Leona Maguire continues birdie streak in Los Angeles
Leona Maguire driving at the 15th tee during the Flogas sponsored Irish Scratch Series at Seapoint Golf Club today (29/06/2020). Picture by Pat Cashman
LEONA MAGUIRE battled a cold putter and continued her hot start to the LPGA Tour season by making six birdies in a two-under 69 in the Hugel-Air Premia LA Open
Flying high following her career-best runner-up finish in the LOTTE Championship last week, the Slieve Russell star (26) bogeyed the 12th at exclusive Wilshire Country Club in Hollywood but then bounced back by rattling five birdies in her next nine holes to tie for the lead.
She double-bogey the 170-yard fourth as she turned for home but after rebounding again with a birdie at the fifth, the Co Cavan star dropped a shot at the difficult ninth, taking 32 putts as she finished the day tied for 31st.
Now 23-under for her last five rounds, she’s five shots behind Jessica Korda, who tied the tournament record by carding eight birdies and only one bogey in a seven-under-par 64 to take a one-stroke lead into the second round.
“I was lucky enough that I was hitting the ball well last week (in Hawaii). I just wasn't making any putts, and so I was kind of just taking that mentality into this week. Like if I can maybe drop some putts I can have a good round,” said Korda. “But out here it's tough. This isn't an easy golf course at all. I was lucky to be able to position myself in the right spots off the tee and take advantage of the short putts that I did have for birdie.”
Thailand’s Moriya Jutanugarn, who won the title in 2018, was 4-over through five holes, but played her final 13 holes at 10-under, reeling off six birdies in a row in the middle of her round, to share second with Tiffany Chan after a six-under 65.
“I will say it's pretty fun day today. It's kind of really like a roller coaster. I started with double par, bogey, something like that on the first six holes,” said Jutanugarn. “I started to make some putts and then I had a lot more chance today because I hit it a lot more like closer. When I start to make a little bit more putts, then it's kind of make me having a fun day.”
Chan, a native of Hong Kong who spent two years in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California, carded seven birdies, including four straight on holes 5-8, and hit 15 of 18 greens. Chan still considers Wilshire to be her home course, despite living full time in Las Vegas, and said that she felt that inside knowledge played to her advantage.
“My goal was to try not to be too aggressive because it's my home course so I know the course really well,” said Chan. “So I still tried to be a little more conservative.”
Five players are tied for fourth on five-under — Americans Dana Finkelstein, Nelly Korda and Austin Ernst; Australia’s Su Oh; and Spain’s Carlota Ciganda.
Rolex Rankings No. 1 Jin Young Ko is tied for ninth after a four-under 67, while Minjee Lee, who is defending her 2019 LA Open title after the tournament was not conducted in 2020, opened with a 1-under 70 and is tied for 43rd.
Jordanstown’s Stephanie Meadow was tied for 90th after making two birdies, two bogeys and a double-bogey in a two-over 73.
Meanwhile, the PGA Tour has confirmed the creation of a $40 million bonus structure designed to reward its most popular players.
First revealed by Golfweek, the Player Impact Programme is designed to counter plans by the Saudi Arabia-backed Premier Golf League to lure its stars to its proposed, breakaway world circuit.
A PGA Tour spokesperson confirmed the programme aimed to “recognise and reward players who positively move the needle.”
The $40 million pot will be shared among the top-10 most popular players at the end of the year with $8 million going to the top dog.
The big earners will be determined by their Impact Score, derived from a series of marketing metrics such as a player’s popularity in Google Search or the traction of their social and digital channels.
A trail list calculated using 2019 figures ranked Tiger Woods No 1 ahead of Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler but Bryson DeChambeau would figure prominently this year.
Spain’s Jon Rahm, who defends the title with Ryan Palmer in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, welcomed the news.
“I'm pretty sure you'll definitely see more involvement on my part and I think it's a good thing because you don't necessarily have to be one of the Top-5 players in the world to have a chance, right?,” Rahm said at TPC Louisiana.
While Seamus Power was forced to withdraw following his positive Covid-19 test, Graeme McDowell tees it up in the team event with Matt Wallace (1418 Irish time).
On the European Tour, Cormac Sharvin, Jonathan Caldwell, Paul Dunne and Niall Kearney tee it up in the inaugural Gran Canaria Lopesan Open at Meloneras Golf as the Challenge Tour season begins with a three-week run in South Africa.
Gavin Moynihan will be looking to make his first cut since last July’s Austrian Open while Michael Hoey is making his first start since November in the Limpopo Championship at Euphoria Golf Club in Modimolle
