France’s Chloe Salort, who is chasing her first professional victory tomorrow, holds a two-shot lead heading into the final round of the Amundi Czech Ladies Challenge after carding rounds of 72 and 68.
It was a stellar second day for the 26-year-old who carded a faultless round of four birdies, including rolling in two consecutively on holes 17 and 18.
Speaking about her second round, Salort said: “I’m happy about it. I played well. I think mentally I was there. We had good vibes, a good group and I made a couple putts and hit close on a couple holes, so that helped.
“I think there is room to do better but we’ll see. I’m in a good mood and just happy to be here.
“I just don’t think about the course being tough. I like this course. I think it’s well prepared and very nice to use. So, I will just play shot by shot and see where I can go from there.”
Salort turned professional in January 2023 and has played two LETAS seasons since, finishing 20th and 76th respectively in the season rankings.
The nine-time French champion is currently ranked 28th on the LETAS Order of Merit after making five out of six cuts, four consecutively. Her highest finish this year is 15th in Portugal at the Super Bock Ladies Open.
“I was hoping for a better start to the season, obviously, but I’m just focusing on one tournament at a time and to play as good as I can, and to just improve and be one percent better every day.”
Leading a tournament in the final round is new territory for Salort but she’s excited for the challenge.
“I haven’t been in this position a lot but let’s say that I think I’m just going to focus on my game, and we’ll see if I win. I want to enjoy it as much as I can.”
Two strokes behind Salort lies the chasing pack on two-under-par.
Two-time LET winner and home favourite Sara Kouskova, Slovakia’s Michaela Vavrova and Isle of Man’s Ana Dawson all sit second.
Kouskova, who enters this tournament after two consecutive wins on the LET, carded a level par round of three bogeys and three birdies of which two birdies were carded in her last two holes.
“It was a little tougher for me mentally,” Kouskova admitted. “The game was all right, about the same I think but I had my coach on the bag, so it was more of him trying to observe a lot of the stuff that was going on and where we can move forward.
“That brought a little change of momentum, and I had to get used to it. So, because of that I’m happy that we managed to get it back to level par because I was carrying the plus two for quite a while.
“I was happy to see many people coming to support.”
Kouskova already has her name etched on the trophy after winning this tournament back in 2021 as an amateur, yet to make history as the first player to win this tournament twice would mean a lot to the Czech star.
“It would be super special. I have my name on the trophy already and to put it back there would be sweet but honestly we’ll just see how tomorrow goes.
“Obviously I’ll try to do my best and play best as I can, and we’ll see how it goes.”
Slovakia’s Michaela Vavrova is excited to once again play in the final groups after carding an excellent second round of two-under-par.
“I am very happy. Today I started on the back, and it worked out on the holes that I made doubles yesterday. I birdied both today. So that was nice.
“Then in my back nine, I was just like trying to be patient and kind of fight the tiredness and was really waiting for the putts to go in.”
Vavrova’s home course is Tale Ski Golf and Hotel resort, home of the Ladies Slovak Golf Open, a tournament on the LETAS schedule in August.
“Tale is very hilly too, so I just feel like my body naturally knows how to handle the hills.
“This course is very hard to walk but I feel physically very good, and the environment is very nice, I love the views.
“I’m very, very attached to my home and every time we play where I can drive from Slovakia is much better than flying somewhere. So yeah, being close to home helps this week.”
It’s a special week for Vavrova, who has her grandfather out here watching and walking the course, two weeks on from a hip injury.
It was Vavrova’s grandfather who first introduced her to the sport at 10 years old, after he wanted company on the course.
Vavrova’s grandfather, Dušan Bohňa was a gymnastics coach and remains one of her biggest champions.
“I think in the final round tomorrow, my granddad is going to be here so I’m not going to feel like I’m doing it alone.
“It was the same situation in Austria. I was a couple shots behind and I was in the second to last game and I felt nervous on the first tee.
“Just having someone I can look at and knowing that they’re here to support just me is nice. I’m actually very excited.”
Vavrova currently sits 22nd on the Order of Merit, with her highest finish being third at the inaugural Allegria Ladies Open.
“To win would be special. I mean, this my third time playing this course, so hopefully third time is a charm and hopefully I can get the win.”
Irish amateur Aine Donegan, Austria’s Katharina Muehlbauer, France’s Lucie Andre and Norway’s Karoline Lund all sit tied fifth on one-under-par.
Whilst four players round out the top 10 in joint ninth position, including two Australians Stephanie Bunque and Justice Bosio.
58 players made the cut which stood at +7.
The final round of the Amundi Czech Ladies Challenge begins at 7:45am with the leaders going out at 9:35am.
For more information on the Amundi Czech Ladies Challenge, visit letaccess.com and follow @LETAccess on Facebook, Instagram and X – #Access2LET.
