Leona Maguire has narrowly missed the cut at the AIG Women’s Open in Royal Lytham and St Anne’s after a costly three-over par round of 74.
Starting the day at two-over par, Maguire made a poor start early on Friday with successive bogeys on the opening two holes.
But she rallied near the end of her front nine, with a birdie at the par-five sixth and then the short ninth hole bringing her back to two-over par.
However, a double-bogey at the 13th was followed by another dropped stroke at the 14th and she fell back to five-over par overall.
With the cut at four-over par, it meant Maguire was unable to avoid a fourth missed cut at a major in 2026. It would be her first missed cut at the Women’s British Open since 2020, her best finish being tied-fourth at Muirfield in 2022.
Lauren Walsh will also assuredly not be around for Saturday after a second successive round of 75 left the Kildare woman on eight-over par for the tournament.
Anna Foster, who only booked her spot at the event on Monday, will also play no part at the weekend after a 76 dropped her back to nine-over par.
A run of two double bogeys on 10 and 13, along with another dropped shot on 11 played a part as she the Dubliner descended down the leaderboard.
Favourite Ryu Hae-ran holds the halfway lead after recovering from a rocky start to her second round to post a two-under 69 and reach seven-under for the tournament.
World number three Ryu, who came into the week as a hot favourite after winning the PGA Championship and this month’s Evian Championship, bogeyed her third hole and double-bogeyed the fifth to slip back early in her second round.
But the South Korean responded superbly and was flawless after that with five birdies, including one on the 18th that gave her the outright lead heading into a weekend where she will try not to think about her pursuers.
Ryu Hae-ran leads the way
Japan’s Shiho Kuwaki went out early and was the long-time clubhouse leader after carding a solid one-under 70 on a day marked by extremely slow play with the afternoon groups taking well over five hours.
Defending champion Miyu Yamashita was packing her bags after a quadruple bogey at the par-four 18th meant she missed the cut with a second-round 77.
Overnight leader Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand went round in nine more shots than her stunning first-round 64 as a two-over 73 left her tied with American Yealimi Noh, two shots off the lead, while Joo Soo-bin was a further two shots adrift and alone in fifth place.
World number one Nelly Korda, like Ryu bidding for a third major this season, hit back after an opening-round 73 with a six-birdie 68 putting her in the mix for the weekend at one-under along with 2024 champion Lydia Ko of New Zealand.
England’s world number five Lottie Woad maintained her steady progress with a level-par 71, although a bogey at the 18th, only her third in two rounds, where she drove into a deep pot bunker, left her five shots adrift of Ryu.
Woad is trying to become the first home winner since Georgia Hall, also at Lytham, in 2018.
She was in a group of eight players packed together on two-under, including compatriot Charley Hull.
Japan’s Minami Katsu and American duo Lucy Li and Jing Yan are also on two under after all shooting three-under 68s.
Additional reporting: Reuters