Anna Foster’s hopes of a career-high LET finish appear to be over after a one-over-par 74 saw her head the wrong way on moving day.
The Elm Park woman entered the third-round tied for 16th and just five off the lead after a four-under 69 on Friday, but a bogey-double bogey start made it an uphill task.
Another bogey followed on seven, but a mini-revival started on the ninth where she holed out her second shot for an eagle-two. Three birdies and two bogeys on the back nine saw her end the day at five-under in total, slipping into a tie for 30th.
A trio of French LET winners will tee up in the final group on Sunday after Camille Chevalier, Celine Herbin and Agathe Laisne all went low on Saturday at Randpark Golf Club.
Chevalier and Herbin lead the way on 16-under par after carding rounds of 67 (-6) and 68 (-5) respectively in South Africa.
Laisne meanwhile, a recent winner at the Ford Women’s NSW Open, trails her counterparts by one-shot following a sensational 65 (-8) on Saturday. This scorecard included a monster 45-foot birdie on the final hole.
Herbin shared the 36-hole lead with USA’s Brianna Navarrosa but fell back early doors after carding a double-bogey at the 1st. The two-time LET winner would bounce back brilliantly birdying the next hole before adding another at the 9th.
With the sun beaming down in Johannesburg, Herbin came alive on the back-nine birdying the 13th before rolling in a lovely eagle on the 14th following an exceptional approach. A birdie-birdie finish for the Frenchwoman would see her reclaim her share of the lead at the top of leaderboard.
“I’m very glad with how I ended up,” Herbin said. “It was a bit of a slow start but I kept fighting and creating opportunities. After nine holes I got a good break with a very good birdie on 13 thanks to a very good shot. The eagle on 14 was then thanks to a very nice putt, I have to say. That helped a lot and kickstarted the round.”
Herbin, 43-years-old, is chasing a third LET victory this week following wins at the 2015 Open de France and 2019 La Reserva de Sotogrande Invitational.
“There is a lot of Frenchwomen at the top which is very nice,” she said. “We always wish each other well so we’re going to have fun tomorrow. I’ve been in the final group a few times in my career. So I’m looking forward to it. This is what we work hard for. Fingers crossed the weather stays nice for us.”
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