Leona Maguire finds herself in uncharted territory this weekend, as she leads the Women's PGA Championship at the halfway stage, the first time she has done so at a major.
She leads by a shot on five under par, ahead of England's Mel Reid, Norway's Celine Borge, and China's Lin Xiyu.
She came into the tournament having won Meijer LPGA Classic, where she finished with a flourish of birdies to take home the trophy, and she did similar things in her second round yesterday, with four birdies in her last four holes.
Leona Maguire Shouts Out Shane Lowry And Padraig Harrington
Your solo leader, @leona_maguire 👏
Fresh off of a Tour win last week, Maguire is in the clubhouse at 5-under at the @KPMGWomensPGA pic.twitter.com/ubYrfCXUQt— LPGA (@LPGA) June 23, 2023
Leona Maguire has not missed a green in regulation yet this week 🔥
She's one stroke off the lead at Baltusrol
Watch now on @GolfChannel! pic.twitter.com/F5HwpaCGdR— LPGA (@LPGA) June 23, 2023
READ HERE: Leona Maguire Thanks Padraig Harrington For Help After LPGA Victory
Maguire spoke last week about the advice Padraig Harrington has given her, and in her post-round interview she shouted out Shane Lowry's excellent first round at the Travelers Championship, and spoke of the camaraderie between the Irish golfers.
He [Harrington] swore me to secrecy so I won't be sharing any tips. I think Ireland as a country punches well above our weight when it comes to golf, and it's nice to have the guys looking out for me, Padraig, Paul, Shane.
All of the guys have been very good to me, and very appreciative of all of that.
I know Shane had a good round yesterday, so it's nice to see that. I think we all just root for each other and want to see each other do well. There's not very many of us, so nice to have that sort of camaraderie between all of us.
The Brits Trying To Claim Leona Maguire As One Of Their Own
Watching Ireland’s Leona Maguire take a one shot lead into the next round and Sky sports claim her as British. A little bit of a geography lesson wouldn’t hurt. She’s Irish, not British. @SkySportsGolf #leonamaguire #womenspga pic.twitter.com/Sa7bFal9bW
— Warbles (@Waffles93697275) June 23, 2023
READ HERE: Shane Lowry Played Major Role In Quelling PGA Tour Strike After LIV Golf Deal
The rain came down yesterday at the Baltusrol Golf Club in New Jersey, which, as Maguire alluded to, worked in her favour.
"Yeah, I don't think anyone looks out the window and sees it's raining and thinks, geez, I can't wait to go out there today.
"Yeah, it's second nature. I've grown up in it. Most of the time at home if you wait for a dry day you're not going to play golf very often. It doesn't bother me.
"I know half the battle is having a good attitude and accepting it's going to be the same for everybody and you're going to hit good shots that are maybe not going to come off and things like that.
"Maybe just a little bit more patience than usual on days like today."
SEE ALSO: Padraig Harrington Explains How He Helped Leona Maguire Last Year
