McGinty picked up four birdies for an inward nine of 31 and a round of 66 while Romero made four birdies in a bogey-free round to keep pace with Great Britain & Ireland Curtis Cup team member.
McGinty and Romero have both had their share of success this season.
McGinty, a junior at Oklahoma State, won the Schooner Fall Classic in Norman, Okla. at the end of September and picked up her second win of the fall a few weeks later at the Jim West Challenge in San Marcos, Texas. Romero, a sophomore, won her first event of the season at the Dick McGuire Invitational in Albuquerque, NM, where she defeated BYU's Lila Galeai in a playoff for her first collegiate victory.
Just one off the pace is Plata, last year's Big 10 Player of the Year who won the inaugural Women's Amateur Latin America Championship in November, and Iqbal of TCU, who had four top-10 finishes in the fall.🇺🇸 Each year, a member from Veteran Golfers Association is given a special exemption to play in the Patriot.
— Patriot All-America Invitational Golf Tournament (@ThePatriotAllAm) December 29, 2021
This year, Robin Stanton is representing the VGA in the inaugural women's field.#PatriotGolfAZ pic.twitter.com/yrM2T5ebym
Five golfers are three back at 2-under while five others sit at 1-under, including Jennie Park of Texas A&M, who had a wild ride around Wigwam on Wednesday with eight birdies, four bogeys and a double. Four of her eight birdies came on the last five holes for an inward nine of 31 and a round of 69.
The Patriot All-America Invitational continues on Thursday with final round play scheduled for New Year's Eve.
The Patriot All-America honors fallen or severely wounded soldiers in partnership with the Folds of Honor Foundation. The golfers receive a golf bag donated by PING Corporation at the event’s opening ceremony emblazoned with the name and branch of service of a fallen or injured military member whom they shall represent. Participants also receive a card with the soldier’s story so they can be familiar with that soldier. The golf bags are then sold with proceeds donated to Folds of Honor to support the families affected.