Czechia’s Sara Kouskova fired a second round of five-under 67 to put herself in the lead on -7 with one day to go at the ASGI Lavaux Ladies Open.
Starting on the 10th, the 23-year-old opened her round with four pars which she followed up with back-to-back birdies on holes 14 and 15.
Another birdie putt on the par-three 17th saw the leader make the turn in 33 strokes before continuing with her strong performance on the back nine.
“I actually left quite a few birdie opportunities out there because I hit it really close, and I managed to hit 17 greens in regulation.
“Once I started rolling them in in the middle of the round, I started to feel very comfortable on the greens and it was a really enjoyable day on the golf course.”
The Prague native, who is another step closer to securing back-to-back LETAS titles added two more consecutive pars on holes one and two to get on -5 for the day.
The only bogey of her second round came on the third hole but the three-time LETAS champion finished the day with five pars and a birdie on the penultimate hole.
“I like this course; it is quite unique, and the surroundings are beautiful. The greens were rolling much better today since we played in the morning and with a lot of wedges into the green it is inviting you to attack those birdies.”
Today’s solid round saw the Czech rookie quickly climb from the tenth spot to lead the tournament at Golf de Lavaux by two shots.
“It always feels nice to be in contention, and the circumstances are always a little bit different in each event. The top of the leaderboard is really packed so it will be an eventful final day I think.”
In a tie for second place are four players as local amateur Elena Moosmann, Germany’s Chiara Noja, and Spain’s duo Noemi Jimenez Martin and Teresa Diez Moliner are all at five-under-par.
Noja carded the second-best round of the day with four-under 68, scoring on her opening 10th hole and adding back-to-back birdies on holes 16 and 17 before dropping one shot on the 18th hole.
“I’m pretty pleased with my game today, I played solid just like yesterday but made more putts which was good.”
The 16-year-old sensation scored again on the second hole, dropped one on the fourth, and completed her round with two more birdies on the fifth and sixth to put herself in contention once again.
“I just tried to not shy away from the opportunities today, I think yesterday I was very passive where I probably didn’t need to be,” said the LETAS Order of Merit leader.
She continued: “I got to know the course a little better again and cut some corners and it worked out pretty well. I lipped out for eagle twice today and overall, I was more aggressive to put myself in contention.”
Jimenez Martin joined Noja with a round of 68 after signing an error-free scorecard with four birdies on her back nine.
Starting from the tenth with ten consecutive pars, the Spanish star patiently waited for her first birdie to come on the second hole which got her round going.
“I knew I had to stay patient because I was hitting it so well and gave myself lots of opportunities. Knowing my long game is good was key because that is just an important part of my game that leads to low scores.
“The first birdie stands out the most because you’re just more nervous for the first one to come and then I just kept going and rolling them in.”
Carding birdies on holes two, four, six, and eight, the Marbella native will attack the top position on the final day to clinch her first LETAS title.
“I’ve been playing on the LET in the past six years and honestly the competition is just as good on LETAS, the courses are tough and the players are just as good so I’m very happy to be doing well this week.”
Overnight leaders Moosmann and Diez Moliner signed for rounds of one-under 71 to stay in contention heading into the final round tomorrow.
Swedish duo Anna Magnusson and Corinne Viden share the sixth position with Australia’s Amy Walsh on -4 while six players are in a tie for the ninth spot.
England’s Gemma Clews, Austria’s Katharina Muehlbauer, German amateur Helen Briem, France’s Yvie Chaucheprat, New Zealand’s Momoka Kobori, and Czechia’s Sideri Vanova round out the top 10 another shot back.
A total of 58 players made the cut which was set at +7 after round two.
The final round goes underway on Friday morning with a two-tee start at 8:00 with the leaders teeing off from the first hole at 9:40 local time.
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