Leona Maguire three shots behind Rose Zhang after opening round of Cognizant Founders Cup

Fresh from a two-week break, Leona Maguire got her quest for a third career title on the LPGA Tour off to a fine start in the Cognizant Founders Cup in Clifton, New Jersey, where an opening round six-under-par 66 saw her take a share of third place.

American Rose Zhang – who juggles life on the professional tour with her college education – claimed the first-round lead with a superb 63, while world number one Nelly Korda’s history-making bid for a sixth straight title opened with a 69.

For Maguire, aiming to bounce back from a rare missed cut on her last tour outing in the Chevron, there was a sense of purpose and also a fine display of putting on the poa annua greens at Upper Montclair Country Club in a round that featured an early bogey on the second hole but which was followed by seven birdies, including a hat-trick from the fifth hole as she navigated a route into contention.

“I gave myself a lot of chances and holed some nice putts. This is probably the best I’ve ever putted on poa annua grass, which is nice for a change. I think you just have to try and hit good putts. They’re rolling, they’re actually rolling nice for poa annua even, especially in the afternoon. I thought they would be a bit more bumpy. They’re slick. You have to battle uphill, staying on the right side of the pin. For the most part I did that, so that was a nice bonus,” said the 29-year-old touring professional for the K Club.

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Maguire, the world number 23, is chasing a first win on the tour since her Meijer Classic success almost 11 months ago. Her best result so far this season was a runner-up finish to Korda in the T-Mobile Matchplay.

“The weather forecast doesn’t look too kind to us, so, yeah, it’ll be interesting. Definitely, especially if that rough gets wet, it’s really thick. So hitting fairways is going to be a premium as are hitting greens. If you want a stress-free the next few days it’s definitely the way to go,” acknowledged Maguire of the challenge ahead, with the weather set to bring rain in cool conditions.

Zhang shot a bogey-free 63 to take a two stroke lead over Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom with Maguire tied with Narin An and Stephanie Kyriacou in third a further shot adrift.

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Korda, the world number one, has been invincible since winning the Drive On Championship back in January up to last months Chevron, the first Major of the season. Her quest for a sixth-in-a-row featured a round of four birdies and a bogey, which she described as “a solid day.”

Of her mindset in maintain that run, Korda said: “You have to stay very patient and know that you have the game to play on anything. If you’re hitting it good or even if you’re not, you have to make sure you have the confidence that you can lean on the stuff that you have practiced, like your short game.”

Korda added: “There is still three more days. You still have a lot of things that you – I know the weather is not supposed to be great and there is just different factors that go into the rest of the tournament. So it’s definitely nice to get a good round in. You know, still a long, long ways away from Sunday.”