Casandra Alexander continued her excellent form on Friday at the KPMG Women’s Irish Open following up yesterday’s course-record with a 66 (-6) to steer five shots clear.
Having entered the history books yesterday with a scintillating 63 (-9) on the Palmer South at The K Club, Alexander was on course-record watch again early doors when she started eagle-birdie-birdie at the 10th, 11th and 12th.
The big-hitting South African would drop a shot at the 13th before bouncing back with a birdie at the 17th to make the turn in 32 (-4) – six shots ahead of her opponents. A second eagle of the day came shortly after at the 3rd before Alexander gave a shot back to the chasing pack at the 6th. A bounce-back birdie followed to complete a round of 66 (-6) as the World No 38 moved to 15-under par.
“Not as tidy as yesterday,” The South African said. “I left some putts right in the throat and had some awkward wedge numbers. But overall pretty good. It was always going to be hard to follow up yesterday’s round. Sometimes that’s really difficult to get two days really flowing and going. Two eagles helped the situation. Six-under, I’m very happy.
“My caddie said to me after yesterday, if we can just get a red number on day two that would be pretty good because your expectations always go up after you shoot nine-under. I then started eagle-birdie-birdie… I just looked at my caddie [Douglas], laughed and said, ‘shut up, let’s go to the next tee! Let’s move on.'”
Alexander currently leads the Ladies European Tour (LET) Order of Merit with five runner-up finishes to her name. A one-time winner on the circuit, a victory which came at last year’s Tisport Czech Ladies Open, Alexander finished T10 at The Amundi Evian Championship last month before having a difficult stretch in the UK by her own high standards.
“Consistency is key,” the 27-year-old said. “I’ve shown that I have that. I did say at the beginning of the week, if we are going to win, we’re going to make sure we win by a few because I’m not going to leave it up to chance. We’ve come short a few times but they’ve all been different situations. Winning golf tournaments is important, but the Order of Merit is something which is really important. It’s something only a few have achieved. It shows you’ve played well over the whole year but I definitely need to get a couple of wins before we get to that.”
In a tie for second on 10-under par sit Sara Kouskova from the Czech Republic and Brianna Navarrosa of the USA. The former, a two-time LET winner, matched Alexander’s 66 (-6) on Friday to shoot up the leaderboard and continue her fine summer.
“I’m happy again that we stayed patient towards the end,” Kouskova said, who recorded her best finish at a Major last month placing T7 at the AIG Women’s Open. “My ball-striking was good and I used some of the chances that the course was giving me.
“Yesterday during the first nine holes, I was actually very nervous. I felt quite raw [after having two weeks off]. I wasn’t really sure how it was going to go. I spoke to my caddie [Jakub] about being more confident. There was no reason to be nervous but I guess that sometimes happens when you take a little break from tournament golf. I really needed my brain to be rested to play well. It’s great to be out here again.”
Navarrosa meanwhile had a terrific afternoon firing the round of the day 65 (-7). The Californian went bogey-free carding seven birdies to surge up the leaderboard.
“I kind of blacked out,” Navarrosa said. “It was one of those days where you stand up to each shot and know it’s going to be a good one. I hit great shots tee-to-green and sunk some nice putts. I’m very proud. It’s weird, I didn’t even think about my score. For so long I’ve always been preaching I’m an on course player, but I’ve realised lately I need to do more pre-tournament prep. So I’ve been diving in with more drills and being more religious with those things.”
One back from the pair on nine-under par are Swedish duo Louise Rydqvist and Corrine Viden. Rydqvist is now finding her mojo on the LET having competed on the LET Access Series (LETAS) in 2025. Two weeks ago at the VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open, Rydqvist placed T11 for her best finish on the LET. This followed a T22 finish at the lucrative PIF London Championship. The Swede carded rounds of 68-67 over the first two days at The K Club to put herself in a fantastic position heading into the weekend.
“I’m really excited and very happy with where my game is trending,” Rydqvist said. “My mental space has been good and I’ve definitely gained some momentum over the past month. Switzerland was a really good realisation. I came into it absolutely exhausted but then going into it I felt ready. I had my best finish on tour which was exciting.
“I played with Andrea [Lignell] over the past two days. She’s my best friend and it was her birthday today. We chatted a lot which helps a lot. I saw Casandra [Alexander] was 15-under and I thought, ‘we’ve got to move’. So that was great motivation.”
Rydqvist’s compatriot, one-time LET winner Lisa Pettersson, is in solo sixth position on eight-under. Pettersson also went bogey-free on Friday matching Navarrosa’s round of the day 65 (-7).
On the home front, Canice Screene is the top Irish player after birdying seven of her final 12 holes on day two to post a 67 (-5). She sits T8 heading into the weekend on five-under par. Solheim Cup winner Leona Maguire, the World No 82, sit T26 on two-under par after a second consecutive round of 71 (-1). The scorecard included two bogeys in her final three holes.
Screene said: “It’s always my favourite event of the year and my family are here, so staying around for the weekend and putting on a good show for them is my priority. Obviously it’s a good opportunity for me to move up the LET Order of Merit and also gain confidence for going back on the LET Access Series (LETAS) next week.”
After 36 holes of action, 60 players made it through to the weekend after the cut fell at even-par. This included six Irish players: Screene, Maguire, Aine Donegan, Anna Foster, Annabel Wilson and Lauren Walsh.
The third round of the KPMG Women’s Irish Open gets underway tomorrow at The K Club. Watch live and follow all the action throughout the tournament on our socials – @LETgolf on Instagram, TikTok and X, and Ladies European Tour on YouTube and Facebook – #KPMGWIO
