Meadow takes a backseat for the weekend at the Scottish Open

Ralph Casey
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Hinako Shibuno of Japan (Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images)

Ralph Casey

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Stephanie Meadow shot a second round 75 to miss the cut by just  one at this weekend’s co-sanctioned US and European Tour ladies’ tour FREED GROUP Women’s Scottish Open Presented by Trust Golf. event in Scotland.

The Northern Ireland player will be disappointed to not see the weekend, despite her three birdies in round two, which were overruled by five bogeys.

Overnight leader, Hinako Shibuno produced another solid round of 68 (-4) on the second day to add to her opening 64 (-8) to hold a two-shot lead  even though the  major champion started with a bogey on the first she soon turned her day around with a birdie on the second before adding another on the fifth.

Three more birdies on the back nine saw Shibuno fish with a total of 12-under-par after 36 holes.

“I’m very sad about the three-putt at the first hole,” she said. “I had a birdie on the second hole. I think I did very well today, so I was not thinking about yesterday.

“The wind was getting weaker and weaker, but there was still some wind, and it was very difficult for me. Maja [Stark] has a good rhythm and plays good, it’s the best player to play with.

“I was very calm today. The first time I won was the AIG Women’s Open and that was still in the UK, so maybe I feel better being here.”

It was an impressive second round for Maia Stark who fired a 65 (-7) to climb into second place on 10-under-par, two shots behind the leader.

Despite a having a headache on the first six holes, that didn’t stop the six-time LET winner who rolled in birdies on three, five and eight.

A dropped shot on the 10th spurred the Swede on further before she made five consecutive birdies – the second time she has done that on the LET – for a round of seven-under.

Meanwhile, “It was very solid today,” said Stark. “I had a really frustrating headache on the first six holes. I didn’t really care about my game, to be honest. Maybe it was a good thing that I didn’t really pay attention.

“But then we got that figured out and I started making some putts. The bogey on 10 really made me start sharpening up and then I just felt like everything went smooth. I had a lot of confidence today.

“I practice every day, and I have a lot of good focus putting and a lot of drills trying to match read with speed and everything. It just makes it easier to especially visualize out there because they have so many little subtle slopes here.

“I’ve noticed that I play better when I feel like I have lots of open spaces around me because it doesn’t feel like I focus on the wrong things. For example, Evian, I could only look at the trees that I could hit into, and then I do. It’s nicer to be here, and I love links golf, so I think that’s also a factor.”

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