The weather was picture perfect Thursday at the Pelican Championship and so was upcoming Irish star Leona Maguire.
On a day made for low scoring, Maguire went out and carved up the Pelican Golf Club. She shot 31-31 and her eight-under par 62 gave her the course record and the first round lead at the next-to-last event of the LPGA Tour’s 2021 season.
Maguire hit 14 fairways and 14 greens and took only 24 putts. She birdied all four par three holes and by day’s end, had a two-shot lead over defending champion Sei Young Kim, who played in the same group with Maguire and Lexi Thompson. Maguire was a standout at Duke University and 2020 was her first year as a professional.
“I suppose over the last two weeks I’ve worked on my irons a lot,” said Maguire. “I was kind of overdrawing it a little bit the last few weeks and in (South) Korea — just getting that neutral ball flight back in. I play my best when I have little or no shape on my ball, so getting back to that. That’s been good here. Being able to hit it in those right sections of the greens, and even when I slightly missed the green it was still a pretty simple two-putt.”
Among those following Maguire early Thursday morning was her swing coach, Shane O’Grady. “It was Hogan-like,” he said of his student’s first-round performance. “She didn’t hit a bad shot.”
Maguire, who is ranked 46th in the world and 16th in CME Globe points, is trying to become the first player from Ireland to win on the LPGA Tour. She finished second to Nelly Korda at the PGA last summer and tied for second at the Lotte Championship last April.
If Maguire is going to win come Sunday, she’ll have to outplay some of the world’s best as she’s surrounded by big-name contenders. Her threesome was outstanding, neither she, nor Sei Young Kim nor Lexi Thompson made a bogey all day. Kim’s 64 put her in solo second, Thompson was in a big group at five-under par that included world No. 1 Nelly Korda, Danielle Kang, Nasa Hataoka, Jennifer Kupcho and Christian Kim.
World No. 2, Jin Young Ko inserted herself into the fray with an opening 68. Lydia Ko and Jessica Korda signed for 67s.
Rory McIlroy Reverses Course, Goes Back To Michael Bannon:
It was about eight months ago when Rory McIlroy left long-time swing coach Michael Bannon to spend time with Pete Cowen.
Now Rory’s gone back to Bannon.
“Yes, Michael (Bannon) and I are back working together,” McIlroy said this week. “I’ve always had a relationship with Pete )Cowen) and I’ll ask for his input if I feel I need it. But now it’s Michael and me.”
Bannon, who is based in Northern Ireland, was unable to travel through the pandemic and McIlroy became frustrated with his game and his swing. At The Players Championship in March, he began working with Cowen and saw some good results. Rory won the Wells Fargo last May.
McIlroy has taken extensive time off since the Ryder Cup but he will be in the field at next week’s DP World Championship in Dubai.
Ian Poulter’s Son Signs With Florida Gators:
Evidently Luke Poulter, son of Ian, has a lot of game.
The younger Poulter signed a Letter Of Intent this week to play golf at the University of Florida.
Looks like you can book Team Poulter for the PNC Championship.
Antoine Rozer Sets Torrid Pace At Dubai Championship:
It’s the next-to-last event for the 2021 European Tour season and Joachim Hansen from Norway opened with a 63 on Thursday to lead the field at the Dubai Championship.
On Friday, it was Frenchman Antoine Rozner tearing up the back nine on the Fire course at the Jumeirah Golf Estates. Six birdies coming home were good for an eight-under par 64 that went with his opening 65 for a sizzling 36-hole mark at 15-under par.
Francesco Laporta made a big move as well. He equaled Rozner’s 64 and was just a shot off the lead at 14-under, tied with Hansen, whose 67 got him to 14-under.
England’s Paul Waring was in at 12-under with rounds of 65-67 while Ryder Cupper Bernd Wiesberger from Austria (67-66) checked in at 11-under par.
Dubai Championship Scoreboard:
