Leona Maguire holed out for eagle on the par-4 3rd hole which helped her card an opening 70 and lie just two shots off the early lead at her favourite Asian event, the HSBC Women’s World Championship.
After two straight pars to open her campaign, Maguire hit one of her famous hybrid clubs, carrying the front of the green and rattling the flagstick as it rolled in for an eagle.
She capitalised on that momentum with a birdie on the next hole and a bogey on 7 saw her turn in 34 before she embarked on a rollercoaster back nine.
The Cavan star returned to -3 with a birdie on 11 but back-to-back bogeys threatened to derail her round. She responded with two birdies in three holes on 14 and 16 and a bogey on the last closed out an eventful first round.
“I think there’s plenty of chances if you hit the right shots. I didn’t drive the ball particularly well today but gave myself a few chances and holed some putts and made a few birdies which is nice,” said the two-time LPGA Tour winner.
Maguire lies in a share of fifth place, two shots behind America’s Sarah Schmelzel.
“Singapore is great. It’s probably my favourite stop in Asia. It’s very clean, people are friendly, lots of good food. Yes, it’s hot and humid, but it’s a nice place.”
Maguire has been in good positions at the halfway stage of her last two tournaments and she is pleased with the signs she is showing.
“I mean, big summer ahead with the majors and Solheim Cup and Olympics and all that. Feels like these first few are a bit of a warm up for them and then just trying to play as well as you can going into the summer.”
Scoring HERE
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