Leona Maguire flies up leaderboard in California

Leona Maguire has shot into contention at the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship in California following an excellent second-round 65.

The Cavan woman sits on six-under par at the halfway point, two shots behind leader Malia Nam of America, who is making just her second LPGA Tour start.

Starting on the 10th tee, Maguire had a birdie and a bogey on her first four holes to remain level par by the 13th.

Pars would follow at her next two holes before her round caught fire as she played her final 12 holes in six-under to sit in a tie for fourth along with American pair Rose Zhang and Alison Lee.

Defending champion Ruoning Yin of China and Sweden's Madelene Sagstrom are tied for second at 7 under.

FULL LEADERBOARD

Nam would have held a larger lead except for a double-bogey six on the 15th hole. She started her day with a bogey, then made five birdies and eight pars over the next 13 holes. Following the blow up at No. 15, she closed with three more pars.

"It's my second tournament on the LPGA so I'm a little nervous," Nam said. "I think it's good to be nervous though. It means that you care and it means that you're so close to achieving a goal of yours. I try to just embrace that nervousness."

Nam holds a home-course advantage, having played Palos Verdes more than 100 times.

"I've seen every single inch of this golf course, good and bad," she said. "It's funny, because in college I never really played well here. This is actually the first time that I think I shot consecutively under par, so I'm a bit surprised myself."

Additional reporting: Reuters