Stephanie Meadow produced an excellent level-par round at Castlerock to play her way through to the weekend at the at the ISPS HANDA World Invitational, moving well up the board and within five of the lead.
Meadow, who won the 2019 staging held entirely at Galgorm, traded two birdies with two bogeys on her way to her level-par 73, and as the day progressed and the wind picked up, it began to look better and better, taking her from outside the cutline and inside the top-25.
Leona Maguire, who played her second round at Galgorm which proved the more difficult of the courses over the two days as strong winds and a soft golf course left it playing extremely long and very tough.
A birdie at the first was Maguire’s only one of the day as she uncharacteristically struggled with the putter, making bogeys on the second, eighth, 11th and 18th holes and post a three-over 75 and lies tied for 33rd.
Like her friend, fellow countrywoman and LPGA Tour compatriot Meadow, she’s within striking distance going into the weekend and with the tails of storm Betty set to deliver high winds again and just seven players under par, anybody inside the cutline is in with a chance.
Unfortunately, Jessica Ross and Olivia Mehaffey aren’t among them, both of whom struggled on Castlerock and will have the weekend off.
American Marissa Steen is the 36-hole leader at -3 after shooting one-under at Castlerock in round two, and German Esther Henseleit whose two-under second-round was only bettered by Ana Palaez Trivino.
“Yeah, really my main goal going into today was just to stay patient,” Steen would say afterwards. “Out here on this links course it’s just so much more exposed. That was all I was saying, was just stay patient. It’s not going to play easy for anyone.
“I started on the front, so my first five holes were dead into the wind. I was pretty happy to be even through that stretch. Yeah, and hung tough. Luckily made a long putt on the last, which I always joke will make lunch taste a little bit better.”
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