Lowry set to miss cut at Zurich Classic as Maguire bows out at LPGA major
SHANE LOWRY IS set to miss the cut at the Zurich Classic, while Leona Maguire hasn’t made the weekend at the LPGA’s first major of the year, the Chevron Championship.
With the projected cut line 10-under in New Orleans, Lowry and Brooks Koepka are nine-under with Friday’s action in its closing stages.
The duo signed for 69, having opened with a 66 yesterday.
Brothers Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick lead the field on 15-under. Seamus Power and Matti Schmid are on the charge, 13-under thru 16 holes of their second round at the time of writing.
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Meanwhile, Maguire’s recent struggles continued at at Houston’s Memorial Park, falling well short of the cut on eight-over. The Cavan golfer left herself with an uphill battle with an opening 76, and repeated the score today as she carded six bogeys and two birdies.
Nelly Korda made the best 36-hole major start of her career, firing a second consecutive seven-under par 65 to seize a seven-stroke-lead.
The 27-year-old American, seeking her second Chevron crown in three seasons, closed with back-to-back birdies to stand on 14-under 130 after 36 holes in the year’s first major women’s tournament.
“I played really well,” Korda said. “It’s nice to birdie the last two as well. Maybe a little peace of mind going into the weekend.
“Overall, I’m really happy with the way that I struck it, the way that I hit it off the tee today and also all my putting on the green.”
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World number two Korda set the tournament record 36-hole score related to par, breaking the mark of 12-under by South Korean Park Sung-hyun and Sweden’s Pernilla Lindberg in 2018.
It marked the first time in Korda’s career she has fired consecutive rounds of 65 or better and the first time it had been done at any major outside of the Evian Championship.
The tournament’s largest 36-hole lead has been four shots but Korda was eight strokes ahead when she walked off the course.
With most of the field still playing the second round, Korda was seven strokes ahead of 20-year-old American amateur Farah O’Keefe, who had a bogey-free 69, and compatriot Ryann O’Toole, who birdied four of the last six holes to shoot 68.
Meanwhile, Anna Foster is the best of the Irish at the Investec SA Women’s Open on the Ladies European Tour. Foster is in a share of 23rd on five-under, nine shots off the lead held by Slovenian leader Pia Babnik. Áine Donegan (-4) and Olivia Mehaffey (-3) are just further back.
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More to follow.
– © AFP 2026
