Leona digs deep to keep major hopes alive at St Andrews
Leona Maguire overcame high winds and a marathon six-and-a-half-hour round to keep leader Charley Hull in her sights in the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews.
(Pictured above:
A detailed view of the Titleist golf glove of Leona Maguire of Ireland (obscured) during a Pro-Am ahead of the AIG Women's Open at St Andrews Old Course on August 20, 2024 in St Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by Oisin Keniry/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
The gritty Co Cavan star (29) battled back from two opening bogeys on the Old Course and a wait of an hour on the par-three 11th to card a 73 that left her tied for 32nd on one-over.
English star Hull, who was runner-up last year to to Lilia Vu (69 yesterday), said she had “fun” as she fired six birdies in a five-under 67 on a day of 40 mph gusts to lead by a shot from early pacesetter Yin Ruoning of China and world number one Nelly Korda.
“Yeah, I thought it was a very solid round,” said Maguire, who birdied the fourth from 15 feet, then followed a bogey at the 10th with a birdie at the 14th, where her third shot came up a revolution short of dropping into the hole for an eagle three.
“I think conditions were extremely tough, especially on those first few holes. I hit three-wood into the first green, which we've been hitting wedges and eight irons to all week.”
Maguire was thrilled to get up and down for par at the 17th on a day when, despite a two-tee start, a strong crosswind caused the field to back up by lunchtime, leading to rounds of well over six hours and delayed starts for the afternoon wave.
“We nearly waited like an hour on 11 tee, so standing up and hitting the green there felt like was a really good shot,” Maguire said.
“Nice to get a birdie coming in on 14 and some good pars just on 15 and 16, really good par on 17, which was playing really tough today, almost like a par-4 and a half. Overall, pretty solid round.”
As for the painful pace of play and the challenging conditions, Maguire said: “They started doing the call-up on 11; meanwhile, there were six groups on that tee. It could have come a bit earlier. But it is what it is.
“Ultimately, the first few holes, it was trying to stand while you're hitting your shot, and you're getting buffeted all over the place.”
Castlewarden’s Lauren Walsh started on the back nine in the final group and took over two hours to get through the first four holes.
But despite being five over after ten, she birdied at the fifth and eighth to card a three-over 75 that left her tied 63rd as Stephanie Meadow finished with nine pars on the front nine for a 77 that left her joint 98th.
On the DP World Tour, it was a frustrating day for Gary Hurley and Tom McKibbin in the Danish Golf Championship at Lübker Golf Resort.
Hurley turned in three-under but signed for a one-over 72 that left him tied for 69th, seven strokes behind Dane Rasmus Hojgaard, as McKibbin made six bogeys in a 74 that left him three shots outside the projected cut mark.
At the Indoor Golf Group Challenge in Sweden, Jonathan Caldwell shot a four-under 67 to share fourth place, just two shots behind France’s Julie Sale and Swede Adam Andersson.
Dermot McElroy’s 69 left him 15th with Mark Power 30th after a 70
