Following an excellent opening 68, Lauren Walsh slipped back into the chasing pack with a three-over 75 on day two of the LET Access Series event in Varese, in Northern Italy.
She’d start the day with seven pars before dropping her first shot of the day courtesy of a three-putt on the par-5 eighth and make the turn in a frustrating one-over having hit all nine greens-in-regulation on the front side.
The real damage was done on holes 10 and 11, however, where she’d go bogey, double-bogey, to drop to level-par for the tournament and four-over on the day. Showing great spirit, she responded with a birdie-four at the next, and despite not having her best, she reeled off six pars to finish the day, relying on her short game on three of those holes to remain in the hunt for a high finish and cling on to a T5 spot.
Walsh is committed to the final two LETAS events in Spain where she’s targeting a series of strong finishes which could see her climb into the top 21 in the Access Series’ Rankings which would see her bypass the pre-qualifiers for LET Q-School.
“I’m excited for Spain,” she said, “and it’s nice to compete this time of the year and get these opportunities.
“I’m thinking about the Order of Merit and being able to skip Pre-Qualifiers at Q school would be great and if I have two good weeks maybe the top six is in the picture.
“I’m just trying to hit good golf shots and stay consistent on the course and hopefully that looks after itself.”
Walsh is joined in the third-and-final round by Norfolk-based Irish woman Abigail O’Riordan who shot a second-round 72 to remain at +4 for the tournament and moved up to a tie for 28th on what was a tough day in Varese.
Unfortunately, Bangor’s Victoria Craig won’t feature as she missed the cut after a second-round 74, with her opening round leaving her too much work to do.
Most players struggled on the day, with overnight leader Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen of Denmark and Switzerland’s Chiara Tamburlini shooting matching 73s to end the day at -5 and -3 respectively, but the day belonged to England’s Emily Price whose 67 was by far the lowest score and she moves to the head of affairs at -7, six clear of Walsh.
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