ÁINE DONEGAN’S PROMISING third round at the Women’s US Open unravelled in heartbreaking fashion with a quintuple-bogey nine at the eighth hole on Saturday.
But Leona Maguire remains firmly in contention and tied for fifth place after the opening holes of her third round.
Clare amateur Donegan started Saturday in a tie for 11th, and cemented her claim as a genuine challenger with three early birdies in a brilliant start at Pebble Beach.
That moved her to two-under par and into a tie for fifth place as she stood on the tee box on the par-four eighth.
A perfect tee shot left her in the heart of the fairway with 190 yards to the pin, but Donegan pulled her approach into the penalty area to the right of the green.
She then played her fourth shot from the drop zone, but cruelly, the result was the same with her ball flying right into the penalty area.
Playing six from the drop zone, she found the apron at the front of the green and from there, chipped and two-putted for quintuple bogey which saw her tumble outside the top 20.
Donegan bounced back impressively on the next hole, holding her nerve over a tricky up-and-down from the greenside rough to make par and go out in two-over par 38.
At the time of writing, she sits in a tie for 20th place on three-over par thru nine holes, and remains the leading amateur ahead of Canada’s Monet Chun (+4).
Maguire is one-under par for the day thru five holes, and tied for fifth on two-under par for the tournament.
Overnight leader Bailey Tardy remains out in front and two shots clear on seven-under par after opening her third round with four straight pars.
