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Irish Independent
17 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Leona Maguire battles her way into contention as Minjee Lee leads Women's PGA by four in Texas
The Co Cavan star (29) has plummeted 52 spots to 87th in the world rankings over the past year. But while she missed four cuts in a row before arriving at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco, she knew she was playing better than her scores suggested. "I feel like I've been actually playing really well for four or five weeks now," said Maguire, who goes into the final round tied for sixth on two-over, eight shots behind the impressive Australian Minjee Lee, who signed for a bogey-free, three-under 69 to lead by four strokes from Thailand's Jenno Thitikul on six-under. "I've been telling my team and everybody I'm playing better than I'm scoring. And I feel like this week, it has come together a bit nicer. "I like hard golf courses. I always have. I like the challenge. And this one is a challenge for sure, and it's nice to be able to execute the shots that I wanted.": It was a trademark battling performance from the Ballyconnell woman, who looked set for a long day when she double-bogeyed the second and bogeyed the fifth to slip to five-over for the championship. Rounds were taking six hours, but she birdied the seventh from five feet and never looked back as she made clutch par saves at the 11th and 14th before brushing in a four-footer for birdie at the 105-yard 17th. "Obviously, I didn't get off to the best of start, but I accepted that everybody was going to make mistakes today, and at least I got mine out of the way early," she said. "I didn't feel like I'd done a whole lot wrong to be three over through five and just stayed patient; tried to hit as many fairways and greens as I could, and made a really nice birdie on seven, and that kind of got the ball rolling." At the Tipsport Czech Masters on the Ladies European Tour, Lauren Walsh carded a bogey-free, six-under 66 to go into the final round just four shots behind leader Kim Metraux. The Castlewarden star (23) shares sixth place on nine-under at Royal Beroun Golf Club behind the Swiss talent, who carded a bogey-free 63 to lead by a shot from England's Emse Hamilton on 13-under. Douglas' Sara Byrne carded a 70 to share 50th place on four-under with Olivia Mehaffey, who made ten birdies in a seven-under 65 — her best LET round in over two years
Irish Independent
07-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Lauren Walsh slips back after a challenging day on the greens in Tenerife
The Castlewarden star (24) fired rounds of 67 and 68 to claim a two-shot lead at halfway at Abama Golf. But she bogeyed four of her first 11 holes in round three before making a double bogey six at the 15th in a 34-putt round. The Carton House touring professional fought back with a birdie at the par-five 17th, but at four-under, she's tied for tenth, four strokes behind the Czech Republic's Sara Kouskova. 'It was nice and steady today,' said Kouskova, who shot 69. 'Patient, I would say. Lots of solid shots and a great save at the 18th. 'I think yesterday was tough towards the end. I struggled to keep my focus when I was finishing. So it was nice to get it going today. I'm looking forward to some rest!' Kouskova claimed her maiden win in the Jabra Ladies Open at Evian Resort in her last start two weeks ago, but she is not getting ahead of herself in the Canaries. 'I try not to think about it [winning again],' she said. 'I'm just happy that I'm hitting good shots and we're making good decisions. We'll see what tomorrow brings.' Walsh still has a chance to record her maiden win, but with the top 12 players covered by just four strokes, it may require a low final round. Spain's Ana Pelaez Trivino, Singapore's Shannon Tan and Finland's Noora Komulainen are just a shot off the lead on seven-under-par. Germany's Helen Briem, Austria's Emma Spitz, Italy's Alessandra Fanali and New Zealand's Amelia Garvey lie just two strokes behind, while India's Diksha Dagar sits a shot further back on five-under-par. Walsh rounds out the top 10, four shots behind alongside Order of Merit number one Mimi Rhodes from England and Germany's Patricia Isabel Schmidt.
Irish Independent
07-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Rory McIlroy in Canadian Open cut battle as he beds in new driver
The Masters champion had his driver ruled non-conforming at the PGA Championship two weeks ago and after struggling with a replacement, he put a new one in the bag at TPC Toronto, where a one-over 71 left him outside the top 100 and facing a cut battle today. 'I actually felt like I played OK,' said the Co Down man, who hit just nine greens in regulation but was happy to see his left miss with the driver turn into a more manageable miss to the right. 'It was my first outing with a new driver and I felt like that went pretty well. I hit some drives that I liked and that I liked to see, so that was encouraging.' The world No 2 played the back nine blind in rainy conditions and dropped shots at the 12th and 17th before turning things around with three birdies in a row from the 18th. But while he paid for missed fairways with bogeys at the eighth and ninth, he was still upbeat despite finding himself six shots behind early leaders Taylor Pendrith, Alex Smalley and Paul Peterson. 'Overall, I'm pretty happy with how I played,' he said. 'I'm still trying to work on some things, but I'm OK with where everything is. Hopefully, that's the end of the rain and it can firm up a little bit. It's a very gettable golf course, especially with how soft it is. 'I'm going to have to do a little bit better tomorrow to be here for the weekend and give myself a chance.' As for the new driver, he said he was trying to work on his right miss. 'It's just trying to figure that out and manage it a little bit,' he explained. 'It's a nice feeling to get up the middle of the fairway and fully release it and know it's not going to go left on you. A little bit of practice this afternoon and get ready for tomorrow.' On the Ladies European Tour, Kildare's Lauren Walsh roared into contention for her maiden win when she opened with a bogey-free, five-under 67 to grab a share of the lead in the Tenerife Women's Open. ADVERTISEMENT The Castlewarden star (24) birdied the 10th and 18th at Abama Golf before making further birdies at the first, third and fifth to share top spot with Denmark's Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen, one clear of England's Eleanor Givens. Anna Foster was 17th after a 71 as Canice Screene shot 75. Fellow rookies Sara Byrne and Annabel Wilson carded 77s. At the DP World Tour's KLM Open, Conor Purcell fought back from a four-over-par front nine, but his one-over 73 left him with work to do to make the cut at The International in Amsterdam, The Dubliner (27) made four bogeys on the back nine, two of them with three-putts, before following birdies at the first, third and sixth with another bogey at the par-three seventh. He ended the day tied for 74th, nine shots behind Portugal's Ricardo Gouveia, whose 64 gave him a one-shot lead over Scotland's Connor Syme. It was a better day on the HotelPlanner Tour for Ballymena's Dermot McElroy, who built on his third-place finish in Cadiz and opened with a four-under 67 in the Swiss Challenge in Lucerne. 'I've been working on the technical side of things for a while with my swing and decided a few weeks back to scrap the swing thoughts and just go out and play my usual game,' said McElroy, who was tied for 15th, four strokes behind England's David Horsey. 'I did it to be more consistent on the course, but obviously, my performances at the start of the year were poor enough. 'So I am happy to be back hitting my normal shots again and certainly more comfortable on the course as a result.' Alex Maguire was 38th after a 69 with Liam Nolan, who is eighth in the rankings, a shot further back in 54th after a 70. Level-par 71s left Jonny Caldwell and Max Kennedy joint 77th, while Mark Power's 74 left him 129th.
