Maguire sparkles again while Lowry shows signs of Masters hangover in Hilton Head

Leona Maguire plays a tee shot on the 13th hole during the second round of the LPGA LOTTE Championship at Kapolei Golf Club in Hawaii. Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Graeme McDowell hits off the ninth tee during the first round of the RBC Heritage. McDowell carded a two-over 73. Photo: Stephen B. Morton/AP

Leona Maguire plays a tee shot on the 13th hole during the second round of the LPGA LOTTE Championship at Kapolei Golf Club in Hawaii. Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Graeme McDowell hits off the ninth tee during the first round of the RBC Heritage. McDowell carded a two-over 73. Photo: Stephen B. Morton/AP

Leona Maguire plays a tee shot on the 13th hole during the second round of the LPGA LOTTE Championship at Kapolei Golf Club in Hawaii. Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Brian Keogh

April 16 2021 02:30 AM

Leona Maguire continued her magnificent start to the season when she finished birdie-birdie to lie just a shot off the clubhouse lead in the LOTTE Championship in Hawaii.

The Slieve Russell star went bogey-free for the second day running as she added a five-under 67 to her opening 68 to lie just a shot behind clubhouse leader Brianna Do at Kapolei Golf Club on Oahu, where Stephanie Meadow was among the later starters on five-under.

Do shot a 66 to lead by a shot on 10-under from Maguire and world amateur No 1 Rose Zhang.

Meanwhile, Shane Lowry showed signs of a Masters “hangover” but still birdied the last to card a roller-coaster 70 that left him eight shots off the lead in the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head.

The Open champion (34) made a flying start with birdies at his first two holes but he was far from his best from tee to green at Harbour Town as he mixed five birdies with five bogeys before knocking in an 11-footer for a closing birdie at the ninth.

The Clara man was tied for 48th with world No 1 Dustin Johnson and hopes to have regular caddie Brian Martin back on his bag for the Wells Fargo Championship in three weeks’ time after South African Gary Matthews stepped in this week.

“The good news is that Bo is able to travel back to the States and he’ll team up with me at Quail Hollow,” Lowry said of Martin, who returned to Ireland on Monday to make vaccination arrangements and avoid hotel quarantine.

While he chipped in for birdie at the 18th to turn in two-under, Lowry came home in 37 to card a one-under 70 that left him eight shots behind Australian Cameron Smith, who fired a bogey-free, nine-under 62 for one-shot lead over 2009 Open champion Stewart Cink, with Graeme McDowell tied 99th after a two-over 73

Meanwhile, Séamus Power is looking to get hot on the PGA Tour again after opening with a two-under 70 to move into contention for the MGM Resorts Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour in freezing Las Vegas.

The West Waterford man (34) rattled in five birdies on the Sun Mountain Course at Paiute Golf Resort to sit inside the top 10, just four shots behind early leader Kevin Dougherty.

On the European Tour, reigning Dubai Duty Free Irish Open champion John Catlin overcame freezing conditions to trail Spain’s Alejandro Canizares by a shot after the opening round of the Austrian Golf Open.

As for the Irish, Greystones’ Paul Dunne was the best of the bunch in tied 46th after mixing an eagle three with two birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey in a one-over 73.

Cormac Sharvin went out in an encouraging two-under but dropped five shots on the front nine and came home in 40 for a 75 and joint 71st as Gavin Moynihan shot 77 and Jonathan Caldwell struggled to an 80.

Austria Open, live, Sky Sports, 12.30pm
RBC Heritage, live, Sky Sports, 5.30pm