Maguire and Murphy fly the flag in Antrim as Lowry is lone survivor in Memphis
ISPS HANDA World Invitational Presented by Aviv Clinics, Galgorm Castle and Massereene Golf Club. Northern Ireland. July 11-14th 2022. Leona Maguire of Europe during the second round. Credit: Tristan Jones/LET
LEONA Maguire and John Murphy can inspire each other in the ISPS HANDA World Invitational at Galgorm Castle, but Shane Lowry will be the lone Irishman making moves in the FedEx Cup Playoffs in Memphis.
Lowry was a shot outside the projected two-under par cut line with eight holes to go in the FedEx St Jude Championship at TPC Southwind before he reeled off four birdies in his next six holes en route to a second successive 68.
The Clara man finished the day on four-under, seven shots behind JJ Spaun, whose 67 gave him a one-shot lead over Austria's Sepp Straka and Troy Merritt
It was a different story for Rory McIlroy and Séamus Power as both men missed the two-under par cut
While he missed too many fairways, Power's iron play let him down as he found just 12 greens in regulation over the first two days and followed a one-over 71 with a 73 to miss the cut on four-over.
McIlroy struggled from the tee, and while he made four birdies, he made his third bogey of the day at the 18th as he failed to pull off an adventurous cut from the trees, and his 69 left a shot outside the mark
With the top 70 set to play next week's BMW Championship, Power was projected to fall 10 spots from 24th to 34th in the FedEx Cup standings, with sixth-ranked McIlroy also safe as he was set to drop just two spots to eighth.
There was far better news for the Irish in Co Antrim, where Maguire carded a three-under 69 at Massereene to go into the weekend tied for fifth on eight-under-par in her quest for her second LPGA win this season.
She's just three strokes behind American Amanda Doherty, who shot a five-under 67 at the same venue to lead by a shot from Denmark's Emily Kristine Pedersen and American Lauren Coughlin on 11-under par.
"I hit the ball a lot nicer today, gave myself lots of chances, and overall pretty happy," Maguire said after making four birdies and a bogey. "I could have holed a few more putts coming in, but three-under round Massereene, I'm pretty happy with that.
"You don't really have to do a whole lot wrong around here. It's tighter than Galgorm off the tee, so I gave myself a few nice chances on 3, 4, 5, and 7. Just didn't convert those."
With huge crowds at both venues, she's hoping to put on a show for the home fans after Stephanie Meadow and Olivia Mehaffey missed the one-over-par cut.
While Mehaffey shot 80 at Massereene to finish on 10-over, Meadow missed by two shots after a 72 at the same venue and said she was "highly unlikely" to play the KPMG Women's Irish Open at Dromoland Castle next month.
Just five of the 16 Irishmen made the one-over cut in the DP World Tour event with Kinsale's John Murphy tied ninth on four-under, just five shots behind Scotland's Ewen Ferguson, after a one-under 69 at Massereene.
"I didn't play well at all today, so nice to get it around in one-under," said Murphy, who was playing just ahead of Maguire and felt the enthusiasm from her gallery.
"I suppose I was only a few groups ahead of her, so I could sense the atmosphere she brought out here and hopefully carry that into tomorrow."
David Carey shot a three-over 73 at Galgorm Castle and Paul Dunne a 72 at Massereene to leave them tied 41st on level par, while Tom McKibbin shot 72 and Gary Hurley made a 40-footer for birdie at the last for a 71 at Massereene to make the cut on the mark.
On the Challenge Tour, James Sugrue, Robin Dawson and Rowan Lester made the cut in the Frederikshavn Challenge in Denmark.
Sugrue and Dawson shot one-over 73s to slip to 41st on two-under, ten strokes behind Germany's Freddy's Schott, as Lester made the level par cut with a shot to spare after a fine 69.
In amateur golf, Annabel Wilson battled her way into last night's quarter-finals of the US Women's Amateur Championship at Chambers Bay in Washington State.
Set to face California's Catherine Rao, she's the first Irish player to reach the quarter-finals since Mary McKenna in 1980.
Nearer home, Royal Portrush's Laura Webb won the Irish Senior Women's Amateur by seven shots at Malone as Irish interest ended in the British Boys' and Girls' Amateur Championship at Carnoustie.
Roscommon's Olivia Mehaffey fell 3&2 to Wales' Emily James in the last 16, as New Forest's Adam Kelly lost 4&2 to France's Louis Ancheaux in round two.
