Leona Maguire of Ireland plays her shot off the 14th tee during Day Two of the AIG Women's Open 2020 at Royal Troon on August 21, 2020 in Troon, Scotland. (Photo R&A via Getty Images)

Stephanie Meadow birdied the tough, par-three 17th for the second day running to post a 74 and share 52nd on eight-over at halfway In the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Troon.

But as Sweden’s Dani Holmqvist carded a one-under 70 to lead by a shot on one-under from American Austin Ernst and Germany’s Sophia Popov, Slieve Russell National’s Leona Maguire and Royal County Down amateur Olivia Mehaffey missed the cut.

Maguire signed for a 75 to miss out by a shot on 10-over as Mehaffey shot a second successive 77 to finish two shots further back. Scores

“It’s been amazing,” said Mehaffey, who will have to wait until August next year to go to the Q-School and turn professional due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Any time you get to tee it up with the pros it’s such a great experience, getting to play with Dame Laura (Davies) and Alena [Sharp], both very experienced professionals.

“It’s been amazing. My golf hasn’t been as good as I would have liked but the experience was invaluable.”

Explaining that she found it mentally challenging to play into the wind on the first few holes, then downwind, she said, “It’s such a grind mentally.”

She added: “I feel I have quite a few things in my game that I can go with and work on. I felt quite comfortable out here this week. There are things I need to work on but it has been a really good experience.”

As rain and wind swept across Royal Troon, Holmqvist carded four birdies and three bogeys on Friday to hold the lead for the first time in her LPGA Tour career. After missing much of the 2019 season due to a back injury, the extra rehab time delivered by the coronavirus-related stoppage of play worked to Holmqvist’s advantage.

“Obviously, I think we are all itching to get back out there playing. Especially in front of all the fans, too, which is unfortunate that we can't right now,” said Holmqvist, who has never finished better than 28th at a major championship. “But you know, for me, it was good personally just with the injury just to give me some time off, not to travel so much, and just be home and doing rehab a little bit more and just getting stronger so I can be out here to perform again.”

Ernst had four birdies and three bogeys on Friday to move into major contention, while Popov birdied 18 to cap a round of 1-over 72. Like Holmqvist, both players are looking for their first major victory.

Five players are tied for third at one-over— two-time major champion Lydia Ko; LPGA Tour winners Minjee Lee and Jasmine Suwannapura; Emily Kristine Pedersen, who was in a playoff at last week’s Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open; and Lindsey Weaver.

First-round leader Amy Olson had a disastrous day on Friday, following her first-round 4-under 67 with a 10-over 81 that included six bogeys and two double bogeys. She dropped to +6 overall and is tied for 33rd.

Olivia Mehaffey of Northern Ireland walks down the 2nd fairway with caddie Joel Funnell during Day Two of the AIG Women's Open 2020 at Royal Troon on August 21, 2020 in Troon, Scotland. (Photo: R&A via Getty Images) — Olivia Mehaffey of Northern Ireland walks down the 2nd fairway with caddie Joel Funnell during Day Two of the AIG Women's Open 2020 at Royal Troon on August 21, 2020 in Troon, Scotland. (Photo: R&A via Getty Images)

The cut came at nine-over, tied with 2009 at Royal Lytham and St Annes for the highest cut in AIG Women’s Open major history, with 73 players advancing to the weekend.

Notable players to miss the cut include Rolex Rankings No. 7 Brooke Henderson (+10), 2013 AIG Women’s Open champion Stacy Lewis (+11) and defending champion Hinako Shibuno (+12). Shibuno became the fourth winner since the AIG Women’s Open became a major in 2001 to miss the cut.

LPGA TOUR NOTES

Thomson escapes sanction but misses cut

Meanwhile, the R&A ruled that Lexi Thompson did not improve her lie before playing her second shot at Royal Troon’s 16th hole during Thursday’s first round.

The governing body’s response came a day after a television camera showed Thompson using her club to brush away some long grass from behind her ball, though the R&A determined that the clump of grass returned to its natural position before Thompson played the shot.

“Following a discussion between Chief Referee David Rickman and the player prior to her signing her scorecard, it was determined that, although the player had moved a growing natural object behind her ball, it had returned to its original position,” the statement read. “Therefore, the lie of the ball was not improved and there was no breach of Rule 8.1.”

Thompson birdied the hole, her only birdie of the day as part of an opening 78. She followed with a 75 Friday to miss the cut.

Dani Holmqvist of Sweden plays her second shot on the 18th hole during day two of the 2020 AIG Women's Open at Royal Troon on August 21, 2020 in Troon, Scotland. (Photo by R&A via Getty Images)

Austin Ernst aiming for win no. 2

Ten days from today is the sixth anniversary of Austin Ernst’s only LPGA Tour victory, a playoff win at the 2014 Cambia Portland Classic. If the South Carolina native has her way, she’ll celebrate that anniversary by adding a second win to her tally. Ernst shot a second-round 1-under 70 on Friday and sits in solo second at Even heading into the weekend of the AIG Women’s Open.

