Power and Maguire look for Sunday bounce backs after Saturday stumbles
Min Lee of Chinese Taipei hits a shot on the 9th hole during the round three of the LPGA Mediheal Championship at Lake Merced Golf Club on June 12, 2021 in Daly City, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
Seamus Power and Leona Maguire are looking to finish on a high today after going backwards on moving day in the United States.
Power made an eagle, three birdies, three bogeys and a double-bogey in a level par 71 in the weather-delayed Palmetto Championship at Congaree to fall from fourth to tied seventh, eight shots behind leader Chesson Hadley on six-under-par in South Carolina.
But while Maguire shot 74 to fall from second to tied 11th in the LPGA Mediheal Championship, she battled back from a disastrous, five-over 41 on the front nine as she eagled the last to come home in 33 and give herself an outside chance of contending for that maiden LPGA win at Lake Merced today.
It certainly must have felt like a more dispiriting day for Power, who birdied the first two holes to move to within two shots of the lead but then three-putted the seventh and double-bogeyed the ninth after finding the penalty area with his second shot.
He got a shot back with a stunning approach to four feet at the 11th but while he bogeyed the 13th, he pitched in for an eagle two at the 350-yard 15th but he missed a good chance inside eight feet at the 16th before dropping a shot at the last.
“It was nice start,” Power said. “Made a putt from just short left of the green, nice little bonus start. And then a nice up-and-down for out of the bunker on 2 for a birdie. But I didn't play great in between.
“I had a nice chip-in on 15 from left of the green, so that was kind of the bonus kind of kept me in a little bit. But not my best, I need something a lot better tomorrow.”
Projected to move up to 156th in the FedEx Cup rankings if he can maintain his position, the man from Tooraneena (34) knows he must play well as he seeks to make the top 125 who will have full cards next season.
“Just try play a nice round of golf,” he said of his mindset. “I'm six-under I think so, yeah, just try to go have a good round. “I didn't hit it in the best spots today, was never that comfortable on the greens, so just general improvement tomorrow.”
At the top of the leaderboard, Hadley picked up four back-nine birdies to lead by four strokes on 14-under from Harris English when play was suspended due to a dangerous weather situation shortly after he hit his tee shot on the 18th.
Garrick Higgo led in the clubhouse on eight-under, tied with world No 1 Dustin Johnson who was one-over for the day and struggling alongside Hadley when play was suspended.
It was even more of a rollercoaster day for Maguire in the LPGA Mediheal Championship at Lake Merced Golf Club in San Francisco.
Tied for second heading into yesterday’s third round, just a shot off the lead, the Co Cavan star signed for an erratic, two-over 74.
She’s now tied for 11th on four-under, five strokes behind Taiwan’s Min Lee, whose four-under 68 gave her a two-shot lead over Finland’s Matilda Castren and American Lauren Kim.
The Ballyconnell star opened with a double-bogey six and while she steadied the ship with three pars and a birdie at the fourth, she bogeyed the eighth and triple-bogeyed the par-five ninth to turn in five-over 41.
Ever the battler, she responded in style when she birdied the 14th and 15th and followed a bogey at the 16th with an eagle three at the 18th.
