Sara Byrne is tied for second going into the final round of the LET’s Jabra Ladies Open de France at Evian Resort after a second-round 69 as Germany’s Helen Briem leads.
The Cork woman is making just her third LET start of the season after suffering a freak arm injury during the winter, and after opening with a three-under round of 68, she kept her foot down in round two, starting with back-to-back birdies and added two more before the turn to get to -7.
Bogeys on 10 and 14 wasn’t the ideal start to the tough back nine, but she managed to play the final four in level-par, trading one birdie and one bogey and she ended the day tied for second alongside Norway’s Dorthea Forbrigd and Laura Feunfstueck of Germany.
“It’s really good, I feel good to be near the top of the leaderboard and putting myself in good positions,” said the Irishwoman. “I’m hitting good shots, rolling good putts and trying to take as many opportunities as possible.
“This golf course is hard, it can snap back at you as quickly as it can give you some birdies,” Byrne said. “I’m enjoying it out here, the weather is beautiful. It’s amazing. It’s probably one of my first times playing a proper major golf course and they’re kind of setting it up like that as well.
“It’s a little bit difficult, this is only my third tournament back. It feels good to get to the top of the leaderboard with that. The arm is twinging this week, it’s hard because I’m trying to not take a practice swing because that’s where it hurts the most and then getting your subconscious to commit to it.
“I am juggling that a lot more this week than the last two, it’s three weeks on the road now so it’s giving a little bit of kickback. It’s holding up as good as it can be. It’s a learning curve, I hadn’t played competitive golf in six months so coming back and putting myself in a good spot is really cool.”
It’s another German who leads the way, however. Briem’s 65 was the joint low-round of the day, and she closed out with four consecutive birdies to open up a three-stroke lead at -8.
Anna Foster and Aine Donegan share 33rd at +2 after rounds of 71 and 72 respectively, while Georgia Hall, making her competitive return four months after giving birth shot a 70 to make the cut in a tie for 25th at +1.
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