Irish woman Leona Maguire birdied three of her final four holes to lead the Women's PGA Championship at Baltusrol in the second round on Friday by one shot.

 

 

Leona Maguire

 

 

Maguire, who was three shots off the lead when the day began, recovered from a poor start in which she parred her first five holes before making a bogey on the fifteenth. She answered by making a birdie on the 17th hole, another one on the fourth, and then a bogie on the fifth.

 

 

She finished on a three-under 68 after making birdies at the sixth, eighth, and ninth holes.

 

 

With a score of 137, she finished one better than a group of three players who were tied for second place with 138: Mel Reid of England, Celine Borge of Norway, and Lin Xiyu of China.

 

 

I'm really pleased with how I played today, remarked Maguire. Today's weather was a little bit more challenging, particularly on the back nine when the rain started to fall.

 

 

Maguire continued, "Didn't really hole any putts on the front side, but nice to get those three birdies coming in," noting that a good hybrid into the ninth hole provided her a smooth seven-footer uphill putt to finish.

 

 

 

Aditi Ashok

 

 

Aditi Ashok, shared 41st place with players like Nasa Hataoka of Japan, CharlotteThomas  of England, AnniePark of USA, and many others with a score of an even par 71.

 

 

First-round leader Lee-Anne Pace (73) of South Africa and fifth-ranked Minjee Lee of Australia, who moved into contention for the second major with a 67, were tied for second with Mel Reid (67) of England, Xiyu Lin (71) of China, and rookie Celine Borge (69) of Norway.

 

 

Rose Zhang, who made a name for herself in women's golf by winning her first professional tournament at Mizuho, struggled and required a birdie on her last hole to finish with a 74 and a 2-over score.

 

 

Nelly Korda, No. 2, Lilia Vu, No. 4, Atthaya Thitikul, No. 6, and Georgia Hall, No. 9, all failed to make the cut. Ninth-ranked Lexi Thompson needed four consecutive birdies late in her round to move to 4 over.

 

 

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