Leona Maguire responds impressively to mid-round wobble

Leona Maguire responded impressively to a mid-round wobble to remain in contention at the Kroger Queen City Championship in Cincinnati.

Having started on the 10th tee, the Cavan golfer started with 11 straight pars before dropping three shots in two holes to fall back to three-under par. However, four birdies in her closing five holes secured a round of 71 as she moved to six-under par overall.

That's half a dozen shots behind Jeeno Thitikul who shot her second straight round of 66 to take the lead on 12-under.

The former world No. 1 from Thailand has a one-shot lead over future Hall of Famer Lydia Ko of New Zealand, who also posted a second-round 66 to get to 11-under. South Korea's Haeran Ryu fired a seven-under 65 to move into third at 10-under.

Thitikul and her peers have been enjoying TPC River's Bend, the first-time host of this event while Cincinnati's Kenwood Country Club undergoes a renovation project.

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"I think it's really kind of a low-score course, so a lot of players kind of get low on this course," Thitikul said. "So like par-five is reachable, (I) can make all the par-fives."

Thitikul birdied all four par-five holes on the course Friday. After starting on the back nine with four birdies and carding her lone bogey of the day at the first, she finished with three birdies in her closing four holes.

Additional reporting: Reuters