Leona Maguire tops British Open qualifiers by six at Portstewart
World No 1 Leona Maguire birdied all four par-threes in an eight-birdie 68 to head the qualifiers for the matchplay by a massive six strokes in the Ladies’ British Amateur Open at Portstewart.
The 20 year old Slieve Russell and Duke University star finished on 11-under-par 135 on a misty, cool but windless morning as she followed her first-round 67 (35-32) with a 68 (34-34) over the par 72 (36-37) Strand course.
Her impressive round featured eight birdies including twos at all the par-three holes: the third, sixth, 12th and 15th where she put it close every time.
“I nearly had a hole in one at the fifteenth, only 2 or 3 inches away from going in there,” said Leona, who will play 64th qualifier, Martina Edberg of Sweden on Thursday.
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Her other birdies came at the long seventh, where she was on in two, the ninth where she pitched to six feet and holed it, the par-five 14th where she had a two-putt four, and the long 17th where she was on the green at this 436-yard hole with a drive and a five-iron for another two-putt four.
Her bag of eight birdies topped the first-round “haul" of one eagle and 5 birdies, but she did have more more bogeys
"I dropped shot at the fourth, eighth and eighteenth," said Leona. "I missed the green at each of these holes and landed in awkward spots.”
She topped the qualifiers by five strokes from Tiverton’s Jessica Bradley (71-70) and her Duke University team-mate and her predecessor as World No 1 female amateur, Celine Boutier of France (69-72).
Leona was one of seven Irish players to make the matchplay with Lisburn’s Paula Grant 18th (74 72), Royal County Down Ladies’ Olivia Mehaffey 20th (74 72), Donaghadee’s Jessica Ross (71-78) 46th, Jessica Carty 48th (78-72), Lisa Maguire 49th (78-72) and Skerries’ Maria Dunne 51st (77-73).
Jessica Carty faces Italy’s Lucrezia Colombotto Rosso, Lisa Maguire meets Aussie Joanna Charlton, Olivia Mehaffey takes on Lianna Bailey of England, Jessica Ross takes on American Doris Chen, Maria Dunne versus Scotland’s Connie Jaffrey and Paula Grant faces Israel’s Hadas Libman.
Ladies' British Amateur Open, Portstewart (Strand, Par 72)
Qualifiers
1 135 -11 Leona Maguire Slieve Russell 67 68
2 141 -5 Jessica Bradley Tiverton 71 70
3 141 -5 Celine Boutier France 69 72
4 142 -4 Madelene Sagstrom Sweden 70 72
5 143 -3 Katerina Vlasinova Czech R 75 68
6 143 -3 Luna Sobron Spain 72 71
7 143 -3 Kristen Gillman USA 72 71
8 143 -3 Heather Munro Monifieth 71 72
9 143 -3 Linnea Strom Sweden 70 73
10 143 -3 Sophie Keech Parkstone 69 74
11 143 -3 Olivia Cowan Germany 69 74
12 144 -2 Leslie Cloots Belgium 72 72
13 144 -2 India Clyburn Woodhall Spa 69 75
14 145 -1 Connie Jaffrey Troon Ladies' 75 70
15 145 -1 Katie Mitchell USA 72 73
16 145 -1 Joanna Charlton Australia 70 75
17 146 Par Lucrezia Colombotto Rosso Italy 75 71
18 146 Par Paula Grant Lisburn 74 72
19 146 Par Doris Chen USA 74 72
20 146 Par Olivia Mehaffey Royal County Down Ladies' 74 72
21 146 Par Harang Lee Spain 73 73
22 146 Par Aditi Ashok India 73 73
23 146 Par Natalia Escuriola Spain 72 74
24 146 Par Bethan Popel Long Ashton 72 74
25 147 +1 Brittany Marchand Canada 78 69
26 147 +1 Agathe Sauzon France 77 70
27 147 +1 Gioia Carpinelli Switzerland 75 72
28 147 +1 Maddie Szeryk Canada 75 72
29 147 +1 Ines Lescudier France 74 73
30 147 +1 Rachel Rossel Switzerland 74 73
31 147 +1 Carlotta Ricolfi Italy 74 73
32 147 +1 Camille Chevalier France 73 74
33 147 +1 Linnea Johansson Sweden 70 77
34 147 +1 Elin Esborn Sweden 66 81
35 148 +2 Camilla Hedberg Spain 76 72
36 148 +2 Inci Mehmet Royal Mid Surrey 75 73
37 149 +3 Meghan MacLaren Wellingborough 78 71
38 149 +3 Mathilda Cappeliez France 77 72
39 149 +3 Elizabeth Tong Canada 76 73
40 149 +3 Leonie Harm Germany 76 73
41 149 +3 Jennifer Ha Canada 76 73
42 149 +3 Charlotte De Corte Belgium 76 73
43 149 +3 Emily Penttilä Finland 75 74
