Walsh and Maguire contend in Vegas as Power trails in Texas
Lauren Walsh
LPGA rookie Lauren Walsh birdied four of her last six holes to open with a two-under 70 and share 11th place with Leona Maguire at the Aramco Championship in Las Vegas.
The Castlewarden golfer was three over after three bogeys in a row from the 13th (her fourth), but birdied the 16th before coming home in 32 at Shadow Creek.
The Kildare star (25) has made just one cut from her first three starts as an LPGA cardholder but her hot finish has thrust her into contention alongside Maguire.
They are just three shots behind Lauren Coughlin and the Japanese duo Miyu Yamashita and Nasa Hataoka, who shot 67s to lead by a shot from Nelly Korda, Jing Yan and Korea's Hyo Boo Kim on five under.
Like Walsh, Maguire arrived in Las Vegas on the back of two missed cuts but mixed four birdies with just two bogeys in her 70.
It was also a positive day for Anna Foster, who birdied her last two holes to chisel out a 74 that left her joint 58th.
In Texas, Seamus Power opened with a one-under 71 in the PGA Tour's weather-delayed Valero Texas Open.
Like dozens of other players in the field, the West Waterford man needs to win at TPC San Antonio to clinch a spot in the Masters next week.
But he was tied for 60th when play was suspended due to darkness and has his work cut out to catch Mark Hubbard, who shot a seven-under 65 to lead by a shot from Tony Finau, Davis Thompson, Andrew Putnam, Robert MacIntyre and Steven Fisk.
Asterisk Talley of United States hits an approach shot on the fourth hole during the second round of the Augusta National Women's Amateur at Champions Retreat. Photograph by Augusta National Women's Amateur
Hubbard birdied six of his last eight holes to shoot 65 and top the leaderboard on a day when play was delayed at the start by 90 minutes due to a thunderstorm.
Finau, who has slipped to 107th in the world, has not qualified for the Masters for the first time since 2017.
"I feel like I'm really close to putting together a string of good golf tournaments," Finau said. "I've had some good days during tournaments, whether that's in the first round, the final round.
"But I haven't been able to put together, I feel like, really strong finishes and four days of good golf.
"So I'm off to a good start this week. I'll just be looking to capitalise on three more days of good golf."
World number four Tommy Fleetwood, the highest-ranked player in the field, was just two shots off the lead in a group that also included fancied Masters contender Ludvig Aberg.
"I think, first of all, like a good result this week is a good result," Fleetwood said. "There's always something going on, always something to play for, and you've always got to focus on each tournament as it comes.
"That's why you're playing. But of course, you would rather be playing well and show a lot of good stuff going into Augusta.
"You try and have the mindset that each week is a new week, but as fickle as confidence can be, it's always nice to play well going into a big week."
There was no luck for Beth Coulter in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, where she followed a 71 with a 79 at Champion Retreat to miss the one-under cut by seven strokes.
Last year’s runner-up, Californian Askerisk Talley (17) went bogey-free for the second day running, adding a 67 to her opening 66 to lead by a shot on 11-under par from Sweden's Meja Örtengren and Colombia's Maria Jose Marin.
All players get a practice round at Augusta National today with the 32 qualifiers set to do battle in the final round tomorrow.
