Leona Maguire shot an impressive four-under-par 67 to move her way into the top five and into contention in The Ascendant LPGA in Texas.
Maguire started slowly with one birdie and one bogey on the front nine but four birdies in six holes on a brilliant back nine means the Cavan woman sits on five-under-par, in a tie for fifth and just five shots off the leader Hyo Joo Kim.
Kim shot a three-under-par 68 on Friday to take a two-stroke lead over Sofia Garcia into the weekend, with resurgent Lexi Thompson tied for third.
“My shots were better than yesterday, but unfortunately the score wasn’t as good,” Kim said. “But I did hit the green a lot more, so I’m satisfied with that.”
Sofia Garcia, a former Texas Tech player from Paraguay, also had four birdies and a bogey in a three-under-par 68, which she hopes will be the start of a run that secures her card for next season in her rookie year.
“You have some holes where you can definitely go ahead and be a bit more aggressive,” Garcia said. “And there are a few others that definitely ask you to be patient, where you’re kind of just relieved that you make the par and move on.”
Thompson, who is set to play next week in the PGA Tour event in Las Vegas, shot a six-under-par 65, the best score of the day, in breezy afternoon conditions to join Race to CME Globe leader Celine Boutier on six-under-par.
“It definitely got windier,” Thompson said. “As we made the turn, I would say there was a few holes that really gusted up there. You know you’re going to get that on this golf course, so really committing to the lines and playing smart off the tees and playing for that bounce-out.”
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