Leona Maguire encountered immediate challenges with her golf game, suffering a double-bogey start. Similar issues were shared by most players during a day at the AIG Women’s Open where rounds took an uncharacteristically long time to finish – as much as seven hours. Nevertheless, Leona demonstrated admirable determination, concluding her game with a slightly over par 73, which put her in a respectable tied 32nd place, trailing the leading player, Charley Hull, by six strokes.
A key illustration of the level of resilience required from all players was witnessed at the crowded 11th tee, an unforgiving par 3. When Maguire got there, five other groups were already waiting their turn. Even with the implementation of a call-up policy to expedite play, she had to endure an hour-long wait before she could swing her tee shot on the day’s toughest hole – not a single birdie conceded and with an average score of 3.639.
Players contended with 30-mile-per-hour winds throughout much of the initial round making the day, in Maguire’s words, quite “a grind.”
Hats off to the 29-year-old Solheim Cup veteran, who managed to rebound from her initial rough start, playing a 3-wood approach on the first green against the wind – a stark contrast from the wedge to 8-iron she used during practice. She did a commendable job navigating the Old Course which kept her in the running to make the cut, which was her first priority.
Maguire’s performance in the heavy winds of Old Course was an impressive display of grit during a challenging opening round.
Describing her experience, Maguire stated that it was “a very solid round”, acknowledging the extreme difficulty of the conditions, particularly in the early holes. She explained the challenge of trying to maintain her stance while being tossed about by the wind. Players needed to time their shots in lighter gusts, aiming their target and preparing for a shift of 30 to 40 yards mid-air.
Lauren Walsh, making her first appearance at a Major, commenced on the 10th hole and succumbed to a double-bogey six on the 11th hole. Walton from Kildare was in the last group to tee-off, and endured the slowest play of the game – their three-ball requiring more than two and a half hours for the initial four holes.
Nonetheless, 23-year-old Walsh, a newcomer to the Ladies European Tour (LET), secured two late birdies (at the 5th and 8th holes), and finished on three-over-par 75, tying her at 63rd place. Stephanie Meadow began with a 77.
Hull, a celebrated player in the Solheim Cup and on the verge of her first Major victory, scored a birdie at the final hole resulting in an excellently executed 67, ensuring a lead of one stroke over Ruoning Yin and world number one Nelly Korda, who in turn managed to birdie her last two holes.
Simultaneously, the BMW Championship, a segment of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs, saw Keegan Bradley, the US Ryder Cup captain, who narrowly secured the last spot in the game, shoot an impressive six-under-par 66 at the Castle Pines Golf Club in Colorado, securing the clubhouse lead. Notably, Bradley, having completed the final round of the St Jude Classic the previous Sunday not in the top-50, benefitted from the late blunders of other players, thus gaining entry into the championship.