LAST UPDATE | 31 May 2019
STEPHANIE MEADOW ENDURED a difficult final nine holes at the US Open in Charleston this evening, sliding down the leaderboard as she posted an opening round of 74.
The 2016 Irish Olympian failed to build on her recent momentum, a final round 67 at Kingsmill River Course on Sunday, but began steadily in South Carolina.
Just a solitary blemish on the 13th hole saw her pick up her only bogey in her opening nine holes before things began to become a little tougher around the turn.
Dropped shots on the first and third holes stifled her hopes of putting any gloss on her opening round.
Another bogey on the sixth looked to have sealed a miserable opening 18 of the tournament, but Meadow battled back and birdied the last to head into Friday’s second round on a positive note and +3.
The 27-year-old will need to draw on the memories of 2014 – when she secured a third-placed finish at the US Open behind runner-up Stacy Lewis and winner, Michelle Wie – if she is to stage an unlikely comeback.
Leona Maguire, meanwhile, was among the late starters on Thursday and similarly struggled to find her rhythm in Charleston.
Starting her round with a double-bogey on the second hole set the Cavan native off to a tricky front nine. Another bogey on the sixth forced her to play a little more aggressively and she did find some rewards.
Birdies on seventh and ninth clawed her back to +1 before the turn.
But three more dropped shots before she closed out her round – on the 11th, 16th and 18th – saw he finish her round on +4, one shot behind her compatriot.
Japan’s Mamiko Higa leads the way on -6, one shot clear of Germany’s Esther Henseleit.
You can keep up to date with the full leaderboard here.
Subscribe to our new podcast, The42 Rugby Weekly, here: