Leona Maguire says she's delighted to be back at the ANA Inspiration at Rancho Mirage.
The Cavan native is just one shot off the lead after a five-under-par first round of 67 at the first women's major of the year.
Maguire mixed six birdies with a lone bogey in her opening day of action.
Shanshan Feng of China, who made her first LPGA Tour start in 16 months on Thursday, is tied second alongside 26-year-old Maguire.
Thailand's Patty Tavatanakit, who's only 21 years of age holds the lead on six-under-par.
Speaking after her first round, Maguire was happy with the shift she put in.
"I played great. hit the ball really solidly off the tee which set up a lot of nice irons into the greens.
"I got off to a nice start, it was nice to start off birdie-birdie and get some momentum heading into the round and I played really, really solid.
"I've been working really hard on my wedges. I actually hit the flag on 11 and the ball came off the green so it was one of those days where I thought maybe it wasn't my day but it was nice to bounce back."
A birdie to finish round one T2 👏@leona_maguire cards a first-round 67 in the desert@GolfChannel | @ANAinspiration pic.twitter.com/pF2lFvbv9S
— LPGA (@LPGA) April 2, 2021
Maguire of course knows this course well and feels this benefited her really impressive performance on Thursday.
"I finished strong over the weekend last year, which was nice.
"I came here for the first time as an amateur when I was still in college, it's a great golf course, it's a really good test, you've got to drive the ball well, get your irons in the right places.
"I've been playing well the last few weeks, got off to a really nice start this season and it's just trying to build on that momentum and it's nice to come back to a course I've been to before and I did well on last year."
Stephanie Meadow also made a strong start to the tournament.
The Northern Irishwoman shot an opening round of one-under-par 71, which featured three birdies, and leaves her in a tie for 30th.
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