Meadow six back but Leona Maguire misses Australian Open cut
20 x 20 ambassador, Stephanie Meadow. Picture: @INPHO/Morgan Treacy
Leona Maguire missed the cut but Stephanie Meadow continued her solid start to the season at the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open.
The Jordanstown star (28) followed her opening 70 with a one-under 72 in 20mph after breezes at Royal Adelaide to go into the weekend tied for 24th on four-under-par alongside defending champion, Nelly Korda.
She's six strokes behind Korea's Inbee Park and England's Jodi Ewart Shadoff, just two shots outside the top ten, after recovering from two bogeys in her first five holes with three birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn.
Slieve Russell touring professional Maguire (25) missed her second cut from three LPGA Tour starts in her rookie season as she followed her opening 74 with a two-over 75 in calm morning conditions to finish three shots outside the mark.
After finishing tied fourth in the Vic Open last week, just a shot outside a playoff, the Co Cavan native missed just one fairway but hit only nine greens in regulation as she mixed three birdies with three bogeys and a double-bogey six at her fifth hole.
Maguire will have a chance to bounce back next week when she tees it up in next week's €240,000 Geoff King Motors Australian Ladies Classic - Bonville on the Ladies European Tour.
Co-leader Park, whose 19 wins include seven major titles, shot a bogey-free 69 in the morning's perfect scoring conditions to grab the clubhouse lead on 10-under.
"It was a little bit more calm this morning, so it was nice to play out there," said Park, who is looking for her first win since the 2018 Bank of Hope Founders Cup.
"My putting was consistent, like the last couple of days, so it was good. I just love the golf course and the atmosphere here. So, hopefully I can pull it off on the weekend."
Ewart Shadoff overcame misty rain and 20 mph winds to card a three-under 70 in the afternoon and tie for the lead with Park. "It was a different day today," said the Yorkshire native, who is seeking to improve on two career runner-up finishes (including the 2017 Women’s British Open) with her first LPGA Tour win.
"The wind was obviously a lot stronger, so it was a lot tougher, but I played really steady again. I didn't get off to the greatest of starts. but I managed to fight back."
Rookie Jillian Hollis, playing in her third event as an LPGA Tour member, shot a bogey-free 69 to claim solo third on nine-under.
The cut came at even-par 146, but former world No. 1 Lydia Ko (one-over), five-time Women's Australian Open winner Karrie Webb (two-over) and two-time champion Dame Laura Davies (17-over) all missed out.
