Leona Maguire leads Girls’s PGA; Nelly Korda misses reduce

SPRINGFIELD, N.J. — Leona Maguire of Eire birdied 4 of her last six holes for a 3-under 68 and a one-shot lead over three gamers Friday on the midway level of the KMPG Girls’s PGA Championship at Baltusrol.

The winner Sunday in Michigan for her second LPGA Tour title, the 28-year Maguire had 5 birdies and two bogeys in taking pictures her seventh straight spherical within the 60s, relationship to the ultimate spherical on the Mizuho Americas Open.

At 5-under 137 at Baltusrol, Maguire had her first midway lead in a significant. The previous Duke star is ranked twelfth on this planet.

Mel Reid (67) of England, Xiyu Lin (71) of China and rookie Celine Borge (69) of Norway had been tied for second, a shot forward of first-round chief Lee-Anne Tempo (73) of South Africa and fifth-ranked Minjee Lee of Australia, who pushed herself into the hunt for the second main with a 67.

“That is uncharted territory for me,” Maguire mentioned. “No matter occurs this week, I am positive I am going to be taught so much, and simply type of taking it someday at a time. I believe this golf course calls for that. I believe you’ll be able to’t suppose multiple shot forward, not to mention a gap or a spherical forward.”

The Decrease Course at Baltusrol has been the large winner this week. By means of two rounds there have been solely 15 gamers below par and among the greatest names in girls’s golf will not be round for the weekend, lacking the reduce at 5 over.

Nonetheless in competition are first-time winner Ruoning Yin of China at 2 below, two-time main winner Brooke Henderson of Canada and top-ranked Jin Younger Ko of South Korea and Celine Boutier of France, together with People Gina Kim, Allisen Corpuz Mina Harigae, all at 1 below.

Rose Zhang, who burst onto the ladies’s golf scene with a win at Mizuho in her first occasion as knowledgeable, struggled and wanted a birdie on her final gap to complete with a 74 and a 2-over rating.

Amongst those that missed the reduce had been No. 2 Nelly Korda, No. 4 Lilia Vu, No. 6 Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand and No. 9 Georgia Corridor of England. Lexi Thompson, ranked No. 9, wanted 4 straight birdies late in her spherical to get to 4 over.