44 149 +3 Jenny Haglund Sweden 75 74
45 149 +3 Lianna Bailey Kirby Muxloe 74 75
46 149 +3 Jessica Ross Donaghadee 71 78
47 150 +4 Hadas Libman Israel 79 71
48 150 +4 Jessica Carty Holywood 78 72
49 150 +4 Lisa Maguire Slieve Russell 78 72
50 150 +4 Kim Metraux Switzerland 78 72
51 150 +4 Maria Dunne Skerries 77 73
52 150 +4 Elizabeth Prior Burhill 77 73
53 150 +4 Ludovica Farina Italy 77 73
54 150 +4 Hannele Mikkola Finland 77 73
55 150 +4 Nastja Banovec Slovenia 76 74
56 150 +4 Alexandra Bonetti France 76 74
57 150 +4 Fatima Fernandez Spain 76 74
58 150 +4 Nuria Iturrios Spain 76 74
59 150 +4 Samantha Fuller Roehampton 75 75
60 150 +4 Frida Kinhult Sweden 74 76
61 150 +4 Dulcie Sverdloff Garons Park 73 77
62 150 +4 Ellinor Haag Sweden 72 78
63 150 +4 Linn Andersson Sweden 72 78
64 151 +5 Martina Edberg Sweden 78 73
Non-qualifiers
65 151 +5 Roberta Liti Italy 77 74
66 151 +5 Gabrielle Macdonald Craigielaw 77 74
67 151 +5 Fiona Liddell Germany 76 75
68 151 +5 Anna Appert Lund Sweden 74 77
69 151 +5 Hannah McCook Grantown on Spey 73 78
70 151 +5 Sarah Nilsson Sweden 73 78
71 152 +6 Bianca Maria Fabrizio Italy 78 74
72 152 +6 Manon Gidali France 78 74
73 152 +6 Ileen Domela Nieuwenhuis Netherlands 77 75
74 152 +6 Julienne Soo Australia 77 75
75 152 +6 Eva Gilly France 76 76
76 152 +6 Ellie Goodall Selby 76 76
77 152 +6 Dewi Weber Netherlands 73 79
78 153 +7 Sarah Schober Austria 79 74
79 153 +7 Julie McCarthy Forrest Little 77 76
80 153 +7 Chloe Ryan Castletroy 74 79
81 153 +7 Marion Veysseyre France 73 80
82 153 +7 Puk Thomsen Denmark 72 81
83 154 +8 Olivia Winning Rotherham 82 72
84 154 +8 Morgane Metraux Switzerland 78 76
85 154 +8 Cylia Damerau Switzerland 77 77
86 154 +8 Chloe Goadby St Regulus 77 77
87 154 +8 Silvia Bañon Spain 77 77
88 154 +8 Laura Fuenfstueck Germany 76 78
89 154 +8 Vanessa Knecht Switzerland 75 79
90 154 +8 Antonia-leonie Eberhard Germany 75 79
91 154 +8 Gemma Clews Delamere Forest 74 80
92 155 +9 Susana Vik Norway 80 75
93 155 +9 Yu Eun Eunice Kim Australia 80 75
94 155 +9 Clara Young North Berwick 78 77
95 155 +9 Sinead Sexton Lahinch 77 78
96 155 +9 Celia Barquin Spain 77 78
97 155 +9 Samantha Giles St. Mellion 76 79
98 155 +9 Lea Zeitler Austria 75 80
99 155 +9 Marta Martin Spain 74 81
100 155 +9 Jiwon Jeon Korea 73 82
101 156 +10 Marit Harryvan Netherlands 84 72
102 156 +10 Alice Barnes West Sussex 78 78
103 156 +10 Marthe Wold Norway 77 79
104 157 +11 Nadine Dreher Austria 81 76
105 157 +11 Emma Broze France 80 77
106 157 +11 Emma Henrikson Sweden 79 78
107 157 +11 Jessica Meek Carnoustie Ladies' 74 83
108 158 +12 Bronwyn Davies Wolstanton 76 82
109 158 +12 Annabel Bailey Kirby Muxloe 75 83
110 159 +13 Malene Krølbøll Denmark 81 78
111 159 +13 Rachael Taylor Scotland 80 79
112 159 +13 Cloe Frankish Charthills 80 79
113 159 +13 Emily Slater Woodhall Spa 78 81
114 160 +14 Franziska Friedrich Germany 83 77
115 161 +15 Ines Fendt Austria 85 76
116 161 +15 Azelia Meichtry Switzerland 84 77
117 161 +15 Zara Woodbridge Australia 80 81
118 161 +15 Mariell Bruun Norway 79 82
119 161 +15 Lauren Horsford Wimbledon Park 79 82
120 161 +15 Iona Stephen Wentworth 78 83
121 162 +16 Julia Engstrom Sweden 85 77
122 162 +16 Soo Jin Lee Australia 82 80
123 162 +16 Lena Schaffner Germany 82 80
124 162 +16 Stina Resen Norway 80 82
125 163 +17 Laure Castelain France 85 78
126 163 +17 Cajsa Persson Sweden 79 84
127 164 +18 Marlies Krenn Austria 85 79
128 164 +18 Alexandria Celli USA 83 81
129 164 +18 Marie Lunackova Czech Republic 81 83
130 164 +18 Antonia Scherer Germany 80 84
131 164 +18 Jennifer Sepers Netherlands 77 87
132 165 +19 Andrea Vilarasau Spain 84 81
133 165 +19 Sophie Lamb Clitheroe 82 83
134 165 +19 Amira Alexander Virgin Islands, U.S. 76 89
135 166 +20 Jae Bowers Prestbury 85 81
136 167 +21 Ann-Kathrin Wandrey Germany 81 86
137 168 +22 Antonia von Wnuck Germany 87 81
138 168 +22 Ashley McCourt Australia 86 82
139 170 +24 Charlotte Austwick Fulford 82 88
140 WDN - Lauren Whyte St Regulus 82 WDN