LEONA MAGUIRE AND Olivia Mehaffy clung on in blustery conditions on the opening day of the Women’s Open at Troon.
Maguire — who was leading amateur at the Open in 2016 — shot a six-over par 77 in challenging conditions which saw winds gusting over 60km per hour and only one of the morning’s starters break par.
Sophia Popov tops the leaderboard at the time of writing after a one-under par 70, one shot clear of Scotland’s Catriona Mathew and Canada’s Alena Sharp.
Cavan’s Maguire may well look back and rue a double bogey at the final hole which saw her drop into a share of 96th place on a very congested early leaderboard.
Maguire is joined there on six-over by Down amateur Olivia Mehaffy, who also saw valuable shots slip away in her final holes.
A birdie on the par-five 16th left Mehaffy on three-over par before a bogey-double bogey finish ended the round on a disappointing note.
Mehaffy is one of only two amateurs in this year’s field with the other, Australia’s Gabriela Ruffels, two shots back on eight-over.
Stephanie Meadow’s first round is still ongoing at the time of writing. She is currently on four-over par through 13 holes.
