Maguire loses ground as teenage sensation Li leads in Ohio

Leona Maguire lost ground on the leaders but still remains inside the top ten at the Dana Open in Ohio.

The Cavan native shot five under in her first round and while she followed it up with another under-par round, there were several low rounds, which pushed Maguire down the leaderboard.

Maguire began her round with a bogey on the par-four first hole, but bounced back on the fourth to turn on level par, before making one further birdie on the par-three 14th to sign for a one-under 70.

It's been a long time coming, however, Lucy Li appears to be arriving at her prime even before her rookie year on the LPGA tour.

Li carded five birdies in a seven-hole stretch on the back nine Friday to take a one-stroke lead at Highland Meadows in Sylvania.

The 19-year-old Li, who earlier this year gained her LPGA Tour card for 2023, shot a seven-under 64 on the day, good for 10-under 132 through 36 holes.

Carlota Ciganda of Spain and Chinese rookie Ruoning Yin are tied for second at eight under par after each shot 69. Ciganda and Yin shared the first-round lead with Hye-Jin Choi of South Korea, who shot 70 Friday and is now tied for fourth at seven under heading into the weekend.

Hannah Green of Australia had the round of the day, carding nine birdies without a bogey for a career-low 62. She sits four strokes behind Li, tied for ninth place with six other golfers.

Back in 2014, Li became the youngest player ever at the US Women's Open when she qualified at age 11.

The Californian has won twice this year on the Epson Tour to earn one of the developmental circuit's 10 LPGA cards for 2023.

"I was hitting it really good today," Li said. "Also yesterday. I just got a few more putts to drop today. Made a few good par saves on my back nine, so that really