Stunning finish sees Leona Maguire leap into frame in Florida

Leona Maguire made a blistering finish to her second round, birdieing her last five holes to climb into joint-third at the halfway point in the Tournament of Champions in Orlando, Florida.

Maguire carded a four-under-par 68 on Friday to sit four shots adrift of clear leader A-Lim Kim, though things didn't look especially promising at the turn after an even-par outward nine saw her lose ground on the field.

The Cavan woman birdied six of her final seven holes in a magnificent closing stretch to shoot up the leaderboard - alas, the odd hole out in the run was a double-bogey at the par-three 13th.

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Maguire enters the weekend tied for third on six under, alongside world number one Nelly Korda and Japan's Rio Takeda.

They're one shot behind Maguire's Solheim Cup teammate Linn Grant, in sole possession of second spot on seven under.

Kim, who carded a blemish-free 65 on Thursday, maintained her advantage over the field with a second round of 69 to sit on 10 under, three clear heading into Saturday at Lake Nona.