Leona Maguire made an impressive start to ISPS Handa World Invitational with a five under opening round, to sit just one shot off leader Amanda Doherty.
She finished her round with four birdies in the last six holes, as she carried on her excellent form from the Women's Open, where she finished in a tie for fourth.
The tournament is co-sanctioned by both the LPGA Tour and the DP World Tour, with both the men's and women's tournaments happening concurrently between Galgorm GC and Massereene GC in County Antrim.
Great way to finish Round 1 @World_Inv_Golf 💪🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/QMm4rItpyI
— Leona Maguire (@leona_maguire) August 11, 2022
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In the men's event, John Murphy and David Carey lie in a tie for 16th on three under par, six shots off runaway leader Ewen Ferguson, who holds a four shot lead over second place.
John Murphy also enjoyed a fine finish to his round, with two birdies in his last three hole, but will be disappointed with a six on the par 5 10th.
Paul Dunne is a shot further back, while Northern Irish teenager, Tom McKibbin, finished on one under par.
The were plenty of other Irish on show as well, including David Higgins, Cormac Sharvin, and Niall Kearney. Although, all three shot disappointing rounds of three over par.
"It's never ideal when you hit your first tee shot out of bounds," said Maguire after the round. "But I held in well. I didn't hit the ball particularly well today well off the tee.
"Few dropped shots but putted really nice to keep myself in there. Always nice to finish with three birdies in the end. This course doesn't suit my eye very well, so it will be nice to have a change of scenery."
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