Lauren Walsh rallied on moving day to move into contention at the Hulencourt Women’s Open, continuing her impressive run of form
Walsh started slow, with a bogey on the par-three fifth, but that would end up being her only drop shot of the day. The Wake Forest Alum carded five birdies in her last 13 holes for a four-under par 68, which leaves her four off the lead, heading into the final round in Belgium.
It was also a solid day for Sara Byrne, who got it to five-under-par at one stage, but a late drop shot leaves her just outside the top 10, six back of leader Avani Prashanth. It’s a tight leaderboard, with just four shots separating the top 10 players, setting the stage for an exciting final day.
Walsh in a four-way share of seventh place, alongside England’s Cara Gainer, Denmark’s Smilla Tarning Soenderby, and Hong Kong’s Ginnie Ding.
18-year old LET rookie Prashanth secured four birdies on a much cooler day at Hulencourt, with her only blemish coming on the 18th hole. With 18 holes remaining, she will take a one-shot advantage into Sunday’s final round. France’s Nastasia Nadaud and Wales’ Darcey Harry sit in a tie for second place heading into tomorrow, on nine-under-par.
“The wind switched up today, so it was like a different golf course altogether”, said Prashanth. “I definitely had to play a little conservatively in some places, which I don’t like to do, but obviously I was forced to. I just stayed patient the whole time.”
The 18-year-old produced a standout moment on the 14th, holing an impressive birdie putt from off the green.
“I misjudged that number a little bit, but I’m glad it turned out the way it did. The temperatures were down a little bit today which I guess made it slightly easier. Yesterday, everyone was complaining about the heat, but I think golf was a little easier for everyone today. I preferred it a bit more yesterday because of how far the ball was going, but I’m definitely happy that it wasn’t as hot. I had to try really hard to focus all day yesterday, and by the 8th and 9th holes, I was so tired, so thankfully that didn’t happen today.”
Heading into tomorrow, the teen said: “There will obviously be some nerves, but I just try and forget about it. I love playing under pressure and I love chasing, but thankfully I don’t have to do that now, so I’m just going to put my best foot forward tomorrow and see how it goes.”
Walsh is in the third last group tomorrow, and she gets her round underway at 9.41am Irish time.
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