Stephanie Meadow is pleased to be finally reaping the rewards of her hard work as she hit a moving day 67 to catapult into contention heading into the final round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Baltusrol.
Meadow lies in third place on five-under, two shots shy of leader Leona Maguire and she feels she finally has momentum in her season after an encouraging season best 13th place finish at last week’s Meijer LPGA Classic which was won by Maguire.
“I just have a much better swing thought going on, and I think that gave me some confidence to see some irons fly really good. It had been kind of trending that way in practice and at home, but (the Meijer LPGA Classic) was the first week where I finally saw it, so it was great to see that kind of transpire last week,” said Meadow, who recorded rounds of 70-69-68-68 at Blythefield Country Club. “Then I knew on a tough golf course like (Baltusrol), if I could just hit the same shots, then I would be doing pretty good.
“I definitely felt great yesterday. I played some really solid golf. I probably hit the ball a tiny bit better yesterday than I did today, but I made more putts today, and that’s the name of the game.”
The Jordanstown native burst onto the scene on the major stage in 2014 when she was third to Michelle Wie in Pinehurst at the US Women’s Open – her professional debut but she has struggled for major championship form since, racking up just one top-10, a T10 at the 2022 Women’s PGA.
This is the fifth time that Meadow has been within five of the lead entering the final round and she will relish the opportunity to contend for her first LPGA Tour title and first major championship on Sunday.
“This is why we practice, right? This is why I do what I do, and I’m just going to enjoy it,” said Meadow of contending for her first LPGA Tour victory. “Obviously, I have been out on Tour for a long time, nine years. I want the win just as much as anybody else, but at the same time I need to stay within myself and focus on the process, but at the end of the day I want to win, and I’m not shy about being competitive.”
After personal struggles off the golf course over the last few years, the Antrim woman is at peace and is keeping things in perspective heading into Sunday.
“I have a great life. I’ll put it that way. I do what I love. Golf is not who I am, but it’s what I do,” said Meadow. “I have a family back home, a doggy, in-laws, mother, everybody that supports me. No matter what happens out here, I go back to that, and you can’t ask for much more.”
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