“I figured a few things out the last few weeks. I've been a little rusty with the start, but it's been really close to being really good,” said Ernst, who had four birdies and three bogeys on Friday. “I feel like last week helped me playing in a little bit of wind, playing links golf and figured out a few things kind of that I needed to work on and I took that the beginning of this week and I felt like at the start of this week my game was definitely trending in the right direction.”

Since that win in 2014, Ernst has been searching for the next step in her LPGA Tour career. She made her Solheim Cup debut for USA in 2017 but has not notched a top-10 finish since a tie for 10th at the 2019 Honda LPGA Thailand. She has never finished better than 56th in her seven previous AIG Women’s Open appearances.

Rejuvenated Dani Holmqvist leads AIG Women's Open

In a year where the only things missing so far are locusts and a frog plague, the mantra for 2020 has been: control what you can, accept what you can’t and adapt on the fly.

A microcosm of that philosophy has been the first two rounds of the AIG Women’s Open, where conditions at Royal Troon have included tropical-storm-strength winds mixed sporadically with a cold, north, sideways rain that hits the skin like pellets from a Gatling gun. Hanging on was the order of the first two days. And no one did that better than Sweden’s Dani Holmqvist, who enters the weekend at 1-under par after a solid round of 70.

“I grew up playing the British Am, and also played the Helen Holm (Scottish Women’s Open Amateur Championship) at this course, only one round at this course, though, but at the property,” Holmqvist said after a four-birdie, three-bogey round that included some solid par saves in the worst of the wind. “This (setting and weather) is different, very different, but I enjoy it.”

For more from LPGA.com’s Steve Eubanks, visit www.lpga.com/news/2020/holmqvist-leads-after-round-2.

Lindsey weaver pushing her way to success

With heightened health and safety protocols due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the LPGA Tour lifted its requirement for players to use caddies for the remainder of the 2020 season. While most players opted to keep a caddie by their side, Lindsey Weaver instead chose to dust off her old pushcart from her junior days. That cart has seen her through three straight made cuts and now has (literally) pushed her to a tie for third heading into the third round of the AIG Women’s Open.

“I feel like it's kind of back to the basics. This is how junior golf was. This is how college golf was and on the Symetra Tour when I played there for a year,” said Weaver, who usually hired local caddies instead of working with a regular looper. “I mean, it's still just golf. Like I'm still making the final decision at the end of the day. So not much has really changed.”

Weaver heads to the weekend in a tie for 11th, quite the breakthrough opportunity for a player who admits that she thought about stepping away from the game after a difficult 2019. With her game heading in a positive direction, yet another good week on the links would go far in proving to the 26-year-old that she made the right decision. And the cart? She’s a big part of Weaver’s equation for success.”

“Last year was tough to say the least,” said Weaver, who made just six cuts in 2019. “It's always nice to have a good support system, between her (the cart) and my fiancé at home, it's nice to be back out here and to feel their support behind me.”

PLAYER NOTES

Rolex Rankings No. 270 Dani Holmqvist (71-70)

She hit eight of 14 fairways and nine of 18 greens, with 26 putts
Holmqvist first earned LPGA Tour Membership in 2014 and has played full-time since 2016; her best finish is a tie for seventh at the 2018 Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic
This is Holmqvist’s fifth event of the 2020 LPGA Tour season; her best finish is a tie for 29th at last week’s Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open
This is Holmqvist’s second appearance at the AIG Women’s Open; she missed the cut in 2013
Holmqvist is a 2012 graduate from UC Berkeley with a degree in journalism
She has one win on the Symetra Tour, three wins on the Swedish Challenge Tour and one win on the ALPG Tour

Rolex Rankings No. 76 Austin Ernst (72-70)

Ernst hit 12 of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens, with 29 putts
Her second-round 70 is only the third time she’s recorded an under-par 18-hole score at the AIG Women’s Open; her best finish in a major championship is T2 at the 2018 Evian Championship
Ernst is in her eighth year on the LPGA Tour; her best finish is a win at the 2014 Cambia Portland Classic
This is her seventh event of the 2020 LPGA Tour season; her best finish is T19 at the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio
This is Ernst’s eighth appearance at the AIG Women’s Open; her best finish is a tie for 56th in 2015
She was a member of the 2017 U.S. Solheim Cup team, with a 2-2-0 overall record
Ernst played two seasons at Louisiana State University (2011-2012); she was the 2011 NCAA Individual Champion
She was a semifinalist at the 2011 U.S. Women’s Amateur and a member of the 2012 U.S. Curtis Cup Team