Ireland’s Leona Maguire and Lauren Walsh got off to a slow start on day one of the Maybank Championship on the LPGA Tour.
Maguire sits in a tie for 47th place eight shots off leader Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, with Walsh three further back in a tie for 70th after Thursday’s opening round in Kuala Lumpur.
Cavan golfer Maguire made the turn in one over par after bogeys on the second and fifth holes, with a birdie on the fourth sandwiched in between.
Another bogey followed at the par-four 12th, but the Solheim Cup star rallied with a birdie on the 16th hole, and a birdie-four on the par-five closing hole to make it into the clubhouse at level par.
Walsh – starting off the 10th tee – made birdies on 14 (her fifth hole) and 16 (her seventh) to head out in two under par. However, her round spiralled over a five-hole stretch on her second nine. Bogeys on two, four and six, plus a double bogey on the par-five fifth hole saw her drop five shots, before carding an opening three-over-par 75.
France’s Roussin-Bouchard leads the way after a bogey-free eight under par, with USA’s Sophia Shubert and Japan’s Miyu Yamashite on seven under.