Taylor and Matharu tied at the top in Denmark

Matharu – tied on six-under


Bogeys on the eighth and 17th sandwiched a third birdie of the round on the 14th as Taylor went on to record her third consecutive sub-par round (69, 68, 70).

“It’s been a tough day as it incredibly windy out there,” said Taylor.

“A couple of the greens that were exposed were particularly tough to play on.

“I’ve made a couple of mistakes, but I have accepted those mistakes and played well.”

It was a disappointing day for Wahlin, who, along with Taylor and Matharu, held outright lead during the course of the day.

The 23-year-old picked up two shots on her front nine but made the first of five bogeys in seven holes when she dropped a shot on the par-four 11th. The Swede was notably upset and tossed her ball into the greenside water hazard upon completing her round after her 10ft putt for birdie on the 18th lipped out. Wahlin’s round of 74 put her level with France’s Gwladys Nocera on four-under-par.

Kemp began the day level with Wahlin and started confidently, but a stray tee-shot into the water on the third resulted in a double bogey, and she slipped to five-under for the tournament.

Four bogeys and two birdies followed as she fell to three-under, where she was joined by New Zealander Lynn Brooky (72) and Finland’s Hanna-Leena Salonen.

Salonen posted the round of the day, squeezing seven birdies and a solitary bogey into her round of 65.

Hall, the third English player in the top-three, said her four birdies on the front nine set her up for a good round.

“It was a nice start. Maybe you want to make some birdies on the front nine because the back nine is the more difficult of the two,” she said.

“It is very tricky. The back nine plays harder anyway, but the wind really picked up on the eighth or ninth. It makes it difficult to just control the ball.”

Meanwhile, Nocera, who will represent Europe in The Solheim Cup next week, said she used her round as match-play practise.

The winner of the Nykredit Masters will pocket €30,000, while the tournament will also conclude the Volvo Cross Country Challenge – an order of merit based on results in the Scandinavian TPC, SAS Masters, Finnair Masters and Nykredit Masters.