Irish duo Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow have made solid starts at the LPGA Tour Meijer Classic at Blythefield Country Club.
Cavan's Maguire opened with a 69 to sit on three under par with Antrim’s Meadow a further stroke back after the first round.
That means that they are well within reach of the six-under lead, shared by a quintet of players - Ayaka Furue of Japan, USA trio Cheyenne Knight, Lindsey Weaver-Wright and Jennifer Kupcho and Sweden’s Frida Kinhult.
Starting on the 10th, Maguire started par-bogey, but a run of three straight birdies between the 12th and 14th had her out in 36.
Her closing nine were dominated by pars, eight in all, but another birdie at the par-three fifth left her just outside the top 20.
Meadow’s front nine – starting on the 10th – mirrored Maguire’s front with eight pars and one birdie, coming at the par-four 12th.
She moved back to level par after a bogey at the second, but birdies at the fourth and eighth left Meadow in good shape heading into round two.
At the top, defending champion Kupcho, Knight and Kinhult had bogey-free days in Michigan. Kupcho had three birdies on the front nine and three on the back, the latter three all coming at par-five holes.
"I think (the course) kind of sets up really well for my game," Kupcho said. "Five par-fives, I like par-fives at all golf courses, so certainly helps."
Kupcho is making her first start since the Mizuho Americas Open two weeks ago, when she lost in a playoff to Rose Zhang in Zhang's LPGA debut.
The Meijer LPGA Classic was one of three wins for Kupcho last year, including a major [the Chevron Championship]. She said she's shooting for some lofty objectives for herself.
"Today my par was four under actually for myself," Kupcho said. "Set low goals, I guess, and you achieve them."
Furue joined the six-under group late in the day when she reached the par-five 18th green in two shots and two-putted for her seventh birdie.
"I obviously gained more momentum because I made a lot of birdie chances today, so yeah, that's why I've got confidence today," Furue said.
Knight - looking for her second LPGA win, as is Furue - started her round on the back nine before making four of her six birdies at on the front nine. Knight has been in great form, with finishes of T6, ninth, ninth and T13 in her past four starts.
Kinhult and Weaver-Wright have yet to break through for their first LPGA victories.
Additional reporting: Reuters
