Cara Gainer and Kristyna Napoleaova sit tied at the top of the leaderboard on 13-under-par at the end of the third round of the Amundi German Masters.
It was another consistent day for England’s Gainer, who followed up rounds of 68 (-4) and 67 (-5) on the first two days with a 68 (-4) in the third round.
The 27-year-old didn’t get off to the best of starts making her first bogey of the week on the first, but she soon bounced back with birdies on holes four, seven and eight.
Gainer rolled in two more birdies after the turn but dropped a shot on the 12th, she then made three birdies on the trot on 14, 15 and 16 before making a double bogey on 17 for her round of four-under.
“I was six-under going down the 17th and it would have been nice to finish it off, but these things happen in golf,” said Gainer, who is in search of her maiden LET title.
“I haven’t been close to double bogey all week. I had a bit of a rough lie in the bunker and it is what it is. My putter has been really hot this week and I’ve hit some nice shots in which have been really close, and I have just been trying to capitalise on it really.
“I enjoyed this course last year as well, the rolling fairways and it’s pretty windy. I enjoy playing in tough conditions and the tougher the better, I hope there’s some wind tomorrow.
“I feel like I’m playing really well and I’m getting to a bit of a tipping point and a bit of a waterfall moment and I’m really hoping that’s tomorrow. It all depends on the conditions tomorrow and what the wind is going to do, but if I shot another 68 then I would say I would be in with a shout.”
Alongside Gainer is Czechia’s Napoleaova, who produced a round of 69 (-3) on the third day of the tournament at Golf & Country Club Seddiner See.
The 27-year-old opened with two birdies in her first three holes before rolling in another on the eighth, she made a bogey on the 15th but found another birdie on 17 before making a great par on the last to be tied for first place.
“Today it was perfect, I think we started straight away with a good birdie on the par-five which always helps,” said the Czech player. “I made a couple of pars and some birdies from 30-feet, which is quite unusual, but I have been having it the whole week so far so hopefully it will stay for one more day.
“This is the first time I have had Jan [my caddie] on the bag and it’s been amazing! So far, so good. It was a little bit of coincidence because usually he caddies on the Challenge Tour – but this week he was off, so I picked up the phone a couple of days back and asked if he’d like to caddie for me. I saw him in Evian at the Jabra Ladies Open with Linda [Osala] and it looked amazing, so I was hoping we would have a similar vibe and it’s worked out so far.
“It’s super nice to be back and playing. A couple of months back I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to come back and if everything is going to be alright. Being here I feel very blessed and I’m just enjoying every minute.
“You can see it on the golf course with my behaviour. You never know when it is your last event, so I’m really trying to do my best with what I have at the moment and let’s see what it brings. Tomorrow we’re going to try and do what we did today and just enjoy the round and see what comes and what doesn’t and keep up with the flow.”
India’s Diksha Dagar carded a round of 67 (-5) which included seven birdies and two bogeys to put herself just two strokes behind the leaders on 11-under-par and in contention heading into the final day.
“I have been working on my putting skills and improving them because I know putting plays a very big role in your round,” said the LET winner.
“My game was very consistent and I’m keeping it very disciplined. My accuracy has been there this week and my putting is very much improved compared to last year. I am going to try to win but I’m going to stay calm and composed, that’s what gives you focus. I want to continue playing very good golf and stay to my form.”
Sweden’s Johanna Gustavsson sits in fourth place on nine-under-par after a round of 74 (+2), while three players are in a share of fifth place with Italy’s Virginia Elena Carta, England’s Meghan MacLaren and Northern Ireland’s Olivia Mehaffey all on eight-under-par.
French duo Nastasia Nadaud and Celine Herbin are joined by England’s Alice Hewson to round out the top 10 on seven-under-par.
The fourth round begins at 6.45 am local time on Sunday with the final group teeing it up at 10.55 am.
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