Maguire joint second after first day in opening Major of 2021

Golf

Cavan's Leona Maguire heads a strong European contingent at the ANA Inspiration and is a shot off the early lead at the opening women's Major of the year.

The Ballyconnell woman, who is based presently in Florida, had only 25 putts for her round as she stormed into contention.

Maguire mixed six birdies with a lone bogey on her way to a five-under 67 at Rancho Mirage, with the Cavanwoman picking up a shot at the par-five last to join Shanshan Feng in tied-second.

The Cavan woman opened with back-to-back birdies before bogeying the third hole. She had four birdies and 11 pars the rest of the way.

The pair are a stroke behind Thailand's Patty Tavatanakit, who reached all the par-fives in two and posted six birdies on her way to a blemish-free 66, while Sweden's Anna Nordqvist is a further shot back in a share of fourth with the Jutanugarn sisters and Megan Khang.

The temperature climbed close to 30 degrees for the afternoon wave, with conditions only expected to get hotter over the next three days at the scenic desert layout.