F
or Lydia Hall, the scenario going into the final round of the WPGA International Challenge at Stoke by Nayland, may well be a case of three’s a crowd.
For Noemi Jimenez and Michele Thomson, by contrast, it has to be three’s company.
As a result of posting four and three-under par rounds of 68 and 69 respectively, the Spaniard and Scot joined Hall in pole position at the end of round two on seven-under for the tournament.
All of which means the three will be in the final group vying for the €5,600 that goes to the winner of the penultimate event in the LET Access Series (LETAS).
And with a four-shot gap separating the trio from the rest of the field, the odds must favour one of their number claiming the winner’s cheque and the trophy.
Jimenez goes into the last day showdown buoyed by producing the best round of day two, a four-under par 68 that featured five birdies and one blip, a bogey at her ninth hole, the par three 18th.
Thomson, playing in the same group, also registered five birdies but bogeyed the par five second (her 11th) and par four 10th (her second) in her round of 69.
Hall, meanwhile, having set the pace with a seven-under par round of 65 on day one followed up with three birdies and as many bogeys for a level par return.
After her birdie-laden display in round one, it’s tempting to liken it to the golfing equivalent of treading water, which was perhaps in keeping with the damp conditions and squalls of rain that sporadically doused the Suffolk resort.
Nevertheless, the 29-year-old from Wales remains the leading PGA representative and she will be joined by four others who made the cut: Sian Evans (-1), Keely Chiericato (+2), 2014 WPGA Professional Championship winner Suzanne Dickens (+4) and Danielle Anderson (also +4).
As for the race to join LETAS Order of Merit leader Meghan MacLaren in earning a Ladies European Tour card by virtue of finishing in the top five, England’s Charlotte Thompson, who lies third, will be looking over her shoulder after missing the cut.
