SPRINGFIELD, NJ — Ireland’s Leona Maguire parred four of her last six holes with a 3-under 68 and a one-shot lead over three players Friday at the halfway point of the Women’s PGA Championship in Baltusrol.
On Sunday in Michigan Maguire won her second LPGA Tour title and had five birdies and two bogeys in her seventh consecutive tour of the 60s, dating back to the last round at the Mizuho US Open.
At 5-under 137 at Baltusrol, Maguire was leading at the halfway point for the first time in a major. The former Duke star is ranked 12th in the world.
Mel Reed (67) of England, Xiu Lin (71) and Chinese rookie Celine Borg (69) of Norway tied for second place, a shot behind first-round leader Li-An Pace (73) of South Africa and fifth-ranked Minjie Li of Australia, Which pushed itself to search for the second major with a score of 67.
“This is uncharted territory for me,” Maguire said. “Whatever happens this week, I’m sure I’ll learn a lot, and I’ll take it one day at a time. I think this golf course demands it. I think you can’t think of more than one shot forward, let alone a hole or a round forward.” .
The Lower Course at Baltusrol was the big winner this week. With two rounds, only 15 players were under par, and some of the biggest names in women’s golf wouldn’t be around for the weekend, missing the cut at 5 more.
Still in contention are first-time winner Runing Yen from China in second place, two-time major winner Brooke Henderson of Canada and ranked Jin Yong Koo of South Korea and Celine Boutier of France, along with Americans Gina Kim and Alison Corpuz-Mena. Harigae, all in 1 under.
Rose Chang, who burst onto the women’s golf scene by defeating Mizuho in her first event as a professional, struggled and needed a birdie on her last hole to finish with scores of 74 and 2.
Those who missed the cut included No. 2 seed Nelly Korda, No. 4 Lilia Fo, No. 6 Attaya Thetikul of Thailand and No. 9 Georgia Hall in England. Lexi Thompson, the No. 9 seed, needed four straight birdies late in her round to hit the 4.