Leona Maguire swapped the spectacular for the steady yet still remained very much in contention in the Amundi Evian Championship, the fourth of five Majors on the LPGA Tour.
The 30-year-old followed up her opening 65 with a second round 71 to reach the halfway stage on six-under-par 136 in tied-seventh, four shots behind 36-holes leader Somi Lee of South Korea.
Maguire’s second round featured a mixed bag of three birdies and three bogeys, with her accuracy off the tee – finding just seven of 13 fairways compared to 11/13 in the first round – forcing her to scramble but still managing to stay in the mix.
“I didn’t drive the ball well enough, just wasn’t able to give myself as many chances as I would like” conceded Maguire, adding: “I didn’t take advantage of the Par 5s as I would have liked but still hit some really nice shots, holed a few nice putts when I needed to. There’s still lots to play for. I need to play more like I played (in the first round), hit a few more fairways and give myself a few more chances.”
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Maguire, playing in her fifth straight event, has found some energy by the shores of Lake Geneva in her quest to contend for a breakthrough career Major. “I think you have to be really patient ... hopefully can give myself a few more chances tomorrow,” she said.
In the Genesis Scottish Open – a co-sanctioned event on the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour – at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Rory McIlroy moved into contention with a second round 65 for a midway total of seven-under-par 133 in tied-sixth, four shots behind midway leader Chris Gotterup of the United States.
With one eye looking ahead to next week’s 153rd Open at Royal Portrush, McIlroy claimed it was important to play with a scorecard in hand and especially in getting to speed with the slower speed of links greens.
“Getting out there in competitive play, reading putts and getting into your routine, I think that’s why this is such a great week to play heading into The Open because the greens speeds next week are going to be similar to what they are this week, and having a week of not just playing on greens that are this speed but playing competitively,” said McIlroy.
Meanwhile, Ireland’s bid to make the final of the men’s European Amateur Team Championship at Killarney Golf & Fishing Club was thwarted by Denmark, who won 4-3 with the decisive final singles match closed out at the 20th hole, where Kristian Hjort Bressum overcame Thomas Higgins at the second hole of sudden death.
