Leona Maguire, Ayaka Furue and LPGA rookie Celine Borge finished the morning wave with a share of the lead at the Women’s PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J., on Thursday.
Maguire (Ireland) birdied the par-5 18th to pull even with Borge (Norway) and Furue (Japan) at 2-under. Borge bogeyed her final hole to drop one shot and miss a chance at the outright clubhouse lead.
Furue overcame a bogey on No. 1 and had two birdies on the back nine to join the midday tie atop the leaderboard.
Furue, 23, entered the major in third place in the CME Globe standings with three top-five finishes in her past five events. She missed the cut at the 2022 Women’s PGA Championship as a rookie.
Maguire won the Meijer LPGA Classic last week. The 28-year-old is sixth in the CME Globe standings with three consecutive top-7 finishes.
The leaderboard was in flux quickly with the start of afternoon groups off to lower-scoring rounds.
Borge has never finished better than 14th (tie) and is making her 11th Tour start.
–Field Level Media