Olivia Mehaffey bounced back from a disappointing first day with a great four-under-par 67 to sit in a tie for 20th place at the Lacoste Ladies Open de France.
Mehaffey struggled to a three-over-par 74 on day one but found her groove on day two, carding five birdies and one bogey to lift her to one-under par, nine shots off Johanna Gustavsson who has been the standout player in the first two rounds.
Chasing her first LET title, Johanna Gustavsson of Sweden shot a five-under-par 66 on Friday to take a slim one-stroke lead with a round left in the Lacoste Ladies Open de France.
The 30-year-old from Orebro has a 10-under-par total heading into the final round of the 54-hole tournament at Golf Barrière in Deauville.
On an afternoon of low scoring, Gustavsson opened with four birdies on the back nine. She bogeyed the uphill par-4 first hole, her 10th, but bounced back with a birdie. She then sank a 25-foot putt to get into double figures and take a one strher finoke lead over fellow Swede Moa Folke, who lies in second, while England’s Meghan MacLaren is another stroke back in third.
Gustavsson, who earned two wins on the LET Access Series in 2015 and 2018, has finished second four times in 128 previous events played over eight years on the LET. Her best finish this year to date was second in the Pickala Ladies Open in Finland, where she led by one stroke after 54 holes. She also led at the halfway stage of the Amundi German Masters.
Sitting in ninth place on the Race to Costa del Sol Rankings, on which she finished third last year behind fellow Swedes Linn Grant and Maja Stark, Gustavsson could make a big jump with a maiden victory tomorrow.
“I feel quite comfortable. I’ve been in this position a few times now and I’m getting, not used to it, but kind of,” Gustavsson said.
“It’s very small margins that decide if you win or not and hopefully tomorrow, the odds are in my favour.
“A win would mean quite a bit. I’ve been trying for a few years, so I’ll do my best and see what happens.”
Olivia Mehaffey will be hoping for a fast start to get herself into contention and as close to the lead as she can tomorrow. Mehaffy gets her final round underway at 9.52am local time, 10.52am Irish time.
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