Leona Maguire maintains her lead after round three of 2023 Women’s PGA Championship

Leona Maguire (EireFact, Wikimedia Commons)

Leona Maguire of Cavan, Ireland has maintained her lead at the 2023 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at the Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey. On Saturday in round three, Maguire shot a score of two-under-par 69, and is now at -7.

Maguire leads South Korea’s Jenny Shin by one stroke. Shin is at -6 after an impressive third round score of five-under-par. Stephanie Meadow of Northern Ireland is all alone in third place at -5. Then there is a two-way for fourth place at -4 between South Africa’s Lee-Anne Pace and China’s Ruoning Yin.

Maguire was the leader after the second round. On Friday, she was at -5, and led her closest competitors by a stroke. Pace was the leader after the first round. On Thursday, the 42-year-old from Paarl was at -5 and also led three players by a stroke.

In round three at Springfield, Maguire had four birdies and two bogeys. She birdied the first, seventh, 15th, and 18th holes. Maguire also bogeyed the 11th and 17th holes. The bogey on the 17th hole could have been a surprise for some because it came on a par five, and was the only player in the top seven on the leaderboard to bogey the hole.

It should be noted that an Irish woman (from Northern Ireland or Ireland) has never won a major in women’s golf before according to Tom Abbott of NBC Sports. On Sunday, Maguire and Meadow have a chance of making history.

On the men’s side, six golfers from either Ireland or Northern Ireland have won a major. Rory McIlroy of Holywood, Northern Ireland won the 2011 United States Open, the 2012 and 2014 PGA Championship, and 2014 British Open. Padraig Harrington of Dublin, Ireland won the 2007 and 2008 British Open, and the 2008 PGA Championship. Fred Daly of Belfast, Northern Ireland won the 1947 British Open. Graeme McDowell of Protrush, Northern Ireland won the 2010 United States Open. Darren Clarke of Dungannon, Northern Ireland won the 2011 British Open. Shane Lowry of Clara, Ireland won the 2019 British Open.

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