Lauren Walsh and Canice Screene carded matching one-under 71s on day two of the LET’s Dutch Ladies Open at Goyer Golf and Country Club to remain in touch heading into Sunday’s third and final round.
Walsh, who briefly lead the tournament on day one, recovered from a sluggish start to birdie two of the opening nine and turn at -1. Two bogeys on the back side saw her title hopes start slipping away, but a fabulous birdie-birdie finish revived her chances and she goes into the final round in a share of ninth but just three back.
Screene, making her first LET start of the season, started her second round on the back nine and birdied two of her opening eight holes before dropping a shot on the 18th. Further birdies on three and six were sandwiched by bogeys on two and eight but she finds herself sharing 16th at -2 and within four of the tournament leader.
Anna Foster and Annabel Wilson are tied for 26th at level-par. Foster carded her second successive round of 72, while Wilson, a week after her season’s best T12 finish in Korea, carded the low round of the day from an Irish perspective with a two-under 70.
Sadly, Sara Byrne won’t be joining them in the final round. A bogey on her 35th hole dropped her back the wrong side of the cutline, but she can take solace from a five-stroke improvement on her opening effort.
England’s Mimi Rhodes, Spain’s Nuria Iturrioz, and Italy’s Alessia Nobilio will all head into the final round tied at the top of the leaderboard, after impressive performances on Saturday saw them all climb to six-under-par.
For Rhodes and Nobilio – both rookies on the Ladies European Tour (LET) – it was another chance to showcase their talent amongst the packed field.
Rhodes, the current Order of Merit leader, secured six birdies on her scorecard, positioning herself for what could be a third title in her rookie season – a remarkable achievement for the 23-year-old.
“It was really good today,” said Rhodes. “I played some solid golf today. My putts started dropping early on the back nine, and that helped settle me. From there, I just kept the momentum going and had fun out there.”
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