Leona takes charge in Sin City play off

Leona faces Na Rin An today (Friday) at 6pm Irish time.

Ballyconnell’s Leona Maguire produced some scintillating golf to come back from four down in group play to make a major step towards securing a place in the final 16 of the Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play in Las Vegas.

The Cavan star now tops her group after Round 2 following an impressive comeback over Korea’s Jenny Shin with two wins, after she fought back from four down after eight holes and one down with two to play.

She eventually beat Shin 1-up with a par at the 18th at Nevada’s Shadow Creek.

Leona had earlier won the 11th, 14th and 15th in par to square the match which at times seems to be drifting away from her.

Though she lost the 16th to go one down, Leona steadied herself for a winning par at the 17th, before claiming the match on the next hole.

The format involves three days of group play before the single-elimination bracket. For group play, players will play each of the other members of their group in 18-hole matches, with wins being worth one point and ties a half-point. The player with the most points advances to the Round of 16 which takes place Saturday morning, before the quarter-finals in the afternoon, and the semi-finals and final on Sunday.

Leona faces Na Rin An today (Friday) at 6pm Irish time.

The Korean national has to date recorded five top-10 finishes, including a solo third place result at the JTBC Classic. Her career-best finish on the LPGA Tour is T3 at the 2021 BMW Ladies Championship. She has only played a total of two LPGA Tour events.

A win or halves will see Leona move forward from her group.