Kelsey Bennett will take a two-shot lead into the final round of the Hulencourt Women’s Open after the Australian fired a 69 (-3) on moving day to leapfrog Carolina Chacarra at the top of the standings on 10-under par.
Two back from the Spanish rookie before the beginning of play, Bennett got off to a strong start birdying the par-3 2nd to narrow the gap in Belgium. The 9th hole would soon cause a three-shot swing handing the Aussie a two-shot advantage as Chacarra carded a double-bogey with Bennett birdying the par-5.
With a two horse race developing at Hulencourt Golf Club, both players would birdie the 10th – Bennett after dialling in an excellent approach – before the 26-year-old handed a shot back to her Spanish rival with a bogey at the 11th.
As the wind picked up Belgium, a tense back-nine followed with Bennett picking up one birdie at the 15th to reclaim her two-shot lead as Chacarra par’d home for a round of 74 (+2).
Bennett is chasing a second win on the Ladies European Tour (LET) this week after claiming the Australian Women’s Classic on home soil back in March. She is currently third on the LET Order of Merit – the highest position of anyone in the field this week.
“Yeah it was a pretty solid day,” the Australian said. “I actually didn’t really know what the scoreboard was doing so it’s good to know I’m now two shots clear. Nothing was overly special but nothing was really bad. I was plotting my way around and this course sets up well for my game. The shot on the 10th was very nice. I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing tomorrow.
“It was pretty breezy out there. Most of it is quite a lot of the cross breeze so it’s pretty tricky. If you the miss the fairway and you’re in that long grass, you’re not finding it. I actually had two shots today that went in there and I got blessed as they were not in the long grass! I’ll count my blessings and take them.”
Chacarra meanwhile is teeing up in her only second LET event of the season and carded the course record 65 (-7) on Friday. She is the brother of Eugenio, a multiple-time winner on the DP World Tour.
“It was still a good day today,” Chacarra said. “It was definitely tougher with the windy conditions. It was definitely harder. I hit is as close as yesterday but the putts just didn’t drop. I fought hard out there and am very proud of myself. I’ll try to keep up the momentum tomorrow.
“The 9th was just a couple of bad shots in a row. Just one bad hole. But there were plenty of good holes and good shots out there. So I’ll try to stay positive and go again tomorrow. I don’t have a score in mind tomorrow but will definitely need to go under-par and make as little mistakes as possible. Yesterday’s score definitely gives me confidence. It’s a course I like and there are birdie opportunities out there.”
In a tie for third on five-under par sit the duo of Indian Olympians, Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar. Using this week’s tournament as preparation for The Amundi Evian Championship, Ashok, a five-time winner on the LET, produced a grandstand finish birdying three of her final holes for a round of 70 (-2) in testing conditions.
“I didn’t feel like I had my good stuff today,” the Indian said. “But I was able to roll in a couple of long putts coming in so it ended up good. It’s my first time to Belgium. I’ve always struggled at [The Amundi] Evian [Championship] and I figured out it’s because I always go straight there from the US. I felt like getting to Europe earlier this year to get on the same time zone. A week before might be helpful and of course it’s always nice to be back on the LET.”
Dagar meanwhile, a two-time LET winner, carded a round of 71 (-1) in Belgium to remain five shots adrift of the leading total.
Thailand’s Trichat Cheenglab, winner of the 2023 Order of Merit, sits in solo fifth heading into the final round on three-under par. Ireland’a Anna Foster, England’s Bronte Law and Switzerland’s Morgane Metraux share sixth on two-under par.
Englishwoman Lianna Bailey matched Bennett’s round of the day 69 (-3) to move into ninth on one-under par alongside a recent LET winner, Smilla Tarning Soenderby from Denmark. The 25-year-old was victorious at the MCB Ladies Classic – Mauritius back in May.
Elsewhere, Major winner Georgia Hall continued her comeback trail after having a baby boy, Conor, earlier this year. The Englishwoman carded a round of 71 (-1) on Saturday to move into T16.
The fourth and final round of the Hulencourt Women’s Open gets underway on Sunday morning at 8:30 local time. The leaders will go out at 13:02. 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. #HulencourtWomensOpen
