Leona Maguire delivered a vintage opening round at the Amundi Evian Championship in France, finishing the day in a five-way tie for the lead and scoring a hole-in-one.
Playing her fifth tournament in six weeks on tour, the Cavan native carded a six-under-par 65 — a score that included the tournament’s first hole-in-one, aced on the par-3 second.
Maguire enjoys the Évian course, where she tied the course record with a 61 four years ago.
The two-time LPGA Tour winner continues to chase her first Major title, and on this evidence, it may be just around the corner.
Joining Maguire at the top of the leaderboard are four players — two Australians and two Americans — each matching her six-under score. The Australian duo of Gabriela Ruffels and Grace Kim were particularly impressive with bogey-free rounds, while Andrea Lee and Jennifer Kupcho also impressed with composed shot-making on The Champions Course.
There was also a standout performance from Lottie Woad, the 21-year-old English amateur who shared a grouping with Maguire.
The newly minted World No. 1 amateur fired a composed 68 (-3), marked by five birdies and an impressive display of calm under Major Championship pressure.
Fresh from her historic victory at last week’s KPMG Women’s Irish Open, where she became the first amateur to win a Ladies European Tour event since 2019, Woad is building real momentum.
A top-25 finish this week would automatically earn her LPGA Tour membership under a new eligibility rule introduced by the tour.
You can follow live coverage from France throughout the weekend on Sky Sports.
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