Germany’s Leonie Harm and Sweden’s amateur Meja Ortengren share the lead at the Hills Open, with just 18 holes left to play at Hills Golf & Sports Club.
Harm produced the round of the day on Saturday, firing a bogey-free five-under-par to surge into the co-lead, alongside Ortengren.
Benefiting from calmer conditions compared to the windy opening round, the 27-year-old German started on the 10th tee and delivered a composed second round with five birdies.
“It was an early alarm, and I was still tired from yesterday because it was so windy,” said Harm. “The course played really tough again today with some tricky pin positions, but I gave myself more chances and, fortunately, made the most of them with a hotter putter.”
Her mindset was simple: “I just wanted to stay in the moment, take it shot by shot. This course can sneak up on you quickly – one bad shot and suddenly you’ve got a double on the card. Patience is the only way around here.”
Harm spoke about nearly walking away from the sport last year before a chance encounter changed everything. “I was ready to end my career after India,” she recalled. “Then at the Aramco Team Series in Saudi Arabia, I met Scott Edwards, a coach, on the range. He asked if he could help, made a couple of tweaks, and suddenly my swing felt like mine again. I also went to see him last week to work on my putting, and that’s shown today.
“I just enjoy working on things and seeing improvements. That’s what I really love about this whole process of being a professional athlete.”
The German admitted the past two seasons had been mentally exhausting: “I worked harder than ever, but nothing improved – if anything, it got worse. I was on the verge of going insane and nearly quit. It’s been some turn of events and here I am again so I’m really glad for that stroke of luck.”
Looking ahead to the final round, Harm is taking things slow. “It’s always better to fight for wins than for cut lines,” she said. “I’m very excited, but I’m trying not to get ahead of myself because there’s still a lot of golf left to play, and as I’ve said this golf course is really difficult. You’ve just got to stay with both feet on the ground. If it happens tomorrow, obviously that would be absolutely great, but just knowing that I’m in good form is already more than I could possibly ask for.”
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Ortengren started the day one shot off the pace and kept her nerves to join Harm. Starting her day on the 10th tee, the amateur opened with a bogey but quickly recovered with back-to-back birdies on the 12th and 13th. She gave a shot back on the 15th, yet responded strongly with birdies on the 18th and the 3rd.
“It was steady today, more steady today than yesterday”, said the Swede. “I made some nice par saves, especially some of the last few holes, so I’m very happy with today.
(Sweden’s Meja Ortengren during the second round. Credit Tristan Jones/LET)
“I think when I was in a very good position and took advantage of the opportunities. I made some birdies with the wedges and made some nice up and downs.”
The 20-year-old has her brother on the bag this week. “He’s been great”, she added. “He’s been caddying for me a few times before, but it’s been a while since the last time. It’s just fun to be out there with him – talking and taking the focus off golf for a little while.”
Heading into tomorrow, she’s feeling the nerves but just wants to play the best she can.
She continued: “I don’t think I had any real expectations for this week. Mostly, just keeping the focus on my own process and going out there and playing some good rounds. So, I didn’t have any focus goals for this week, but I’m very happy with the position I’m in right now. I’m very excited for the challenge and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
A total of four players sit just two shots off the pace in a tie for third place. Sweden’s Lisa Pettersson, New Zealand’s Momoka Kobori, France’s Nastasia Nadaud, and Wales’ Darcey Harry, all carded three-under par after 36 holes.
“It was very solid today and I think I played okay”, said Pettersson. “I think I was a little bit further from the pins today than yesterday. There were some tricky pin positions out there, but I had some long putts that I managed to take advantage of.“
The Swede continued: “It was a lot less windy today, but it was also really cold, so I feel like the ball didn’t go as far as I’m used to. But we just try to be aggressive – same as yesterday – aggressive when the pin is in a good position and be smarter.”
Heading into tomorrow, the LET winner is excited to be in contention once again, proving her ability to deliver on home soil since her victory at the 2023 Helsingborg Open.
“It’ll be fun. It’s always nice to play well at a home tournament, because you have the crowd rooting for you. I don’t look at the leaderboards during the round, so I don’t really know where I stand. Tomorrow, I think I’ll just go out and try and be as relaxed as possible, even though I’ll probably be a little bit more nervous and tense than a normal round.”
Kobori started on the 10th tee and had an up and down second round.
“It was a bit of a up and down on the front nine. It was pretty steady and quiet in the wind, which was quite nice early in the morning and then I had a couple of holes in the bunker that put me off track a little bit. It was nice to be able to finish with a birdie on the last though, and I felt like I was hitting it well, so it was nice to finish on a good note.
“I went into today the same as yesterday – maybe a few different targets here and there. I feel like the greens are getting a bit firmer, so I had to adjust a little bit on that, especially on a few holes. I assume it will probably be about the same tomorrow, so I can hopefully adjust it a bit better.
“I’m definitely excited. It’s always nice to be in contention. At a place like this, it’s pretty cool too.”
Despite a shaky start, Nadaud was able to finish the second round with a birdie to be in T2, and also in contention heading into the final round.
“It was a pretty good day while I started off pretty bad”, said the 20-year-old. “I had a three-putt on the first, after having a birdie chance – but that happens. I’ve been struggling a bit with my putting from long distances, but I managed to make a couple of them and then a couple of birdies went in. Also, a chip in on nine, which was a bit of a bonus. I’m happy with how I fought through in the conditions, as it wasn’t easy out there today either.”
One shot further back is Spain’s Luna Sobron Galmes, who sits in solo seventh place on two-under par.
Two players it in a tie for eighth place, including England’s Alice Hewson and Australia’s Maddison Hinson-Tolchard.
After 36 holes of action at Hills Golf & Sports Club, 65 players made the cut which fell at seven-over par.
The third and final round of the Hills Open gets underway tomorrow at 9:30am local time. The leaders will go out at 11:30am.
Follow all the action throughout the tournament on our socials – @LETgolf on Instagram, TikTok and X, and Ladies European Tour on YouTube and Facebook –#HillsOpen.
