Lauren Walsh birdied the 36th hole to make the cut on the number at the LET’s La Sella Open in Alicante, and the Dubliner continued her upward trajectory with a two-under-par 70 on day three.
Starting on the 10th, Walsh began with four pars before opening her birdie account on the 14th and though she gave the shot back on 16, responded with back-to-back birdies on 17 and 18 to make the turn at -2 for the day.
Two-under became three-under on the par-4 third, but she’ll be a little disappointed to have bogeyed the eight and then only parred the par-5 ninth, but she climbs to T26 on the leaderboard and will be eyeing another push upwards in Sunday’s final round.
Sara Byrne began the day on -3 and in a tie for 16th, but her first LET start as a pro will be one to take a lesson from as she struggled on day three, failing to make a single birdie and carding three bogeys and a double to fall into a tie for 53rd.
Helen Briem fired a round of 66 (-6) to hold a one-stroke lead at the 54-hole mark in Spain.
After all groups were underway, there was a delay of two hours and 47 minutes in play due to the threat of lightning but play resumed at 1.35 pm (local time) with all groups finishing the third round.
The German teenager began the day in a share of fourth place but got off to a good start on her front nine with birdies on holes two and three.
Briem then rolled in three birdies on the trot on holes six, seven and eight before dropping her first shot of the day on 11.
However, the four-time LET Access Series winner bounced back with back-to-back birdies on 12 and 13 before making a bogey on 16, but she finished in style with a birdie at the last to lead on 12-under-par.
“It was pretty solid, especially the front nine,” said Briem. “Fairways, greens and then some putts fell but there’s still lots of room for improvement but I’m pretty happy with the day.
“I approach each nine pretty equally, yes, the back nine is definitely more challenging from the tee box and definitely the approach to the green, but I just go for it.
“It’s been pretty solid, many greens in regulation which helps a lot. I’m just happy. I still don’t see myself as the favourite. It’s my first LET tournament as a professional. I will just go out and have fun tomorrow.”
Despite having a one-shot lead going into the final day, Briem – who has already secured her LET card for 2025 through the LET Access Series – wants to just enjoy the final round and learn from her experience.
She added: “The highest expectations are from myself. I want to play the Solheim Cup, I want to go to the Olympics but I’m still 19 and turned professional two months ago. I’m just enjoying and collecting experience right now.”
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