Leona Maguire grinds out late birdie to make cut at Evian Championship

Three birdies in her last nine holes was enough to see Leona Maguire shoot a second round 73 at the Evian Championship, comfortably making the cut.

The Cavan golfer went into the second round at one over par and struggled early on before rallying late to go into the weekend 12 shots off the lead held by Mi Hyang Lee of Korea.

Starting at the 10th the number one ranked amateur in the world carded five straight pars before bogeying the 15th and double bogeying the par three 16th.

That saw her make the turn at four over par and in danger of missing the cut in the final major of the year – an event she had received a sponsor’s invite to participate in.

A birdie at the par four first got her back on the right track but she was derailed again slightly by a bogey at the third.

Needing to turn things around she did so with a birdie at the fourth but again gave it straight back with a bogey at the next.

It was proving to be a tale of inconsistency for Maguire on another beautiful day in the French Alps but she showed a lot of mettle to finish strong and ensure her place for the weekend.

Pars at the sixth and seventh were followed by an excellent birdie two at the eighth before a closing par five to card a 73 and finish her second round at three over par.

An early start tomorrow might prove to be beneficial to the 20-year-old as she will look to take advantage of benign conditions and move her way up the leaderboard.