Springfield, Jun 24 (PTI) India’s Aditi Ashok produced a birdie-birdie finish in the second round to stay on for weekend action at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Baltusrol here.

Aditi, who shot 75 in the first round, went back further as she was two-over through 16 holes in the second round with the cut looking likely at three-over or four-over.

Aditi, who is playing her 24th Major, birdied the two closing Par-5s and ensured action over the weekend. The cut ultimately fell at five-over and Aditi at three-over is tied-41st.

Overall 79 players made the cut.

Ireland’s Leona Maguire birdied four of her final six holes for a three-under 68 to take a one-shot lead over three players on Friday at the halfway point of the tournament.

Aditi opened her second round bogey-bogey on the first and second. She had bogeyed the same two holes a day earlier when she shot 75.

So within two holes on the second day, Aditi was five-over for the tournament. She birdied the Par-5 seventh and then bogeyed the 13th before bogeying 14th.

Aditi again picked a birdie on 15th at which point she was 5-over with three holes to go, but she produced those two birdies at the end to survive the cut.

Maguire, 28, looking for her second LPGA Tour title, had five birdies and two bogeys in shooting her seventh straight round in the 60s. At five-under 137 at Baltusrol, Maguire, now 12th in the world, has her first halfway lead in a major.

Mel Reid (67) of England, Xiyu Lin (71) of China and rookie Celine Borge (69) of Norway were tied for second, a shot ahead of first-round leader Lee-Anne Pace (73) of South Africa and fifth-ranked Minjee Lee of Australia, who pushed herself into the hunt for the second major with a 67.

The Lower Course at Baltusrol has been really tough with only 15 players under par. Some of the biggest names in women’s golf will not be around for the weekend as they missed the cut.

Among those in contention are first-time winner Ruoning Yin of China at 2 under, two-time major winner Brooke Henderson of Canada and top-ranked Jin Young Ko of South Korea and Celine Boutier of France, along with Americans Gina Kim, Allisen Corpuz Mina Harigae, all at one-under.

Among those who missed the cut were No. 2 Nelly Korda, No. 4 Lilia Vu, No. 6 Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand and No. 9 Georgia Hall of England.

Lexi Thompson, ranked No. 9, needed four straight birdies late in her round to get to four-over.

Source: PTI News