Thailand’s Trichat Cheenglab sits at the top of the leaderboard with a score of 15-under-par and holds a three-shot lead heading into the final day of the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España
After a steady start, Cheenglab rolled in her first birdie of the day on the seventh and added another on the ninth hole at Real Guadalhorce Club de Golf.
The Thai star had a trickier back nine making bogeys on the 15th and 17th holes but signed for a round of 72 (E) to lead by three in Malaga.
Cheenglab, who won the 2023 LET Order of Merit and Rookie of the Year titles, is aiming to win her second LET title tomorrow.
“I would say I’m sorry for the Thai fans watching me, it was boring game today but tomorrow I will work very hard to get my second LET win,” said Cheenglab.
“Anything can happen in golf. Tomorrow, I will focus on my first shot off the tee. It wasn’t as I expected today. I got just two birdies today because I didn’t have any chances for the short ones, I was further away. Tomorrow is going to be very fun for me to play in the leading group.
“I will shoot five-under tomorrow because I lost two points today when I missed short putts. The lines break a lot and the greens are faster. I will do my best tomorrow.”
France’s Perrine Delacour sits in solo second place on 12-under-par after a round of 66 (-6) to put herself into contention ahead of the final day.
The two-time LET winner dropped her only shot of the day on the last rolling birdies on the fourth, sixth, ninth, 10th, 13th, 14th and 16th holes.
“Today I was good. Mentally, I was pretty good, I hit the ball pretty good and I made a lot of putts which helps,” said Delacour.
“I have been trusting the process. I had a new team earlier in the year and it’s been a long process working together to make it successful at the end of Sunday.
“On this course, three to five shots especially with the wind tomorrow. I’m going to keep trusting the process and do some good routine and see where it goes. I can control myself, but I can’t control everybody else’s scores.”
France’s Nastasia Nadaud is in outright third place two shots further back on 10-under after a round of 69 (-3) in Spain.
The 21-year-old had six birdies and three bogeys on her scorecard to be five shots behind leader Cheenglab at the 54-hole mark.
“There has been some really good stuff and really bad stuff, I just need to get a bit of balance,” said Nadaud.
“I know I can do a lot of birdies, but I have had a few too many bogeys, so I will try to stick to hitting fairways and greens, getting easier shots to the greens and see what happens, but I’m still satisfied with today.
“As a player I am somewhat aggressive, so I do try to get as close as I can. I am missing a couple of fairways as well. I will try to stick to a nice game plan and see what happens.”
Australia’s Kirsten Rudgeley and Denmark’s Smilla Tarning Soenderby are in a share of fourth place on nine-under-par after rounds of 68 (-4) and 69 (-3), respectively.
Six players are in a tie for sixth place on eight-under including two-time LET winner Anna Huang, who fired a round of 67 (-5) which included six birdies.
“I was striking the ball really well today,” said Huang. “I made a couple of good putts on the back-nine too which really helped. Overall, it was really solid. I was just trying to keep it steady because I had a double on day one and then a triple on day two.
“This golf course is really nice. I really like how the fairways roll, it gives me a couple of extra yards off the tee and then the greens are really soft. It’s easier to stick the ball next to the pin.
“I was really looking forward to this week. I love Spain, obviously! I’m trying to soak it all in and enjoy the moment.”
Huang is joined by Indian duo Avani Prashanth and Aditi Ashok, Italy’s Alessandra Fanali plus the two players battling it out for the LET Order of Merit crown Shannon Tan and Mimi Rhodes.
At the end of Sunday, the winner of the LET season finale will be decided alongside the winner of the LET Order of Merit.
The final round will begin at 9 am (local time) with the leading group teeing it up at 11.01 am (local time).
Follow all the action throughout on our socials – @LETgolf on Instagram, TikTok and X, and Ladies European Tour on YouTube and Facebook – #OpenDeEspaña.
