England’s Amy Taylor leads with 18 holes remaining at the Ladies Italian Open after carding a 67 (-5) to move to seven-under par on Saturday.
Playing in the morning, and with the target set at six-under par, the 23-year-old had a day to remember carding six birdies and dropping just one shot at Golf Nazionale to storm into the outright lead.
“I’m happy with how I played,” Taylor said. “I was bogey-free for quite a lot of holes. I did make one on my 16th [the 7th], but overall I was happy with how I played. I really like the course. I think it’s quite challenging off the tee which is usually a strength in my game. I think that helps.“
Chasing a maiden Ladies European Tour (LET) win, the Englishwoman is continuing her fine form in Italy having finished fourth on the LET Access Series (LETAS) last week.
She said: “I put a new putter in the bag last week, so it’s working! I played last week and finished fourth on the [LET] Access Series. That was a good result and made me feel more confident. My game felt good coming into this week so hopefully I can do well again tomorrow.”
In solo second sits Switzerland’s Tiffany Arafi. One of three leaders after round one, the 24-year-old had a mixed day carding three birdies and three bogeys for an even-par round.
“I played good but it feels like I left some shots out there,” Arafi said, who finished runner-up last week on LETAS. “I made some mistakes but this afternoon it was really tough and I think the pin positions were crazy today. Even when I was close to the pins I had tough birdie putts.
“But I’m on a good curve. I’m enjoying my golf. Trying to make the most out of it – that’s why I’m a little frustrated. I’m excited for tomorrow. Before last week I had never played in the final group so it’s nice. Hopefully tomorrow will be a revenge after last week!”
Four stars linger behind Taylor and Arafi in a tie for third on five-under par. This includes another one of the overnight leaders, Spain’s Fatima Fernandez Cano, who scrambled well to post a 73 (+1) despite making a triple-bogey on her 10th hole, the par-5 1st.
Three winners sit alongside her in the standings – India’s Diksha Dagar, the revitalised Pia Babnik from Slovenia, and Magical Kenya Ladies Open winner Shannon Tan from Singapore.
Firing a round of 68 (-4), Tan said: “I finally played boring golf again! I made some good putts out there but it was all about hitting the greens and fairways – not being too aggressive. I stuck to my plan and it played out.
“Now that I’m used to Tour life I feel like it’s a little bit easier. I felt like I learned a lot in Sweden, knowing not to get too distracted by my score. I definitely want to win again. But the best way to do that is to play your own game and not get too caught up with your score. I didn’t even know what I shot today until you just said!”
Three players are tied for seventh on four-under par, a trio consisting of Australia’s Kirsten Rudgeley, America’s Katherine Muzi, and Spain’s Maria Hernandez.
After 36 holes of action at Golf Nazionale, the cut fell at three-over par with 67 players making it through to Sunday.
On the home front, five Italian players made the cut including rising amateurs Francesca Fiorellini and Carolina Melgrati.
The final round of the Italian Ladies Open gets underway tomorrow morning at 8:00 local time.
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