New Zealand’s Momoka Kobori fired a six-under 66 in the second round of the Calatayud Ladies Open and sits at -9 to lead with one day remaining.
Starting on the back nine, the 23-year-old star kicked off her second round with a birdie on the 12th hole, dropped one shot on the 14th, and carded four consecutive birdies on holes 16 through two.
“Today it was just my putter, it was one of those days where you stand over a putt and see the line which was awesome because the last few months I’ve been struggling with my putting and it was cool to be able to go out and have that happen today.”
Making the turn in 34 strokes, the Kiwi kept the momentum going with further birdies on the fifth as well as her final hole, the par-three ninth to lead by three strokes.
“It’s an amazing feeling to be back in the lead. I actually can’t believe it’s been four months since I first came to Europe to compete on LETAS.
“I’m both happy and sad to be done with the season here so I just want to go out and make the most of it this week. I also had a lot of fun the last couple of days and enjoyed playing with Hannah and Vanessa in my group.”
Finland’s Karina Kukkonen is in outright second with today’s round of two-under 70, starting strong with two birdies on holes 11 and 13.
The Fin dropped one shot on the 14th but quickly made up for it on hole 16 to make the turn in 34 strokes.
Kukkonen’s back nine equally consisted of three birdies, three pars, and three bogeys to secure her spot in the final group in Friday’s final round.
One stroke back is England’s Amy Taylor who sits in solo third after signing for three-under 69 in the second round.
Starting from hole ten, the rookie made a birdie on her first hole and added another one on the 16th to make the turn in 34 shots.
The Englishwoman then added another birdie on the fourth, dropped one stroke on the fifth, and sank her last birdie putt on the seventh.
Seven players share the fourth position at -4 as French amateur Iner Archer, Denmark’s Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen, France’s Emilie Alonso, Germany’s Patricia Isabel Schmidt, England’s Ellie Gower, Dutch Marit Harryvan and Swiss amateur Elena Moosmann round out the top-10.
A total of 55 players made the cut which was set at +4 after day two in Calatayud.
The final round goes underway on Friday morning at 9:00 with the leaders teeing off from the first hole at 10:30 am.
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