LAST UPDATE | 5 Feb 2022
Updated 10.29
FRIDAY PROVED TO be a fabulous day for Irish golf, as Seamus Power and Leona Maguire finished their second rounds at the top of their respective leaderboards on the PGA and LPGA Tours.
Power is playing at the AT&T Pebble Beach ProAm, and matched Thursday’s superb 64 by shooting the same score once again. It was a stunning performance from Power, who birdied 10 of his 18 holes, including a sizzling streak of six birdies across seven holes from six to 12.
Consecutive rounds of 64 leaves Power at 16-under for the tournament, and that score, remarkably, is a 36-hole record on the PGA Tour, his 128 strokes beating a record held by Phil Mickelson (2005) and Nick Taylor (2020). Further to that, no player has shot more rounds of 65 or under on the PGA Tour since the turn of the year than Power.
Andrew Putnam, Tom Hoge and Adam Svensson are closest to Power, five shots back in second place.
Power tied for third in the Sony Open in Hawaii and now sits at No. 50 in the world, and if he can stay in the top 50 for two months, then he will be invited to the Masters.
“My wedge play was great,” he said.
“I had like three or four shots I hit very, very close and the way I’ve been putting, they were not gimmie birdies, but certainly ones you would expect to make and it just changes your whole complex of your round, of your score.
“So that was the most pleasing. To finish with a close one on 18 and I could pick up another shot there.”
It was als0 an impressive day at Pebble Beach for Power’s compatriot John Murphy, who shot 69 to leave him even-par for the tournament and in a tie for 33rd place.
Meanwhile, Leona Maguire shares the lead at the halfway point of the Drive On Championship in Florida.
Maguire shot a bogey-free, seven-under 65 to move to 13-under par alongside Marina Alex, with Brittany Altomare among their nearest pursuers four shots back.
“Just been playing really solid, taking advantage of the shorter holes, taking my chances when I get them,” Maguire said. “My wedges have been really dialed in and I’m just staying really patient.”
Maguire’s card featured seven birdies, including three-in-a-row through holes 11, 12, and 13.
“Felt like I left a few out there on the front nine so it was nice to get those three in a row,” she said. “Nice to finish with a birdie at 18, too.”
She added: “If you knock on the door enough times, eventually it will open. Put in a lot of work in the off season and it’s nice to see it paying off this early in the season.”
Stephanie Meadow missed the cut by a shot after finishing on even-par for the tournament.
– Additional reporting © AFP 2022
