<p>Lauren Walsh hits her tee shot on the first hole during the first round of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club on Thursday, June 25, 2026 in Chaska, Minnesota. (Photo by Darren Carroll/PGA of America)</p>
Shane Lowry will be looking to get off to a fast start in the second round of the Travelers Championship after Scottie Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick roared into contention last night.
World number one Scheffler and the in-form Fitzpatrick carded six-under-par rounds of 64 to lurk just one stroke behind leader Eric Cole, tied for second with Nico Echavarria, Ben Griffin, Kristoffer Reitan and Bud Cauley.
Lowry’s two-under 68 left him tied for 32nd and Scheffler was pleased to start well in an event where catching up can be a challenge when scoring is low.
“When the scoring is lower, it can be harder and harder to play catch-up,” Scheffler said after his bogey-free effort.
“I feel like when you play a golf course where even par's going to be the winning score at the end of the week, there's always those days where somebody figures it out.
“When you look at the low rounds from last week's US Open, there are still a few of 'em, or at least one guy seems to figure it out each day, so you feel like you can catch up a little bit easier.
“Sometimes here you get so far behind, you can only shoot so low on some of these golf courses, so it's important to keep pace.”
Catching up is also the goal for Leona Maguire when she tees off in the second round of the KPMG Women’s PGA at Hazeltine this afternoon.
The Co Cavan battler made three bogeys in a row from the 11th to be three-over through four holes and dropped another shot at her 10 hole.
She dug deep and birdied the short eighth from 25 feet to card a three-over 75 that leaves her in danger of missing her third Major cut from three starts this year.
After taking 34 putts, she’s tied for 109th, two shots outside the projected cut mark for the top 70 and ties.
Lauren Walsh’s one-over 73 left her tied for 70th with the likes of Charley Hull, ten shots behind leader Ina Yoon.
The South Korean fired a championship record-equalling, nine-under 63 to lead by two shots from American Karis Davidson and by four from Alexa Pano and A Lim Kim.
World number one Nelly Korda, who is bidding to win her third Major in a row, was happy with a 70 and joint 19th despite making a double bogey at the tough 16th.
“Yeah, it was solid,” she said. “Honestly, just made one bad swing, which ended up in a double. But overall, pretty happy with my day.”
It was a tough day for Stephanie Meadow, who was propping up the 156-strong field after an 82.
Article Link: Lowry playing catch-up in Connecticut; Walsh leads Irish in PGA - News - Irish Golf Desk