Chiara Tamburlini matched the round of week 68 (-4) on Saturday at the Aramco Korea Championship to soar into contention with 18 holes remaining.
Starting the day six shots back on three-over par, and despite bogeying her third hole, the Swiss star carded five birdies at New Korea Country Club to move into the top-10, three shots behind leader Hyo Joo Kim.
“I was very happy with my mental game today,” Tamburlini said. “At the beginning it was horrible weather and I started off with a three-putt. That was upsetting, but I kept myself together nicely and stayed in it. That’s what I’ve been working on, keeping a calm head. I’m really happy about that.
“I hit every green apart from one. I honestly didn’t think I played horrible yesterday, I just couldn’t get anything going. But today, I played really solid – hit lots of fairways and almost every green.”
Tamburlini, winner of the 2024 Order of Merit, was also boosted by playing alongside close friend, Spaniard Marta Martin, in the Team event on Saturday.
“It was good to play with Marta [Martin],” she explained. “I’ve wanted to pick her for a while. We didn’t quite talk as much as usual, I guess that’s normal in the rain because you have an umbrella blocking you and there’s a lot going on. But we had a great time. As always, I love her. I’m really glad I got to pick her.”
With her Team competition now done and dusted, Tamburlini will chase a fourth victory on the Ladies European Tour (LET) on Sunday.
On hunting down Kim, the 25-year-old said: “I think chasing requires a bit of a different mindset. In the past, I’ve tried to push too much and reach a certain score rather than just playing my game. I think that’s what I will do tomorrow. Just take it shot by shot and try to do better than my best. But it’s a course where you can’t really reach the par-5s. Especially in these conditions. It’s all about hitting fairways and playing my own game.”
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