Teenager Lisa Maguire is only just off the pace after a splendid opening round at the European Ladies Individual Championship in Finland yesterday. The 18-year-old Slieve Russell star fired a two-under-par 69 over the Aura course in Turku to be two strokes behind Emile Pedersen from Denmark.
But the woeful form of her twin sister Leona continued as she struggled to an 82.
Starting at the 10th, Lisa covered her first nine holes in 35 – one under par – and got to four under with another couple of birdies – but the two bogeys in the last three holes wrecked her chances of leading overnight.
Leona struggles
Leona had a round she will want to forget in a hurry as she did not card one birdie and had two double bogeys and seven bogeys – she was at sixes and sevens in every department. Chloe Ryan had a mixed round – she had an eagle on the third and slumped to back-to-back double bogeys on the seventh and eighth but birdies on 16 and 17 helped her finish on 75.
Irish champion Paula Grant had an horrendous homeward half, taking 42, including a double bogey and five bogeys. Jessica Carty and Maria Dunne each hit 78 as well.
Today in Germany the European Young Masters begin, with Niamh McSherry and Olivia Mehaffey Ireland’s two girl representatives and Rory Williamson and Kevin Le Blanc the two boys.
