Leona Maguire made little on the greens to find herself ten shots off the lead after an opening 74 in the $3 million Mizuho Americas Open in New Jersey.
The Co Cavan star (29) made five bogeys and two birdies in a 32-putt round at Liberty National, where Thailand's Jeeno Thitikul carded a bogey-free 64 to lead Celine Boutier and Hye-Jin Choi by two strokes on eight-under.
Maguire, ranked 66th for strokes gained putting this season but 131st from the tee, was tied for 92nd behind Thitikul, who was one of seven players to go bogey-free on a day of 15 mph gusts.
The Thai golfer worked on her putting last week, which appeared to pay off.
"I definitely kind of stress about my putting on a week off," she said. "I found out I have been doing good.
"I had a good stroke but just didn't drop in, so I just trying to make like hand-eye coordination is right and the speed to matching the line.
"So that's pretty much it. Because I don't want to overthinking and then kind of, you know, confusing things up around."
Defending champion Nelly Korda opened with a 68, just her fourth opening round in the sixties this season, to share 14th.
It was also a slow day for the Irish in the Aramco Korea Championship, where France's Perrine Delacour and Germany's Patricia Isabel Schmidt shot three-under 69s to lead by a shot from South Africa's Lee-Anne Pace and home player Hyo Joo Kim.
Castlerock’s Annabel Wilson was 35th after a 74, while Castlewarden’s Lauren Walsh and Elm Park’s Anna Foster were tied 47th after 75s at New Korea Country Club.
At the Carlisle Arizona Women's Golf Classic on the LPGA's second-tier Epson Tour, Sara Byrne got to four-under with five holes to play in Scottsdale but signed for a two-under 69.
Bogeys at the 14th and 15th left the Douglas golfer tied for 27th, five shots behind former AIG Women's Open champion Sophia Popov.
The German's seven-under 64 gave her a one-shot lead over Hailee Cooper, Sophia Schubert, China's Liqi Zeng and Melanie Green, who won the Women's Amateur Championship at Portmarnock last year.
Article Link: Leona Maguire ten shots off the lead in New Jersey - News - Irish Golf Desk