Elena Moosmann and Emma Thorngren shot rounds of 69 (-2) and 70 (-1) to be tied at the top of the leaderboard on the second day of the Santander Golf Tour- GIRONA.
On a windy day at Peralada Golf, the tough conditions showed on the scorecards.
Elena Moosmann made moves up the leaderboard carding only one bogey and secured birdies on eight, 10 and 15.
“My play was way more solid today.” she explained. “On the front nine I just hit greens and fairways and then on the back nine , I didn’t really play as well because I was getting a bit tired but I still managed to hold the score.
“My strongest part of the game was putting today, I held some good saves like on hole nine and 16.
“There was nothing spectacular, just solid play.”
The Swiss is excited to hold off the chasing pack and knows where she needs to focus on for tomorrow.
“For tomorrow, I will enjoy it. Today I had a good time with my caddie, Steve and the other players.
“I haven’t thought about winning yet, I will be better if I don’t, especially during the night.
“I like the chase, but i think it will be good competition with Emma”
Tied with Moosmann is first round leader Thorngren, who started on the 10th tee, is now closer to targeting her first win on the LET Access Series (LETAS) this week.
The steady Swede carded 4 birdies, but a double bogey on her eighth hole and bogey on her ninth set her back.
“I started with seven pars, then I couldn’t focus and I was out of energy or something as I lifted the driver on 17 and made a double there.
“Then I ate a sandwich and a banana, then I started playing good golf again.
“I started to get more anxious, started thinking about the score more, losing focus on the shot I was about to hit, so I’m really happy that I kept myself together and was able to re-focus into the front nine again.”
Going forward to tomorrow, the Swede is keen to not repeat the mistakes of her second round.
“I will just try to keep my energy levels up the whole round, keep being calm and keep taking good shots as it all adds up,” she said.
“Hole 18, I’ve had bogies both days, today it was especially tricky as I’m playing fade always and with that pin just tucked over the bunker you can only really land short of the green, so I hit it in the bunker.
“Tomorrow i’m going to hit the green there and get the par
“Until yesterday, I wasn’t thinking I could actually win this, so now obviously that’s the goal.
“I’m honestly really happy that I’ve managed to put two good rounds overall since it’s the first tournament of the year.
“The strength of Swedish golf at the moment is inspiring me a lot, especially seeing Linn and Maia going straight from college to being as good as they are.
“So it definitely puts Sweden on the map for women’s golf, it definitely inspires me and a lot of other Swedes.”
On their heels is England’s Emily Price who made a move up the leaderboard with three birdies on the back nine and potting another on hole three.
Price sealed a round of 70 (-1) and moved into second place on a total of -3.
“I didn’t start the best,” Price admitted, “I made a couple of bogies as the wind was difficult today, it was more a cross than into and straight down.
“Then I missed a few greens but put myself back to level par .
“I knew it was going to be a long day, a lot of wind and a lot of golf to be played, then on the back nine I just stiffed a few close, held a couple of putts, made three birdies coming in so that always helps the scorecard.”
Price, a rookie on LET and LETAS, who finished T-15th at the Aland 100 Ladies Open in Finland in 2022, is excited for the chase tomorrow.
“The putter was hot today for most of the putts, I struggled a little bit with my driver which is unusual but it put me out of position a couple of times, overall it was just steady
“For tomorrow I want to keep putting the way it’s been going, and then just going to do a little bit of work on the range just with a couple of swing things.
“If I can just keep to the fairways and greens, take a two putt and a birdie is a bonus. If I play like that, I will do well.
“I’ve not really thought about winning, I know it’s there now because I’m in the final group on the final day so you’ve got a chance to win and run away with the trophy.
“But there’s a few people who can still win because the scores are so close, so I’m just going to play my day tomorrow one shot at a time, I can’t control anything else, the more I try and think about it the worse it’s going to be.”
“I enjoy the chase, I do well coming from behind with a little bit of pressure, It’s always harder going in with a lead.”
Teresa Diez Moliner is the highest ranking Spanish player alongside Elia Folch after round two, with the Spaniards currently sitting at one over par and joint fifth on the leaderboard.
Diez Moliner is confident that she can chase down the leader during Friday’s final round.
“It felt pretty good today,” she said. “I was three under par then I made three bogies during the last five rounds but I was hitting the ball pretty good.
“I made some good putts, so it was ok.
“The bogies were caused by bad shots not nerves, I just had two bad tee shots and made me kind of go to the fairway.
“This course is pretty narrow, if you hit the ball either right or left you can be just behind a tree and go to the fairway.
Diez Moliner knows what she has to do to put the pressure on the leaders tomorrow,
“Well I think it’s a course where you have to be pretty strategic from the tee, I will put in good play and the birdies are going to come.” she said.
“Putting is good and I just need to keep it going.
“For tomorrow, I am going to shoot low and be confident around my game and try to make birdies.
“It would be amazing to win in my home country, especially on a course I’ve played for the first time.”
The cut fell at +9 with 48 players making it through to the final day of competition of the Santander Golf Tour- GIRONA.
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