Olivia Mehaffey moved inside the top-30 at the Investec South African Women’s Open in Cape Town, however she will rue a double-bogey on her final hole that could have seen her crack the top-20.
Scoring was tough on day three at Steenberg Golf Club as the majority of the field were over-par in their third rounds, with Mehaffey herself carding what was actually a respectable three-over 75 in windy conditions.
However, a seven at the par-five 18th was a real blow at the end of her day as she slipped down to eight-over-par and into a share of 29th, as opposed to the share of 20th that she was in going down the final hole.
At 13 shots behind leader Becky Brewerton of Wales, who looks to be cantering to the title five shots clear at five-under-par, Mehaffey will not be in contention on the final day on her second Ladies European Tour start of the year but a good round would see her pick up her best finish of the season so far.
Despite only carding one birdie in her third round – at the par-five 12th – it was a solid day for the former Arizona State star, who responded well having picked up back-to-back bogeys at the sixth and seventh.
However, despite having moved up the leaderboard, her disappointing finish saw her slip back down the standings but she will still back herself to possibly sneak back into the top-20 with a good final round, particularly if she can cut out those minor mistakes.
At the top, Brewerton looks to be well on her way to her first LET victory as, despite a birdie-free two-over 74, she saw her lead extend to five shots going into the final day as she is the only player under-par at five-under.
A one-over 73 from Norway’s Maiken Bing Paulsen has her in the final group on Saturday and in solo second at level-par for the week, with France’s Emma Grechi and England’s Felicity Johnston hoping to capitalise on any slip-ups from Brewerton at one-over.
- Full scores HERE
Leave a comment