Rebekah Gardner is pleased to still be in the mix heading into the final round of the Flogas Irish Women’s Amateur Open Championship as she looks to hunt down Louise Landgraf on Monday.
Gardner birdied 15 and 16 to card a one-under 71 and move into fifth place on level-par, six shots behind Landgraf who defied torrential rain showers with a second successive round of 69.
Gardner made a slow start, dropping shots on the first and fifth holes but she rallied with a birdie on the sixth and a tidy run of pars was broken by a birdie on the 12th.
The Clandeboye golfer bounced back from a bogey on 13 with a birdie on 15 and an up and down for birdie out of the front bunker on 16.
“Today was a lot tougher with the conditions, didn’t get off to a great start but kept myself in it. Could have been out of it but managed to have a nice finish with some birdies coming in which was nice,” said the 20-year-old.
“I’m right up there so anything can happen tomorrow. Today was all about staying in it because it was tough out there which I managed to do.”
Gardner has plenty of work to do to stop a rampant Landgraf but she knows she has to keep plugging away and take her chance to pounce if it comes.
“It’s about having the mindset of keeping going, it’s the same for everybody out there so just stick to the game plan.
“I’ve been playing well these last couple of months so I’m just keeping that momentum going heading into tomorrow. It would be really nice to get the win, it’s a great tournament with an international field so to get the win would be very nice.”
Landgraf birdied three of her last five holes to set the pace at six-under, one clear of Welshwoman Carys Worby while her compatriots Kirra St-Laurent and Lily Reitter are tucked in behind her at three-under and two-under respectively as internationals pack the top-4 spots.
The 16-year-old has never played in Ireland before but has been pleased with how she has adjusted to the golf course and some of the Irish weather.
“I had a bit of a rocky start at the beginning but I managed to come back and shoot three under on the back nine which was pretty good,” said the Toulouse teenager.
“The course is playing really nice we had some bad weather in the middle but the greens are beautiful.”
Landgraf was born in Thailand and lives there although she plays under the French flag, the country of her father.
She won the 2024 British Girls U16 Amateur Golf Championship and the 2025 Portuguese International Ladies Amateur Championship. In 2023, she won the Terre Blanche Ladies Open, an LET Access Series event, at a record young age of 14 years, 2 months and 18 days.
With a World Amateur Golf Ranking of 92 she is a player of immense pedigree despite her tender years and would be a very prestigious winner.
“It’s my first time in Ireland it’s been better than I expected. Winning tomorrow would mean a lot, tick this off the list being in Ireland. It would be a confidence booster to know that my game is up there it would be an amazing feeling.”
Olivia Costello will be part of the chasing pack looking to go low and take advantage of any slip ups from the final groups after the Roscommon star carded a round of 74 for a two-over total and eight shots back.
Clandeboye’s Molly O’Hara carded one of the low rounds of the day with a 71 which included four successive birdies to start and she shares eighth place with Hannah Lee-McNamara on three-over-par.
Scoring HERE
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