Donegan eight behind hat-trick chasing Green in Queensland
Hannah Green. Picture: Tristan Jones/LET
Australia’s Hannah Green is looking to make it three wins in a row after firing a second-round 67 to move two shots clear at the Australian WPGA Championship in Queensland.
Green claimed the Australian Open last week, having won the HSBC Women’s World Championship and her seventh LPGA title just three weeks ago.
She made an eagle and six birdies in her second round to lead by two shots from Meghan MacLaren on 10-under, but also mixed in two bogeys and a double-bogey at Sanctuary Cove Golf & Country Club.
“I feel like I’m probably putting more pressure on myself as I am obviously on such a hot run,” she said of her rollercoaster round.
“Perhaps if I didn’t win the last two events, I would maybe fly under the radar a little bit more than I have, obviously winning my last two tournaments. I think we still have a really strong LET field, so it’s not like I have it easy this weekend.
“There’s going to be a lot of good players behind me that are going to be chasing me and probably have less pressure on themselves.”
MacLaren, a three-time Ladies European Tour winner, followed a 66 with a 68 to sit alone in second,
“It’s been amazing,” MacLaren said, who earned her full LET playing rights back at Q-School in December. “This is where I expect myself to be. So you maybe don’t enjoy it as much as you would think when I compare it to where I have been over the past couple of years.”
Germany’s Alexandra Försterling is third on seven under with Lahinch’s Aine Donegan up to 23rd on two under after a second successive 70.
Donegan bogeyed her second and third holes but birdied the fifth, seventh and 15th to climb the leaderboard.
Annabel Wilson shot 76, dropping four shots in her last four holes thanks to double bogeys at the fifth and eighth to follow a 68 wuth a 76 and onky squeak through the cut mark on the two-over par limit.
Sasikarn Somboonsup of Thailand during the second round. Picture: Tristan Jones/LET
Four players sit fourth on six-under par, a quartet which includes the in-form Casandra Alexander from South Africa, Italy’s Alessandra Fanali, Switzerland’s Vanessa Knecht and Spain’s Harang Lee.
Five players round off the top-10 in a tie for eighth on five-under par. This group includes Order of Merit winner Shannon Tan from Singapore, Switzerland’s Morgane Metraux, Australia’s Hannah Reeves, England’s Caley McGinty and India’s Hitaashee Bakshi.
Following 36 holes of action in Queensland, the cut fell at two-over par with 68 players making it through to the weekend. This includes Australian amateur Raegan Denton, our hole-in-one heroine from last week, who carded a 68 (-3) on Thursday to safely make it through to the weekend.
