Fatima Fernandez Cano leads by one with 18 holes remaining at the VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open after the Spaniard fired a Saturday 66 (-5) to move to eight-under par.
A couple shots adrift prior to play at Golfpark Holzhäusern, Fernandez Cano got off to the perfect start in round two birdying the scenic par-4 1st.
From there, the 28-year-old played tidy golf failing to drop a shot and making four more birdies at the 3rd, 12th, 16th and 17th.
“It was just a good day,” Fernandez Cano said. “Yesterday was not quite as solid, it was a bit more of a grind and I made some longer putts. Whereas today it was about hitting a bunch of greens and a bunch of fairways. I think I only missed one green and that was by like two-feet or something. I gave myself a bunch of opportunities.
“The conditions are great. The course is very nice. It is very hot here. I’m quite used to it but we did have to adjust because the ball is flying very high because of where we are. It’s humid and hot. Other than that it’s great.”
Chasing a maiden Ladies European Tour (LET) win, Fernandez Cano’s best result of the season so far came at the Lalla Meryem Cup where she placed T3. In her most recent start at the Ladies Italian Open, Fernandez Cano led after the first round of action before eventually finishing T19.
She said: “Because I played three in a row, to me, it was either skip Switzerland or Prague [the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open]. The thinking playing this week instead is because I felt I’d absolutely love Switzerland. I love the mountains and the lakes and I’ve never been here before. So I took advantage of that and it’s clearly worked out.
“I feel good. After I had surgery last year [on my arm], I had a little scare earlier in the year. I had to get it checked out by a doctor to make sure it was good. But the arm seems to be doing fine. It’s clearly working although sometimes I get a little scared because I’m more protective. But I feel fine and I’m very lucky to be out here playing.”
One shot back in a tie for second are Sweden’s Sara Kjellker and Czechia’s Kristyna Napoleaova. Both stars matched Fernandez Cano’s round of the day 66 (-5) playing in the morning wave.
Having birdied her final two holes yesterday, Kjellker continued where she left off in Switzerland birdying her first and second holes at the 10th and 11th. She would follow this up with red numbers at the 13th and 16th to go out in 32. Another birdie on the 5th then completed the bogey-free round.
“I’m just happy to be out playing again,” Kjellker said. “I’m enjoying it. I have my brother’s girlfriend [Tilda Green], my best friend on the bag. So we’ve been having so much fun and she’s been keeping me calm. We were chatting about shopping and everything else. She’s a great comfort for me. She’s a light.
“I think last year was really good but I had some [higher] expectations coming into this year. I took two weeks off last week to reset. Now I feel I have a totally different focus. I’m loving it. Taking it day by day. I’ve gone back to my process instead of just thinking about results. I’m really excited to go out there tomorrow and see what happens. It’s a great opportunity for me. Hopefully I can get it done.”
While Napoleova got the putter rolling on day two at Golfpark Holzhäusern carding seven birdies and dropping two shots on an eventful morning.
“It’s really nice to be back here,” the one-time LET winner said. “I’m having a really time with my host family. I always love coming here. Especially to this course. I’m really enjoying myself. I didn’t even know how low I went today so it was a nice surprise at recording! It’s usually always a good sign when I don’t know.
“I feel like this past month the game has felt good but I wasn’t able to score. This week it is coming in so hopefully it keeps going. Currently I’m trying to play straight, which I know is something new but it’s never too late to start with that. We’ll see how it foes tomorrow. I’m just happy to see some putts drop!”
Four players share fourth position on six-under par. The quartert includes Spain’s Luna Sobron Galmes and Finland’s Emily Penttila – both of which carded rounds of 66 (-5) – as well as Indian duo Vani Kapoor ans Tvesa Malik.
Home favourite Chiara Tamburlini is one back from them on five-under par. She is joined by five other players; English trio Rosie Davies, Amy Taylor, and Alice Hewson, Spain’s Maria Hernandez and France’s Anne-Charlotte Mora.
After 36 holes of action in Switzerland, the cut fell at two-over par with 63 players making it through to Sunday. The third and final round of the VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open gets underway tomorrow morning.
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