Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen fired a bogey-free 67 (-5) to hold a one-shot lead at the end of the second day of the Montauban Ladies Open.
The LET Access Series (LETAS) rookie’s flat stick was on fire as she rolled in three birdies on the front nine on holes two, three and nine.
The Dane kept her cool to card a further two birdies on holes 10 and 15 to lead with a total of nine-under-par and record her lowest round on LETAS so far.
“I’m super happy with my round,” Kibsgaard Nielsen explained, “I’m very excited for tomorrow now.
“I have been working hard so it’s great to see it come together.
“I’m going out tomorrow with the intention to enjoy it. I have been with or near the leaders a few times now this year so I’m just going to see it as practice and get used to the feeling of leading.”
The 24-year-old played the first two rounds with fellow LETAS rookie England’s Emily Price, the overnight leader.
“It was so fun playing with Emily today,” Kibsgaard Nielsen admitted. “We both played solidly, and we wanted each other to do well as it is more fun that way.”
Kibsgaard Nielsen is the current leader of the LETAS Order of Merit with 548.88 points after placing second at two tournaments, the Flumserberg Ladies Open and Santander Golf Tour-Girona.
“I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, I’ll take it shot by shot, but I do really want to win the tournament.”
Hot on Kibsgaard Nielsen’s heels is playing partner Emily Price.
The Birmingham based rookie started her day at Golf de Montauban L’Estang consistently recording six pars in a row before rolling in a birdie on the seventh.
The 23-year-old then rolled in three birdies on the back nine on holes 12, 13 and 17 to put pressure on Kibsgaard Nielsen but a bogey on the 18th set her back one shot.
“It was a similar day to yesterday,” Price explained, “It would have been nice to go 36 holes without making a bogey.
“However, to be eight under after two rounds of golf and to be playing the way I am is great.
“We’ve been doing hard work behind the scenes so to come out here and just play and play well is amazing.”
The tournament today was graced with the hottest weather conditions so far this year on LETAS and our golfers were feeling the heat.
“My English skin is not used to the sun,” Price admitted, “So it was good to have a nine o’clock tee time. I was thankful when I saw that. I am feeling a little burnt.”
Price is currently one place behind Kibsgaard Nielsen on the LETAS Rookie of the Year order so the pair playing all three rounds together adds extra competitiveness to the tournament.
“I loved playing with Sofie,” Price explained “When you’re playing with someone as good as you, you bounce off each other. She makes a birdie; I want a birdie.
“We had a lot of fun and it was amazing seeing her game. She’s a great player.
“Game plan tomorrow is the same as today. I will try to forget the last two days, take one shot at a time and we will see if the golfing gods look after me again.”
Two players sit in a tie for third place, Slovenia’s Katja Pogacar and French amateur, 13-year-old Alice Kong. s
Pogacar rolled in seven birdies to secure the lowest round of the day 66 (-6) to jump up the leaderboard 10 places.
“My round started well,” Pogacar explained, “I had a birdie opportunity on the par five fourth hole and I missed it.
“I was like, oh well, we have a lot of holes left.
“I’m proud of how I fought through the holes that gave me some problems yesterday and today I was a little more confident in my driver.
“On the last two holes I had a little bit of luck and made long putts, but I have been working on this and my attitude towards putting. So, it was good to see that happen.”
The 29-year-old who plays between LETAS and the Ladies European Tour has secured four top 10 finishes but is still chasing the win and has her eyes set on the Olympe de Gouges Trophy.
“I love the trophy, it’s cool, so it would be nice to have it. It’s a dream for sure.
“I really like LETAS, and I feel comfortable here. I played with Laura Gomez Ruiz recently. She won this tournament in 2019.
“So, I said maybe I could. So yeah, we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
In the afternoon, all eyes were on 13-year-old Alice Kong who fired another impressive round of 68(-4).
Kong had a shaky start with two bogeys in the first three holes but soon surged back after carding two eagles on holes four and seven, both par fives.
Two more birdies on the back nine put the young amateur near the top of the leaderboard in her first professional tournament.
“I feel incredibly good,” Kong said, “Especially because it’s my first professional tournament.”
Invite Kong is no stranger to competing against older players having won the U12 French Junior Golf Championship at nine-years-old.
“This is my best score on the course so I’m super happy with that. If I was to win tomorrow, I have no words. I would be speechless.”
Switzerland’s Elena Moosmann is one behind in fourth place, Sweden’s Emma Thorngren is one behind her in sixth and 2021 champion, French amateur Marine Griffaut, is three under par in seventh.
Alexandra Swayne from the U.S Virgin Islands, France’s Chloe Salort and Germany’s Verena Gimmy are tied in eighth place on two-under-par.
58 players including six amateurs made the cut which fell at +5.
The final round gets under way at 8.00am on Sunday, with the last group teeing off at 11.27 am.
Follow all the action on @letaccess on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok and LET Access Series on Facebook – #RaiseOurGame #MontaubanLadiesOpen.
