Ireland’s Leona Maguire birdied three of her final 4 holes to take a one-stroke second-round lead on Friday within the Women’s PGA Championship at rain-soaked Baltusrol.
Maguire, who began the day three off the tempo, shook off a sluggish begin that noticed her par her first 5 holes earlier than a bogey on the fifteenth. She responded with a birdie on the seventeenth and grabbed one other on the fourth earlier than a bogey on the fifth.
Then she cantered house with birdies on the sixth, seventh and ninth to card a three-under 68.
Her five-under whole of 137 put her one away from a gaggle of three on 138: England’s Mel Reid, Norway’s Celine Borge and China’s Lin Xiyu.
Reid carded a 67, Borge signed for a 69 and Lin shot a fair par 71.
It was an extra stroke again to Australia’s Minjee Lee, who posted a 67, and in a single day chief Lee-Anne Pace of South Africa, who posted a two-over 73.
“Really happy with how I played today,” Maguire stated. “Weather was a little bit trickier today, especially on the back nine when that rain came in.
“Didn’t really hole any putts on the front side, but nice to get those three birdies coming in,” added Maguire, who stated a stable hybrid into the ninth gave her a snug seven-footer uphill putt to complete.
Maguire arrived in Springfield, New Jersey, driving the momentum of her second LPGA title on the Meijer Classic on Sunday.
Chasing a primary main, nevertheless, requires a distinct mindset, she stated.
“This is uncharted territory for me. Whatever happens this week, I’m sure I’ll learn a lot, and just sort of taking it one day at a time,” she stated.
“I think this golf course demands that. I think you can’t think more than one shot ahead, let alone a hole or a round ahead.”
Maguire’s European Solheim Cup teammate Reid was delighted to hit 18 greens in regulation on what she known as a “beast of a golf course.”
“The rough is really obviously thick,” Reid stated. “It’s obviously a bit wet. I feel like that’s OK for me because I’m one of the stronger players. I’m not really too scared about hitting it in the rough, so I feel like it’s kind of freed my driver up.”
Lin stated she discovered the situations much more difficult than Thursday’s. She offset a gap bogey on the tenth with a birdie at 11 and adopted a bogey at 15 with an eagle on the 18th.
“I’ve been trying to stay patient,” Lin stated. “I didn’t really get angry with any of the bogeys I made, but then 18th hole I finally hit the fairway, so I was like, there’s a good chance, and I hit that really good three-wood in the rain, and then it went up to like maybe 12-footer. When I made the putt, I was pretty pumped.”