Norway’s Madelene Stavnar will take a two-shot lead into the final round of the VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open after firing a flawless 66 (-5) on Saturday to move to 12-under par.
Starting the day two shots behind France’s Anne-Charlotte Mora, the 22-year-old continued where she off on Friday posting back-to-back birdies on the 3rd and 4th to tie the lead in Switzerland.
A string of pars including a clutch sand save on the par-4 7th steadied proceedings before Stavnar finished with a flurry birdying the par-5 17th and par-4 18th to storm into the outright lead.
“It’s been great,” Stavnar said, who currently sits 79th in the Race to Costa del Sol. “It’s been my best two rounds in a long time so I’m just trying my best to enjoy it and hopefully get another good round in tomorrow.”
Chasing a maiden Ladies European Tour (LET) win this week, Stavnar is yet to drop a shot and has bettered her previous best score of the season – a 67 at the KPMG Women’s Irish OPEN – in both rounds.
The Norwegian said: “I did think about [not having any bogeys] on 17. I was like ‘have I even had a bogey yet!’ But it helped I guess because I made two birdies to finish.
“I think this week I’ve just found a spot in my swing that I wanted to work. I’ve found a good thought and gained a lot of confidence. I really like the course and I’m really enjoying it. Staying with a host family has been really nice so it’s a different week but I’m really liking it.”
After carding a sensational 62 (-9) in round one, Mora struggled to reach the same heights at Golfpark Holzhäusern but still had a solid day at the office posting a 70 (-1) to sit two adrift of leader Stavnar heading into Sunday.
“I’m still very happy”, the one-time LET winner said. “It was harder today, I think I was a little bit nervous. But overall I’m happy. The putter didn’t drop the same and I had a lost ball on the 3rd which cost me. It was different compared to yesterday where everything was perfect.”
Tying her score after 36 holes is Germany’s Alexandra Försterling, who matched her round one score firing a 66 (-5) to place herself in an excellent position as she hunts her maiden Ladies European Tour (LET) win.
Aided by her mother on the bag, the rookie said: “I played really good again today. I got off to a slow start but then chipped in for eagle on my third hole which got me going.
“It’s always nice to have your mum on the bag. She keeps me smiling and makes sure I eat and drink enough which is really important in the heat! It’s just really nice to have her here with me.”
Försterling’s compatriot Sophie Witt sits in a tie for fourth on nine-under par alongside Wales’ Chloe Williams.
Matching the round of the day 65 (-6) to soar up the leaderboard, Witt said: “I had a rough start with a bogey on the first hole, but then I made some birdies. Six-under I will always take that. I have another day tomorrow. All the volunteers are really nice and whenever you get the chance to speak some German it feels like home.”
In a tie for sixth on eight-under par are France’s Nastasia Nadaud and Finland’s Sanna Nuutinen, the latter following the leader’s cue in failing to drop a single shot after 36 holes.
Defending champion Liz Young is solo eighth after carding a bogey-free 66 (-5). Evaluating her round, the 40-year-old said: “I’m in a good position. I obviously love this place and got the putter going today which was nice. It’s been a while since I had a round without a bogey on the card.”
Four players make up the top-10 on six-under par, a quartet which consists of Spain’s Maria Hernandez, England’s Meghan MacLaren, India’s Diksha Dagar, and LET debutant Lauren Walsh, the Irish invitee who matched Witt’s round of the day 65 (-6).
After two rounds of action, the cut fell at two-over par with a total of 67 players making it through day three.
The third and final round gets underway at 9:45am local time on Sunday.
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