Maguire hangs tough as in-form Korda implodes

Leona Maguire battled her way to a three-over par 73 as Nelly Korda spectacularly imploded on the opening day of the US Women’s Open around the fearsome Lancaster Country Club.

Maguire lay four strokes adrift – with 13 players ahead of her still on course – after registering four bogeys and one birdie on a difficult day for scoring at the Philadelphia venue.

The two-time PGA Tour winner, still seeking her first major, began poorly with two bogeys in her opening three holes but rallied with an impressive birdie at the short sixth hole.

Further dropped strokes followed on the 10th and 17th but she carded a respectable 73, three strokes better than compatriot Áine Donegan, who sits on six over.

The other Irish competitor, Stephanie Meadow, withdrew just before her first-round tee time due to illness.

With most of the field finished, there were just five players in the entire field under-par, all on one-under.

However, the biggest drama concerned the dramatic implosion of World No. 1 Nelly Korda.

Having started with a bogey on the 10th, the world number one ran up an astonishing septuple-bogey 10 on the par-three 12th after hitting three balls into the water.

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Korda’s tee shot found the bunker at the back of the green and her second shot was hit too hard, catching the slope and rolling into the water.

From the drop zone, Korda found the water twice more before finally hitting her eighth shot on to the green and two-putting from nine feet to slump to eight over par.

Reeling, Korda carded further bogeys on 15 and 17 to reach the turn in a ten-over par 45. While she recovered to register three birdies en route to an even par inward nine, she still sits near the foot of the field after a disastrous 80.

The American was a massive favourite to secure her third major title at Lancaster Country Club in Philadelphia after winning six of her last seven events.

Korda’s dominant run this season includes her second major victory in the Chevron Championship, but she admitted in her pre-tournament press conference that she was expecting to face a “beast of a course” this week.

Lancaster Country Club has been revised and lengthened to a par-70 of 6,583 yards since it last hosted the US Open in 2015.

Additional reporting: PA