Áine Donegan has put herself in an excellent position to become the second Irish woman to win on the Ladies European Tour after a four-under 69 vaulted her into a share of the clubhouse lead on day two of the PIF London Championship at Centurion Club and she ended the day tied for fourth.
The first-year pro opened with a three-under round of 70 from the penultimate group on Thursday afternoon, and made the most of an early tee time on Friday to birdie five of the opening nine holes and turn at -4 for the day having dropped a shot on nine.
A birdie on 13 saw her move into sole possession of the lead, but bogeys on 14 and 16 sandwiched a par on the par-5 15th before a final birdie on 17 got her back to -7 overall.
Her lunch was in danger of being soured as she faced a 15-footer for par on the par-5 18th, but the line was perfect, as was the pace and in it went to put her at the top of the board alongside Australian Kelsey Bennett before being overtaken by Anna Huang, Charley Hull and Lydia Hall.
Áine Donegan posts a 69 (-4) to move into a share of the clubhouse lead on -7#PIFLondonChampionship pic.twitter.com/jyYT90vBYg
— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) August 7, 2026
“I got in Tuesday, I had one of my best friends get married on Monday, so I couldn’t miss that,” said Donegan. “I flew in early Tuesday and played 18 and nine on Wednesday and then the last two days have been good.
“They’ve been far from perfect. I finally have the putter rolling which has been nice. It’s been a while since it’s been hot, so I’ve worked really hard the last month and a half. I had a pretty quiet July, so it’s nice to see some hard work being rewarded.
“I’ve worked with my coaches a lot on my putting, it’s let me down the last couple of months. It was nice. I went and saw a new putting coach as well which was nice. It’s been great and I’m looking forward to the next few days. I also have to give Harry [Ewing] a shoutout on the bag. It’s out first week together and it’s working pretty well so far.”
Sara Byrne birdied three of her final six holes to shoot a one-under 72 that got her into the clubhouse at one-over-par alongside Anna Foster who had a mixed round that featured an eagle, three birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey and resulted in a one-over 74.
They both made the cut with two shots to spare, but the afternoon action was all at the top of the leaderboard.
Huang, who held a two-stroke lead after day one, still tops the board but just one stroke behind is England’s Hull, who fired a course record 62 (-11).
Three-time LET winner Huang rebounded from a shaky start to produce a round of 68 (-5) to lead with a score of 11-under-par.
The 17-year-old had two eagles on her scorecard at the ninth and 18th holes, as well as four birdies and three bogeys to sit at the top of the leaderboard at the halfway stage of the tournament.
“It was another good round, but it was a little bit more up-and-down than yesterday. I had a couple of bad mistakes here and there, but it’s still something to be proud of,” said Huang. “Lots of eagles today and lots of good birdies. My putts were rolling really nicely today, and I hit a couple of good iron shots to leave myself with birdie putts.
“Last two weeks I missed two cuts, so that was a bit hurtful. This week I have tried to be more confident in my game. I have tried to trust myself and maybe that was the biggest change for me.
“I was really bummed to miss two big cuts but knowing the course from last year and there are a lot more familiar faces out here. I felt a lot more at home and more comfortable with my game.”
Hull’s round of 11-under-par also equals the lowest-ever round on the Ladies European Tour (LET) and she joins the record books alongside the likes of Haeran Ryu, Jessica Korda, Alison Lee, and Karrie Webb.
The five-time LET winner began the day with an eagle at the first before three birdies on the trot on holes four, five and six, and another on nine to make the turn in six-under.
She added further birdies on 10, 13, 15 and 17 before finishing with a birdie on 18 to seal her round of -11 and move to solo second place on the leaderboard on 10-under-par.
“It was really good, I shot 11-under and I actually left a couple of shots out there coming in. I know that sounds pretty crazy, but it was a fun day,” said Hull “I have been so tired this week, exhausted from the last couple of weeks especially after the AIG Women’s Open last week.
“I feel pretty tired and my body is in bits. I have got a few ongoing injuries, so I’ve been having a lot of physio. I’m quite shocked that I’ve shot 11-under today because I felt so tired this morning. It felt like the easiest 11-under of my life. I’m standing here right now feeling like I left a couple of shots out there and I want to go and see if I can improve it tomorrow.”
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