph: Jorge Lemus/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Leona Maguire tees off on the second during the second round of the Dana Open presented by Marathon at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio. Photograph: Jorge Lemus/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Once again, Leona Maguire played her way into contention: a solid, well-constructed second round 70 to add to her opening 66 for a midway total of six-under-par 136 to move remain inside the top-10 and well poised to contend over the weekend in the Dana Open presented by Marathon at Highland Meadows in Sylvania, Ohio.

In pursuit of a second LPGA Tour win of the season, and returning to action with batteries recharged after a two-week break, but with momentum of a fourth-placed finish in the AIG Women’s Open and a 10th in the ISPS Handa World Invitational, the 27-year-old Cavan golfer stuck to her task in compiling a round of one bogey and two birdies to lie two strokes off clubhouse leader Ruoning Yin of China.

Maguire’s lone bogey came at the opening hole where her approach found a greenside bunker but she managed to right that wrong with a birdie on the par-four fourth hole and added another on the par-three 13th in a round where she gave herself numerous chances but had to live with a cold putter.

In a round where her driving was exemplary, finding 13 of 14 fairways, and with good iron play too, hitting 15 of 18 greens-in-regulation, Maguire laboured with the putter in hand and ran up 32 putts.

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“It was a bit of a slow day, I gave myself lots of chances but didn’t putt as well as I did yesterday. I just need to putt better on the weekend,” she said, adding: “It would’ve been very easy to get frustrated today and sort of lose patience. I hung in well, tried to give myself a couple of chances to finish on 17 and 18. Yeah, I mean, under par is still under par ... overall, I mean, I’m in a good place and try and go lower over the weekend.”

Unfortunately for Stephanie Meadow, a terrible start to her round – with three bogeys in her opening four holes – was her undoing as she signed for a 72 to add to her opening 71 for a three-over-par 143.

Yin, a graduate of the Epson Tour and looking for her breakthrough win on the LPGA Tour, has been troubled by a wrist injury for much of the year: “In the beginning of this year I just felt so stressed and a lot of pressure to play on the LPGA Tour. When I hit bad [swings], I just wanted to press more, more, more, and I think that’s what caused my injury. Right now, I just play less and I hit the ball less. I think it’s kind of get back to my old game.”

In the Made in HimmerLand tournament on the DP World Tour at Farso in Denmark, English veteran Ross McGowan – seeking a third career win on the European Tour – added a 65 to his opening round 62 for a midway total of 15-under-par 127 to carry a one-stroke lead into the weekend, with compatriot Richard Mansell and Italian Francesco Laporta his chief pursuers.

Jonathan Caldwell ended a run of seven straight missed cuts in signing for a 71 for 136 (in tied-41st) while Greystones man Paul Dunne battled gamely to claim his only birdie at his penultimate hole, the eighth, to sign for a 71 for 140 to make the cut on the mark in tied-61st.

In the B-NL Open on the Challenge Tour, Frenchman Jeong weon Ko added a 67 to his opening 65 to claim the halfway lead on 12-under-par 132. Tom McKibbin (69 for 137, in tied-29th), Conor Purcell (68 for 137, also in tied-29th) and John Murphy (72 for 138, in tied-42nd) all survived the cut.

Philip Reid

Philip Reid

Philip Reid is Golf Correspondent of The Irish Times