Maguire digs deep to survive cut as amateur Woad streaks clear at Carton House

Just four of the 16 Irish in the field made the cut.

Fri, 04 Jul, 2025 - 21:02

Brian Keogh

Leona Maguire was "proud" of herself after she refused to throw in the towel and dug deeper than ever to make the cut in the KPMG Women's Irish Open at Carton House.

Southwest winds gusting to 60 km/h and the occasional shower made life hell for the afternoon starters on the most exposed parts of the O'Meara Course.

Maguire started her day on one-under par and found herself ten strokes behind world amateur number one Lottie Woad, who carded a sensational six-under 67 in windy conditions to set the target at 11-under.

It was clear as the afternoon wore on that the Surrey native would not be caught, and she finished the day with a three-stroke lead over Solheim Cup points leader Chiara Tamburlini, who birdied the last to shoot 71.

Australia's Kirsten Rudgeley (68), England's Charley Hull (69), Swedish Solheim Cup star Madelene Sagstrom (71) and New Zealander Amelia Garvey (70) are four shots behind in a tie for third.

Just four of the 16-strong Irish contingent made the cut, but the presence of Maguire in the third-round draw is key for the tournament, and she was pleased afterwards to play her last seven holes in two under, carding a two-over 75 that left her tied for 49th on one over.

"I felt like I hit some nice shots coming in," said Maguire, who turned in three-over 40 and found herself outside the cut line when she followed a birdie at the 10th with a double-bogey at the tough 11th.

Digging deep, she almost holed a six hybrid for an ace at the 14th and after making a 12-footer there, she made another two from similar distance at the 16th before getting up and down for pars on the last two holes.

"It was more of a grind today," she said. "Definitely this afternoon those gusts were very tricky to say the least. So proud of how I hung in and yeah, two more days."

She admitted the double bogey at the 11th left her "behind the eight-ball," and with the field frittering away shots, she did brilliantly to steady the ship.

"When it's like this, and the ball's going nowhere, you really have to do a lot of calculations, a lot of extra thinking," she said.

"I'm tired. I mean, you have to make the best of what you have on any given day. And I felt like it would have been very easy to give up today, and I didn't do that.

"I know there are a lot of people wanting to come watch me over the weekend, so hopefully the draw is a little bit kinder to us tomorrow. We'll see if we can post a number."

She had sympathy for Lahinch's Aine Donegan, who birdied the 15th to get to one-over with two to play before she thinned her fourth from a greenside bunker at the par-five 17th into the woods, lost the ball and ran up a triple bogey eight en route to a 79 that saw her miss the weekend by two shots on four-over.

"It's hard when there's a lot of sand like that in the bunkers and they're wet and all that," Maguire said. "But she hit a lot of good shots. She's got a busy summer ahead of her and I am sure she'll take the positives."

Elm Park rookie Anna Foster shot a 74 to lead the home contingent, tied for 25th on one under.

Her amateur clubmate Emma Fleming also produced a gritty display in the final group of the day, carding a 76 that left her a shot further back in joint 40th on level par.

Rookie Canice Screene made the cut on the mark with a 75 as she battles to attain full LET status, but it was a disappointing day for Sara Byrne, who fought her way back inside the cut line with four birdies in a row at the start of her back nine only to double-bogey the fifth and bogey the eighth to shoot 74 and miss the cut by one.

"I feel like I'm not playing well, and seem to be missing the cut by one a lot, and that hurts even more than missing by 10," the Douglas star said. "But it is what it is. We have to keep working, keep getting better."

It was also a disappointing 20th birthday for Edmondstown amateur Anna Abom, who was poised to make the cut for the second year running before she double bogeyed the 18th and shot 76 to miss out by two strokes alongside Donegan and Kildare's Lauren Walsh.

Carton House touring professional Walsh was six-over with four to play, and while she birdied the 15th and 16th, a second successive 75 was not enough.

She faces an anxious wait now to see if she will win an automatic spot in the field for the AIG Women's Open, awarded to the top 10 in the Order of Merit tomorrow night who are not already exempt.

She was eighth on that list starting the week, but could be leapfrogged this weekend and forced to tee it up in Final Qualifying.