Blanca Fernandez produced a round of 65 (-6) at Wollongong Golf Club to move into a share of fourth place at the Ford Women’s NSW Open.
The Spanish rookie sat in T19 after a 69 (-2) on day one in Wollongong but has soared into the top five at the halfway stage.
Fernandez began her day with a birdie on the first hole and added another on the fourth, she dropped her only shot of the round on the seventh.
However, she soon bounced back with a birdie on the ninth followed by three on the trot on holes 13 to 15 before finishing in style with a birdie on the 18th hole to seal a round of 65.
“I started with a birdie,” said Fernandez. “I like to start with a birdie! I kept playing pretty solid for all of the holes and then on the second nine, I made birdie on all of the par-5s which was very consistent.
“It was so different with the conditions – like another golf course! Yesterday, you had to aim so much right or left or hit three more clubs and then today was just the number and play that and do a normal swing. The par-5s were much more reachable because the wind wasn’t hurting, so I could reach almost all of them.
“My birdie finish was amazing, and I holed a very good putt. On 17, I had a five-footer for birdie, and I missed that one and I thought I’ll try on the next hole and then I holed a seven-metre putt which was awesome.”
The 24-year-old is playing in her third event of the 2025 Ladies European Tour (LET) season having secured full status at Lalla Aicha Q-School in December.
Fernandez finished in T22 at the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco and ended up in T60 at last week’s Australian Women’s Classic.
The Texas A&M graduate is making the most of her first trip to Australia, staying with fellow Spaniard Luna Sobron Galmes and enjoying the hospitality of her host families.
She explained: “My first tournament was in Morocco, which was awesome and the course was amazing, then it was so different coming to Australia for the first time for tournaments.
“I came with Luna [Sobron Galmes] and she knows everything pretty good, so she’s helping me manage everything. It’s been a very good experience. We have seen kangaroos, koalas and lots of animals and then what we do also depends on the host family.
“Last week, I was swimming every other afternoon because they had a pool so I will go swim laps and then this week, they have a sauna and they let me use it, so I go for a sauna before going to sleep. It’s amazing.”
With 36 holes to go at the Ford Women’s NSW Open, she sits in T4 on eight-under-par four shots behind co-leaders Mimi Rhodes and Sara Kouskova.
Fernandez is relishing being near the top of the leaderboard and hoping to push even further on moving day.
She added: “I’m very excited for the weekend, I would like to fight for the win. I love it.”
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