England’s Bronte Law followed her sparkling 62 with a superb bogey-free 64 in the fourth round of the Ladies European Tour’s Qualifying tournament in Morocco.
At 21-under-par after 72 holes, the 23-year-old from Stockport heads into the final round with a two stroke advantage over Linnea Ström from Sweden.
Law said: “I played solidly today and started off really well. I had some good birdies early on and I kept it going. I was playing the same way as yesterday; just kept pushing. It was nice to make birdies because I was pushing hard.”
Law started her fourth round with a tap-in birdie to a tough pin on the par-4 first hole at Palm Golf Ourika. It was the first of three successive birdies and she added gains at the sixth and eighth holes to turn in 31, five-under-par. On the way home, she birdied the 13th, 16th and 17th, to return in 33, after her caddie again offered her £20 for every birdie on the final three holes.
Law is now 19-under for her last 32 holes. Her closest challenger, Ström, had a bogey-free 65 at Amelkis to sit at 19-under-par in total.
Ström, also 23, said: “Today, again, I played very steady. I was good from the tee and good with my wedges and gave myself a lot of chances. I didn’t really get the putts dropping but I stayed patient and got a couple of birdies. I had to save some pars as well.”
Heading into the final round, she said: “I’m excited about tomorrow. Bronte Law’s a great player and I’ve played a lot with her before. I’m looking forward to a fun day on the course.”
England’s Sian Evans posted a 69 at Amelkis Golf Club to lie in third on 11-under-par and she said: “I struggled a bit on the first few holes. I had a par on the first and then a bogey on two and three and then two more birdies. I eagled nine, which was a definite highlight. I hit on the green in two and holed a 40 foot putt. On the back nine, I started off steadily, had a bogey and then birdied two of the last three.”
This is Evans’ second time at Lalla Aicha Tour School in Marrakesh and she has crowd-funded her trip, mostly through the members and staff of Kings Hill Golf Club in Kent, where she is a PGA professional.
Looking ahead to the final round, she said: “I’ve just got to play my own game and see what happens. To be honest, I was just thinking, just make the cut, but I’m in a great position.”
A total of 68 players made the 72-hole cut, which fell at five-over-par. The final round at Amelkis Golf Club begins at 9am local time and the leaders tee off at 11.01am on Thursday, after which, the top five players will earn membership of the LET in category 5c for the LET in 2019. Those in positions 6-25 will earn membership in category 8. Players who make the cut but finish in positions 26 or lower may still join the LET in Category 9b.
