Leona Maguire faces an uphill task to make the cut at the LPGA Founders Cup in Bradenton, Florida after a disappointing back nine that saw her drop three shots enroute to a two-over 73.
Having begun her 2025 campaign with a T10 finish at the Tournament of Champions last week, Maguire is seeking to reestablish herself as one of the top-tier players on the premier women’s circuit, and after recovering from an early bogey, got herself into red figures by the turn thanks to birdies on the par-5 sixth and eighth holes.
The back nine is the tougher of the two at Bradenton Country Club, and it all went awry for Maguire over a four hole stretch with bogeys at 12, 14 and 15, leaving her back in a tie for 88th and needing to shoot at least a couple under-par on Friday.
Jennifer Kupcho found more joy in golf in 2024 and she carried that into her first LPGA event this season, shooting a six-under 65 on Thursday to share the first-round lead with Nanna Koerstz Madsen.
Kupcho made the turn at two-under and shot a bogey-free four-under 31 on the back nine. She won three times in 2022, including a major at the Chevron Championship, and is winless since. Still, she feels like last season was her most consistent.
“I think really last year I kind of fell in love with the game more, so I think I’m just kind of like bringing that into this year,” Kupcho said. “It’s just a game, so really just trying to enjoy it and have fun.”
Attitude was also key to Koerstz Madsen’s strong 2025 debut.
“I think biggest key for me is to be good mentally out there, just stay happy, not let the bad shots get too much to your head, yeah,” she said.
Lauren Coughlin, a teammate of Kupcho on last year’s winning U.S. Solheim Cup squad, was one shot back along with Jin Hee Im and Angel Yin.
“I think a lot of it is just what I’m doing is working in a certain sense,” said Coughlin, a two-time winner in 2024. “There are definitely still things I need to work on and get better, but a lot of what I do in my full swing, like I’ve been able to keep it strong for a really long time.”
Playing in her Gulf Coast hometown, top-ranked Nelly Korda birdied the 18th hole and opened with a 68. She won a different tournament at Bradenton Country Club last year, the first of her seven wins in 2024.
“Actually it’s such a big golf community. I think Florida as a as whole,” Korda said. “I mean, there is just so much more to see here. You have beautiful Sarasota, Bradenton, Longboat Key, Anna Maria Island. It’s kind of like a hidden gem.”
Major champions Celine Boutier, Jin Young Ko and Jeongeun Lee6 were among the group at four-under.
Lexi Thompson, making her second start in two events this year after announcing that she planned to play a reduced schedule, opened with a 69 that might have been better if not for an unlucky deflection off the flagstick on the par-4 13th hole.
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