Anna Foster and Pádraig Harrington show grit in Major bids

As Harrington used all his short-game magic to open with a four-under 66 that left him just three shots behind Japan’s Hiroyuki Fujita and Australia’s Richard Green in the US Senior Open at Newport Country Club, Foster (22) defied winds gusting to 35mph to remain the last Irish woman standing.

The Auburn University graduate chiselled out two gutsy victories, using the momentum of her 2&1 win over Iceland’s Andrea Bergsdottir to come back from two down at the turn to beat Sweden’s Meja Ortengren at the 19th.

“Kind of relieved almost, just to be done with the two matches today,” said Foster. “It was such a grind and such a fight. So I’m really happy with how patient I was and how positive I stayed with myself. I think that really definitely helped coming down the last few holes in the second match for sure.”

While Douglas’ Sara Byrne struggled like the rest of the field in the wind and lost 4&2 in the last 32 to last year’s runner-up, Annabelle Pancake of the US, Foster hung tough.

She came back from one down at the turn and all square with three to play against Bergsdottir to win on the 17th.

World No 1 and leading qualifier Lottie Woad crashed out 2&1 to Denmark’s Marie Eline Madsen in the last 16, but Foster overcame all obstacles to beat world No 9 Ortengren at the 19th to set up a quarter-final clash with 2022 runner-up Louise Rydqvist of Sweden.

Two down after nine, she went birdie-par-birdie from the 12th to claim the lead, then lost the 16th and 17th to go one down before squaring the match with a five at the 18th and closing it out with a brilliant, par-saving chip to two feet at the 19th.

“This is my last year of amateur golf, so I’m just trying to enjoy it as much as I can,” Foster said. “I’m not really thinking about [winning]. I’m just trying to take it literally one shot at a time.”

As for Harrington, the Dubliner had what he described as “a really, really poor ball-striking day”, but resisted the temptation to head to the range after he scrambled five times out of six for par.

“I used to be the guy who would close the driving range at 6.0 and beat balls, especially after a poor day,” confessed the Dubliner (52), who was tied with senior debutant Lee Westwood in Rhode Island. “Got a little bit of sense in my old age and I’m going to wait and see what it’s like tomorrow before I start pulling it apart.”

At the Italian Open, Tom McKibbin’s level-par 71 left him tied for 74th at Adriatic Golf Club Cervia, seven shots behind home hope Andrea Pavan, who shot 64 to share the lead with Denmark’s Sebastian Friedrichsen and American Gunner Wiebe, one clear of Malaysia’s Gavin Green and Swede Marcus Kinhult.

On the Challenge Tour, Portmarnock’s Conor Purcell made five birdies in a four-under 68 in the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge in Normandy to share ninth place, just four shots behind Quim Vidal.

The Spaniard fired an eight-under 64 to lead by a shot from Frenchman Sebastien Gros with Ballymena’s Dermot McElroy the next best of the Irish in 35th after a 71.

In amateur golf, Royal Dublin’s Max Kennedy was the best of the Irish in the European Amateur Championship at The Scandinavian in Denmark.

A one-over 73 left him tied for 11th on three-under, four strokes behind Germany’s Tim Wiedemeyer, whose 67 gave him a one-shot lead over France’s Bastien Amat, Scot Gregor Graham and Americans Tommy Morrison and Preston Summerhays.

Italian Open, 12.0

Swiss Ladies Open, 2.0

Rocket Mortgage Classic, 5.0US Senior Open, 5.0

(All live on Sky Sports)